CHEERDANCE

What is Cheerdance?

Cheerdancing came from the two words “cheer” and “dance”. To cheer is to shout short,
motivating words to boost the morale of a team or a player. On the other hand, to dance is to create
movements to express emotions or gestures, usually with a rhythm.

It is related to cheerleading which is a performance of routine, dominated by gymnastic

moves combined with cheering and yelling, which aim to lead the crowd to cheer for a certain time
during a game or a sport.

History of Cheerdance

Cheerdancing is rooted to cheerleading and is closely tied with sports particularly the
American Football. The first intercollegiate football game was played in 1869, between Princeton
University and Rutgers University in New Jersey, and by the 1880s, Princeton had formed an all-
male pep club. A graduate of Princeton, Thomas Peebles, took the Princeton cheers to the
University of Minnesota (U of M), where football and fight songs were becoming very popular. In
1898, U of M was on a losing streak, and a medical student named Johnny Campbell assembled a
group to energize the team and the crowd. Johnny picked up a megaphone and rallied the team to
victory with the first organized cheer.

Cheerleading continued to evolve and become more athletic and competitive in nature.
Seeing a need for camps and clinics, Lawrence “Herkie” Herkimer, a former Southern Methodist
University cheerleader, formed the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) in 1948. They
hosted the first -ever documented cheer clinic one year later in Huntsville, Texas, with just 52 girls
in attendance.

NCA continues to be one of the largest cheerleading organizations in the United States,
hosting hundreds of camps and competitions yearly. Herkimer did not stop with the establishment
of NCA. He went on to create a cheerleading and dance uniform supply company called
Cheerleader & Danz Team, invented a prop called the spirit stick, and made up the jump now
called the “Herkie. His contributions to the sport earned him the title “The Grandfather of
Cheerleading”.
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Types of Cheerdance

1.) All Star Cheerleading/Cheerdance

All star cheerleaders are normally associated with a gym that teaches tumbling,
gymnastics and cheerleading. Their main objective is to compete and they are dedicated to
practicing and performing. Their skill level is usually very high as they mainly focus on
competitions. As a whole, all star cheerleaders are skilled in many things, including but not
limited to, tumbling, dance, gymnastics, and stunting.

2.) Scholastic Cheerleading

This is the cheerleading that majority of people are familiar with and what comes
to mind when you hear the word "cheerleader." They are associated with a school and their
main focus is cheering for other sports and raising school spirit. Some scholastic
cheerleaders compete, but not all of them.

3.) Recreation Cheerleading

This type or cheerleading is associated with a community’s recreation

department. A lot of areas of the country have state recreational associations or regional
associations too. This type of cheerleader normally makes the squad if they sign up, so no
official tryouts are held. Because recreational cheerleaders are very novice to begin with
and are taught the fundamentals of cheerleading, they make an excellent source or feeder
group for scholastic and all star programs.

4.) Professional Cheerleading

In the world of cheerleading, pro cheerleaders are not considered "real"

cheerleaders. They are thought of as entertainers and dancers more than as cheerleaders.
It's a grueling process to make a pro cheerleading squad and the number of applicants is
high compared to the number that makes it on a team. Most pro cheerleaders have a full-
time job to offset their pro cheerleading careers and a lot of them use their experience as
a pro cheerleader to further a career in the entertainment field. Exceptional looks,
personalities, communication skills, and dance ability all play a part in the selection
process for pro cheerleaders.
Activity

TRUE or FALSE

_______ 1.) Cheerleading is a performance of routine, dominated by gymnastic moves combined

with cheering and shouting.

_______ 2.) Cheerdance is tied with the sports American Baseball.

_______ 3.) Johnny Campbell formed the cheer clinic National Cheerleaders Association.

_______ 4.) Lawrence Herkimer is called as “The Grandfather of Cheerleading”.

_______ 5.) The first ever cheer clinic was attended by 52 males.

_______ 6.) Scholastic cheerleading is the type of cheerleading that most people are familiar
with.

_______ 7.) Recreation cheerleading has a main objective which is to compete.

_______ 8.) Cheerleading came from two words “cheer” and “dance”.

_______ 9.) The first organized cheer was held in University of Minnesota.

_______ 10.) All star cheerleaders are normally associated with a gym that teaches tumbling,
gymnastics and cheerleading.