Our Roots
The History of MCIA
I will always be Humble I will always be Grateful I will always love MCIA
Alex Pantig, Founder of MCIA
All Love
Since 2003
MCIA was established in 2003 at the University of California Irvine as a branch of the school spirit pit crew, Completely Insane Anteaters (CIA). The UCI Athletics' Department Directors of Marketing at the time, Dennis Wisco and Leah Kuan, hoped to increase school spirit at basketball games through CIA and hip-hop entertainment.
For assistance, they turned to Alex Pantig, a UCI alumnus. Together with several Chinese Association Dance Crew (CADC) alumni, Alex gathered a team together to perform at UCI basketball games, and Modern Completely Insane Anteaters, or MCIA, was founded.
Currently in the twenty-third year of its dance journey, MCIA has grown to become not just a dance team, but a dance family. MCIA has been fortunate enough to have established ties within and outside the Irvine dance community.
Over the years, the team has performed for events around Southern California, including at UCLA, Clippers' basketball games, and various nightclubs, while staying true to its roots and continuing to perform on the UCI campus and at UCI basketball games.