L E S S O N 4 : Cheer Dance

Discussion

Read the knowledge sheet, then decide how much you can recall and how much you learned by
reacting to activities.

Knowledge Sheet

Cheerleading, team practice in which dance and acrobatics components are combined
with yelled slogans to attract fans at sporting events, and to promote louder and more
enthusiastic cheering. Once solely a spectator practice aimed at promoting school athletics,
cheerleading has gained self-recognition as a sport and now exists entirely outside of the school
background. Cheerleading has long been regarded as an iconic American activity that symbolizes
the spirit of school, leadership, youthfulness and sex appeal. The southern United States
(including Texas) is widely considered the heart of modern cheerleading, though the sport is well
known in the United States as well as internationally, having gained a foothold in countries
around the world.

History of Cheerleading
While cheerleading is mostly synonymous with femininity today, it was men who were
the original cheerleaders. Cheerleading was related to the rise of gridiron football in the mid-
1800 at Ivy League colleges and universities in the United States, and the development and
formalization of cheerleading was similar to that of soccer. In the latter half of the 19th century,
as attendance at college games increased, massive stadiums were built and fans distanced
themselves from the field of play. Cheerleaders or as they were then named, “yell leaders” led
cheers from the sidelines both to inspire fans and to act as a means of crowd control.
By the 1920s cheerleading had become a formal extracurricular activity for boys at high
schools, universities, and communities around the country, similar to but separate from other
spirit activities including marching bands, drum corps, and drill teams. Cheerleaders have been
associated with such character-building qualities as discipline, teamwork, leadership, and
sportsmanship, as ambassadors for their schools and communities.
Females and colored people were excluded from private all-male schools were college
sports and cheerleading first grew, but at the turn of the century many state-supported institutions
started to accept women, opening the way for their inclusion in sporting events.
During the 1920s and ‘30s, women started to join cheer squads as college sports
proliferated and men and women started to socialize more in public. Over the same time a
different cheerleading tradition emerged within black educational institutions, with similar
emphasis on building character and leadership. Overall, however, cheerleading remained an
exclusively white activity, and evidence indicates that it was even “whiter” after disintegration,
as the overall number of black schools declined and black students were rarely elected as
cheerleaders in the newly integrated, predominantly white schools. It was not until the 1960s and
1970s, well after the diversification of scholastic athletic programs, that the cheer squad started
to reflect the ethnic and racial composition of schools. The change was partially the result of
black and Latino student demonstrating.

Cheerdance Basics (Gymnastic Side)

Jumps

TUCK JUMP

A jump in which the cheerleader uses their stomach

muscles to pull the legs up with their thighs as close to
the chest as possible, knees facing upward as if in a
tucked position.

STAR / SPREAD
EAGLE

You simply prep, swing, and jump with

your arms pin a high V and your legs
spread apart. Just jump off the ground and
 it will look like an X. This jump is generally used to practice group timing who and snapping
legs down from a jump.

PIKE JUMP
This jump is among the most difficult of jumps.
Both legs are straight out, knees locked. Arms
are in a touchdown motion out in front to create
a folded position in the air, this motion is also
called "candlesticks". This is often performed at
a ninety-degree angle to the audience in order
to show off the air position.

SPLIT JUMP

In cheerleading, perhaps the most common

jump you'll perform is the toe touch, which is
also sometimes called the split jump or straddle
jump. While you don't have to be able to do the
full straddle splits in order to do the jump, it
certainly doesn't hurt. The more flexible your hips, the wider the split and the more dramatic the
jump will look.

HURDLE JUMP
Named for Lawrence R. Herkimer, the founder
of the National Cheerleaders Association, this
jump is similar to a side-hurdler, except that
instead of both arms being in a "T" shaped
motion, both arms are opposite of what the leg
beneath them is doing. Example of this would be
the straight arm would be on the side of the bent
leg, and the bent arm is on the side of the
straight leg. One other variation of this includes
the bent leg is pointing straight down, instead of
out like the side-hurdler. The jump is speculated to have been invented because Herkie was not
able to do an actual side-hurdler.

TOE TOUCH JUMP

The most recognizable cheerleading jump, very similar to what is known in gymnastics as a
'straddle' jump. In this jump, the legs are straddled and straight, parallel to the ground, toes
pointed, knees are pointing up/backwards, and your hands are in fists or blades and arms in a "T"
motion. Despite its name, you do not touch your toes during a toe touch, you reach out farther in
front of your legs. Keep your back straight and bring your legs up to you - the aim is to create a
hyperextension with your hips, and
cheerleaders spend lots of time
strengthening their hip flexor
muscles and movements to perform
this jump well. This is the most
common cheer jump.