“Divine Inspired Victorious and Annointed! That is the sheer essence of a DIVA!” The Divas of Olive Branch is an award winning dance team from Mississippi that is Creative, Transformative, and Inspiring. They take a lot of time to make sure that what they present each season is entertaining for all different ages. They pride themselves in knowing how to put on a show! People wait to see what they are bringing to the stage each season. Mario Shaw, the Head Choreographer, has been part of the success and achievements of The Divas together with Neva McGruder. They have been together for a total of 12 years.

Neva McGruder, better known as “Neva The Diva,” is the Owner, Artistic Director, and Head Coach for the Divas of Olive Branch and Tate County Teams. The Divas recently expanded their team from Southhaven, Mississippi, to include Cold Water Mississippi and they are very new. Neva started as a result of the surviving breast cancer. She is a 10 years Survivor!

Neva believes that what separates her dance team from the rest is their ability to be authentic and creative and that they are able to show strong leadership while on the floor. Their choreography is trend setting and they have a great time performing it!

Neva’s proudest moments as a coach are when she knows that a girl has been working really hard to get an acrobatic move calls Neva on the phone or sends Neva a video showing her accomplishing it! That gives the child a tremendous sense of accomplishment and Neva feels proud of the impact on the child.

In Neva’s opinion, the three biggest mistakes she see dancers make is playing around at practice, not having the confidence in themselves, and underestimating themselves and their opponents. Getting too “Confident” is a problem also. There have been times where her girls get discouraged but she expresses that they work through it with courage just like all the other teams out there. Whenever they get knocked down, they have an amazing ability to “get back on the horse and keep on riding!”

Her goals this year for the Divas are to get her girls to the next level of their game, to continue to excel in school, and go to college and dance!

Neva started her studio after surviving Breast Cancer. This was something that she and her daughter could do together! Also, she wanted to give back to the community. She had been dancing all of her life and knew this would be a good thing for her and her daughter. Neva’s good samaritan quality has spread to The Divas, as she always makes sure the girls give back as a part of their leadership development and they find it very enjoyable.

Something she wants everyone to know is that she genuinely loves all her girls! They work extremely hard and they strive for excellence in everything that they do. She has been told that they have the best uniforms and that she is one of the best majorette uniform designers in the world! Neva loves what she does. She is serious about what she does!

They are sophisticated, sassy, creative, and have an amazing drive for excellence! They are excellent in everything they do! They are unforgettable and they have the courage to take risks! They are a Christian square that loves the lord! They are trend setters and pioneers of new concepts and new ideas! Neva’s girls are excited about performances! The true test of a great performance is all about how it made you feel! They have a passion for winning and they will inspire in each performance!

The Divas of Olive Branch have enjoyed many accomplishments. The Divas have won countless awards over the past few years! Among these are: have worked for Lifetime TV and Pilgrim Studios since 2012 on the hit show “Bring It” Neva is a cast member on Neva The Diva. The Divas were voted the #1 Dance Team by Southern University in 2013. Additionally, they were invited to dance at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. in 2015. This performance televised in several countries and in the United States. They were asked to perform at the internationally known Bronner Brothers Hair Show in Atlanta, Georgia! This is the first time that a majorette team has been asked to perform at this event.

They Divas of Olive are looking forward to September 24, 2016 when they will headline the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana.