CHEERDANCE

GROUP 1
 CHEERDANCE
◦ CHEERDANCE, sometimes referred to as cheerleading, is a team physical
activity using organized routines for the purpose of motivating a sports team,
entertaining an audience, or competition.
◦ Cheer-Dance is a dynamic combination of cheerleading moves and stylish
dance. We will learn a variety of high energy routines performed to fun music.
Cheer dance performances usually take a few minutes and is always done by
multiple performers, with formal cheer dance competitions outlining various
requirements such as minimum and maximum number of performers and a
time limit.
◦ Performances usually involve dances, tumbles, jumps, cheers, and stunts. In its
original form, cheer dancing was done to encourage a sports team – often
referred to as cheerleading in this context – by directing the audience to show
support, providing the team with motivation and a psychological edge in the
game.
◦ Over the years, cheer dancing has evolved into a contest on its own, with cheer
dance competitions held in conjunction with team-based games, such as
basketball or football. Today, cheer dance competitions are often held
independent of any other event, becoming a sport all its own.
 CHEERLEADING
◦ In its simplest terms, Cheerleading is the performance of athletic skills, jumps,
dance and/or chanting to gain a response from spectators at an event (whether
this is in support of a sports team, or simply to score points in a cheerleading
competition).
◦ Depending on the organization and country, there are a number of different
Cheerleading disciplines. Cheerleaders might specialize in one, or participate
in multiple cheer squads throughout the year.
 HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING
◦ Cheerleading dates to the 1860s, in Great Britain, and entered the US in the 1880s. Although
women currently dominate the field, cheerleading was begun by men.
◦ Princeton University, in 1884, got the idea that crowd chanting at football games would boost
school spirit so they came up with a catchy cheer.
◦ On November 2, 1898, U-Minnesota student Johnny Campbell led an organized cheer at a
football game between Minnesota and Princeton University, so you might say he was the first
actual "cheer leader".
◦ On 2 November 1898, standing in front of a crowd of sport fans, Johnny Campbell, a medical
student, started conducting the cheer on the spur of the moment. He was so effective that the
team won and he made history as the first cheerleader. And thus the current sport discipline
was born.
 HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING
◦ Soon after, in 1903, the University of Minnesota organized the first cheer fraternity
called Gamma Sigma. They likely used a megaphone to project their voices; although it
wasn't until later that it became a popular accessory to cheerleading.
◦ In the 1920s women became involved in cheerleading. And that's because there weren't
many intercollegiate sports available to them at the time. The lady yellers sported ankle-
length skirts and varsity sweaters. Minnesota continued to lead the sport of cheer into
widespread popularity. Female cheer squads began to include gymnastics, dance and
other showy stunts into routines, and in the 1930s cheers were aided by the use of paper
pom-poms (the first vinyl pom-poms weren't manufactured until 1965). By the1940s
women were mainly leading the cheers, and routines took on a voice their own.
 HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING
◦ By the 1960s just about every high school and college in the country had
cheerleaders. Professional cheerleading was introduced around this time under
the National Football League and its leader was the Dallas Cowboys debuting
during the 1972-73 season. They were first widely viewed at the 1976 Super
Bowl X game, changing the face of cheerleading as a profession.
◦ The Universal Cheerleaders Association was created in 1974 to provide
educational training for college and high school cheer squads. UCA summer
camps were well-attended. The first stunt taught was the spectacular "liberty"
mount.
 HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING
◦ Modern cheerleading as we know it today began in the 1980s with flashy dance
routines and gymnastics stunts. By 1997 cheerleading was recognized as an
independent sport, attracting national attention. It wasn't until 1999 that the sport
of cheerleading was met with official approval. And with the onset cable sports
TV, ESPN, cheerleading was on the map.
◦ Cheerleading organizations had begun to regulate moves and emphasize safety.
In 2003, a national council was formed to offer safety workshops to cheerleading
squads and their coaches, and today the National Collegiate Athletic Association
mandates that college cheer coaches complete official safety courses.
 Lawrence Herkimer
"Grandfather of Cheerleading"
◦ Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer is a legend and
innovator in the field of cheerleading. He founded
the National Cheerleaders Association at Southern
Methodist University, holding cheerleading camps
since 1948.
◦ He founded the Cheerleading Supply Company in
1953, patenting the first pompoms, or pom-pons.
Herkimer chose to call them "Pom-pon" when he
learned that the word "pom-pom" in other languages
contained vulgar meanings.
CONTRIBUTION OF CHEERDANCE
HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING
HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING