CHAPTER 5: CHEERDANCE

Objectives:
Define Cheer Dance and Cheer Leading
Recognize the Basic Cheerleading
Motions

CHEERDANCE

It is coined from the words, CHEER and DANCE.

To cheer is to shout out words or phrases that may help motivate and boost the
morale of a playing team and perform better during a game.
Dance, on the other hand, is a physical activity where one expresses emotions or
gestures while performing bodily movements usually in time with rhythm.
Cheer dancing rooted from cheerleading – performance of a routine, usually
dominated by gymnastic skills such as jumps, tumbling skills, lifts and tosses
combined with shouting of cheers and yells to lead the crowd to cheer for a certain
team during a game or sport.
Cheerleading as we all know developed in the
United States of America. But did you know
that the Philippines has had developed Cheer
CHEERLEADING
dancing?
Cheer dancing in the Elementary, High School
and College levels has always been the
opening salvo for intramurals in campuses in
the Philippines. The difference between Cheerleading and Cheer dancing is that
cheerleading has its foundation in Gymnastics. And as for Cheer dance, it's foundation
lies in the Choreography where Ballet seems to be its foundation.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEERDANCE AND CHEERLEADING

Cheer dance is choreographed dance combined with gymnastics skills

(tumbling, stunts, jumps, turns and twists). Cheer leading has the same composition but
there is a part in the routine where yells and cheers are done either by the cheer leaders
themselves or a team in the audience. At present the term cheer dance and cheer leading
has been used interchangeably. But I would rather go for the purpose. Is it to cheer for a
team or mainly to dance.

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 BASIC CHEERLEADING MOTIONS

There are a few motions that cheerleaders learn and use right from the beginning. Even
when you advance to higher levels in your cheer career, you will still use these basic
motions over and over again.

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 READY POSITION

This is a basic starting position for

almost every routine. Feet are shoulder
width apart and both hands are in fists
resting just where the hips begin.
Elbows should be straight out to the
sid es and not pointed to the front.

H AND CLASP

Although it may appear that a cheerleader

is clapping, more than likely she is
clasping her hands together. This creates
a sharp look to the routine and is more
dramatic when the cheerleader is trying to
get the audience to clap with her.

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 T MOTION

Arms are straight out to the sides at

shoulder height and hands should be
turned so that the thumbs face forward
and the pinky fingers face to the back.
Hands are in tight fists. Feet are
typically together, but this can vary by
routine.

BROKEN T

To create a broken T motion, raise both arms

so that your fists rest on your chest at
shoulder height. The thumb should be to the
back, closest to your body and the pinky
finger toward the front, facing out. Be careful
to keep your elbows raised and not drop
them. Keep your fists close to your body for
a tight, sharp movement.

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 INTERMEDIATE MOTIONS FOR CHEERLEADERS

TOUCHDOWN

To perform a touchdown motion, straighten

your arms and bring them up on either side of
your ears. Hands are in a fist with the pinky
finger forward. Feet are together. There is also
a motion called the low touchdown. To perform
a low touchdown, straighten your arms and
bring them straight down so they are on either
side of the thighs. The th umbs point forward in
the low touchdown.

V MOTION

The V motion can be done as a high V or

low V. Start with legs shoulder width
apart. To complete a high V motion, the
arms are straight up but out from the
head by about 45 degrees. Make the
arms abou t the same width apart as the
legs and you'll be very close to a perfect
high V. Thumbs face forward. To do a low
V, reverse the motion and bring arms out
about 45 degrees from the legs.

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R
RIGHT AND LEFT PUNCH

This move may seem simple, but the alternating motion

of one hand on the hip and the other hand punching up
can be confusing for very young or new cheerleaders.
However, if you stick with cheerleading, you will learn this
motion fairly early on in your cheer career. To perform a
right punch, as shown above, place your left hand on
your hip with your elbow straight out to your side. The right
arm should be straight up beside your ear. To perform a
left punch, reverse the motion and put your right hand on
your hip and your left arm straight up in the air.

ADVANCED MOVES

L MOTION

Imagine that your arms are creating a straight

letter "L" and you should be able to complete
this cheer motion. Although the cheerleader
above has the right idea with her right arm
straight to the side and her left arm up, she
needs to move her arms into better position to
be an advanced cheerleader. To perform a right
L, place your right arm straight out to the side at
shoulder height (the cheerleader above needs
to raise her arm a bit). The thumb should face
forward. The left arm is straight up next to the
ear (the cheerleader above needs to straighten
her left arm and bring it closer to her head). To
perform a left L, simply reverse the motions and
put the left arm out straight to the side and the
right arm straight up next to your head.

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 RIGHT AND LEFT K

The K is an advanced cheerleading motion that takes a lot of practice and coordination to perform
correctly, especially in the middle of a routine when you are trying to remember multiple moves. To
perform a right K, the right leg is to the side in a partial lunge and the left leg faces forward with your toes
pointed to the front as well. The right arm goes straight up and into a 45-degree position away from the
head. Remember, if your feet are shoulder width apart, then your arm will match the width about where
the outside of your right foot is. The left arm is lowered and comes across your chest and to the right side.
To perform a left K, place the left arm up and the right arm across the body.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Practice each cheerleading motion until you can perform it without much thought. Keep your moves sharp
and snappy. Once you've perfected the positions, begin to create drills where you move from a ready
position to a high V to a low V. Go on to move from a right K to a left K to an L motion. With practice, you'll
soon find that these moves are almost second nature.

TOP 10 BENEFITS OF CHEERLEADING

MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LEVEL OF FITNESS

Cheering the team to victory as well as staying healthy and physically fit are some
examples of how cheerleading helps boost self-esteem and gives you a healthy life
style. Doing a physical activity is the best way of keeping fit, healthy and inspired.
Cheerleading also gives you the opportunity to meet people and build relationships with
your team mates.

STRENGTH TRAINING
In Cheerleading there are a range of roles that different members of the squad carry out
but whether you are a base, a back spot or a flyer, physical strength is probably the
most important element of cheerleading. Bases and back spots lift and support the
bottom of a stunt or pyramid sequence, which involves strength, focus and balance.

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 COORDINATION
Like dancing, cheerleading teaches coordination through cheers, dancing and stunt
sequences. Most cheers and dances follow emphasized rhythms or counts, which help
cheerleaders learn to perform the actual steps and more importantly they learn how to
keep in time with each other! Coordination is also a key factor when performing the
stunt sequences, as the flyers need to be thrown on certain counts otherwise the stunt
will fail.

FLEXIBILITY
Cheerleaders are well-known for their flexibility, which is seen when performing high
kicks, jumps, splits and stunt sequences. Stretching and body conditioning are two
elements of cheerleading practice that build flexibility in the limbs. Also for safety
reasons having flexible ligaments and muscles, help prevent muscle strains and other
injuries involved with tumbling, jumping and dancing. To avoid injury, every cheerleader
must always stretch before and after practice, games and performances, this will also
improve and maintain flexibility.

IMPROVES POSTURE
Having good posture is important in everyday life not just for sport and dancing. Most
cheerleading workouts require lots of mobility and flexibility that exercise all areas of the
back, especially the lower back. These moves strengthen the spine and improve the
way individuals stand and walk.

TEAM BUILDING
Cheerleading is a fantastic way of connecting a group of people together and it also
promotes team building in a positive way. Every member is important and there should
never be any favoritism, because at the end of the day the flyers cannot fly without their
bases and vice versa. Being part of a cheerleading squad will give you brilliant team
building skills and you will be able to carry these skills with you throughout your working
life. Being a good member of a team is a very valuable trait to have as a person and
cheerleading is one of the best ways to practice these skills.

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 IMPROVES CONFIDENCE
Having confidence will make you feel good and it is part of having belief in yourself.
Confidence comes from within and will give you that extra boost when dealing with
every day things. If you play a sport or do an activity such as dancing or cheerleading,
these activities can automatically give you confidence and will keep you fit and healthy.
Having supportive team mates will give you the confidence and drive to reach your
personal goals. When you are feeling happy and confident, it will rub off on the people
around you. With those positive vibes you will know that you can do and achieve
anything.

LEARN TO TAKE DIRECTION

Listening to your instructor is extremely important within Cheerleading, as it teaches you
to pay attention and for safety reasons also. Throughout your cheer training you will
learn to do a range of different jumps and lifts, which when done without the correct
supervision can be very dangerous. Your instructor has got the experience and
knowledge to safely coach you on these moves, so listening to them and giving them
your full attention at all times is a must! Listening and concentrating is also a great skill
to have throughout your life and you will be noticed for having a good work attitude.

SET YOURSELF GOALS

Anything is possible in life and by setting goals for yourself, you will be able to keep
track on the progress of your achievements. The feeling when you have achieved a goal
is truly amazing and you will be so proud of yourself! Cheerleading is the perfect way of
giving yourself a challenge and will physically and mentally benefit you in your future.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH FELLOW TEAM MEMBERS

Cheerleading not only forms relationships among the members of the team, but it also
helps bring the families of team members together. Through the ups and downs of
winning and losing, practice time and travelling to and from competitions; cheerleading
helps team members bond and form friendships as well as building a school spirit and a
sense of community in their lives.

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