HOMEWORK!

Cheerleading is an event that consists of cheers and organized routines for sport team
motivation, audience entertainment, or competitions. The routines contain many components of
cheers, jumps, dance, gymnastics, and stunting.

The purpose is to encourage the spectators of event to cheer for sports teams at games. The
yellers, dancers, and athletes involved in cheerleading are called “cheerleaders”. When they
are grouped together as one, they are called “squad”.

Cheerleading is a physical activity that mixes dance with gymnastics, cheers and stunts. It is all
about trust and teamwork. It’s an art and sports which develops coordination, balance, and
flexibility. It requires precise movements with inclusion of gymnastics skills.

Cheer dance is relatively new in the field of sports and dance as it has only emerged during the
early 1990’s as part of the cheerleading events. It is one of the categories in International
Cheerleading Competition that focuses on dance techniques and basic elements of
cheerleading, excluding stunts and advance gymnastics skills.

The performers are cheerleaders and not just dancers per se.

They can portray character depending on the theme they choose.

They set limitation.

ELEMENTS OF CHEER DANCE

1. Dance Techniques- depending on the competition requirements, various dance

techniques may be used in a cheer dance competition. Sometimes they incorporate
techniques from contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, modern dance, ballet, and ethnic or folk
dance.

2. Elements of cheers- cheers are coordination of organized words and movements

relating to an athletic event. These are used during a sport event when play has been
stopped on the field or court. The purpose is to draw a unified response from the crowd
to highlight their support for the playing team.

3. Motions- Motions should be sharp, snappy, and synchronized with your team. Be sure
to practice in front of a mirror, and with the rest of your squad for proper placement and
technique.

4. Jumps- whether part of an overall routine or done after your team scores to win, jumps
add a lot of excitement. Jumps start with the most basic moves.

5. Tumbling- Tumbling skills for cheerleaders are not required by all squads, but are
becoming increasingly important for competition squads, all-star cheerleading, and
college squads. It’s important to build a strong gymnastic foundation, with proper training
and instruction from gymnastics coaches, to begin to incorporate tumbling skills into your
cheerleading cheers and dance routines.

6. Formations- formation in cheer dance are crucial to the success of a squad’s

performance. A squad may use several formations but the two commonly used
traditional formations are the following:

 Bowling Pin (Pyramid)

 Staggered Line
 MOTIONS

1. BEGINNING STANCE- Feet together, hands down by the side in blades

2. CHEER STANCE- Feet more than shoulder width apart, hands down by the side in
blade
3. CLASP- Hands clasped, at the chin, elbows in
4. CLAP- Hands in blades, at the chin, elbows in
5. HIGH V- Arms extended up forming a “V”, relax the shoulders
6. LOW V- Arms extended down forming a “V”
7. GOALPOST (or TOUCHDOWN)- Arms extended straight and parallel to each other, fist
facing in
8. LOW TOUCHDOWN- Arms extended straight down and parallel to each other, fist facing
in
9. 3/4 T (or BOW AND ARROW)-One arm extended to side with other arm bent at elbow
in a half “T” motion
10. OVERHEAD CONE- Arms are straight, above the head in a clasp and slightly in front of
the face
11. DAGGERS (or TABLETOP)- Arms bent at elbow, fists in front of shoulders
12. LOW CONE- Arms extended straight down, in a clasp and slightly in front of the body
13. PUNCH- One arm extended straight up, one arm on hip, in a fist
14. L MOTION- One arm extended to the side with other arm extended in a punch motion,
(Left L shown)
15. DIAGONAL- One arm extended in a high “V” and the other arm extended in a low “V”
(Right Diagonal shown)
16. T MOTION- Both arms extended straight out to the side and parallel to the ground, relax
the shoulders
17. HALF T- Both arms parallel to the ground and bent at the elbows, fists into shoulders
18. SIDE LUNGE- Lead leg bent with the knee over the ankle, back leg straight, feet
perpendicular to each other
19. FRONT LUNGE- Lead leg bent with the knee over the ankle, back leg straight, feet
perpendicular to each other

JUMPS
1. Tuck Jump- Bring knees to chest; keep knee together
2. Spread Eagle- Keep knees forward; keep a straight body without piking
3. Toe Touch- Keep head and chest up; pull legs to arms; reach for the arch of the foot,
not the toes
4. Side Hurdler- Bent knee faces the crowd; keep knee on straight leg facing upwards
5. Front Hurdler- Bring straight leg up to chest and between the arms; back knee points
towards the ground; land with feet together at the same time
6. Pike- Keep head up; bring legs to arms, arms parallel to the ground
7. Herkie- Bent knee faces down; keep knee on straight leg upward

TUMBLING
 FORWARD/FRONT ROLL
- (a) Squat down with hands on the ground then
- (b) tuck head in with chin down.
- (c) Roll unto upper back and
- (d) rotate onto feet continuing to a standing position

 BACKWARD ROLL
- (a) From a standing position, squat down continuing to a
- (b) sitting position with hands placed close to ears and palms facing up.
- (c) roll backward while placing the weight of the body on both feet,
- (d) continue on through a squat position.
 CARTWHEEL
- (a) With one foot in front,
- (b) stand on one foot and lean down until both hands are on the ground,
- (c) transfer weight from one hand to the other while driving legs above and over
the body,
- (d) place one leg on the ground and continue on through a standing position

 ROUND-OFF
- (a) From a standing position with one foot in front,
- (b) transfer weight to hands while driving legs above and over the body,
- (c) bring the legs together in a handstand position,
- (d) follow by snapping down the legs and finishing with a quarter-turn ending up
facing the opposite direction and continue on through a standing position.

FORMATIONS

a. Bowling Pin (Pyramid) - the formation is set up like bowling pins in a bowling alley. This
works great when highlighting a few members on a squad/team. The figure below is an
example of a bowling pin formation.

b. Staggered Line- a simple line where the back line is positioned in the windows (space
in between individuals) of the front line. Vertical lines in formations highlight differences
in levels rather than suggest squad uniformity.