by Jennifer Ford
staff writer
Today, cheerleading and dance squads are more about strength and stamina. The people involved do more than look good; the participants display athleticism usually found in traditional sports. Cheerleading has grown as a sport itself with more than 600,000 young people in the United States participating.
Cheerleading and dance teams involve skills that require the strength of football, the grace of dance, and the agility of gymnastics. Complex maneuvers are performed to challenge the limits of the body. Ability, skill, and experience are beneficial to a team, but even more important are enthusiasm, determination, perfection, and practice.
Members of such teams go through rigorous training. They are left with broken limbs, multiple sprains, and frequent trips to the local hospitals. But, when performance comes, each person can be seen with a smile and all team members convey an emotion that consumes an audience.
Cabrini is one of the lucky schools to be graced with a spirit team. Before Midnight Madness, Cabrini’s dance team practiced two to three times a week. The team’s two talented coaches worked together to create halftime dance routines.
“I have been dancing all of my life. I love to dance and I didn’t want to cheer,” said Kelly Miskin.
It’s not a debate over whether cheerleading is better than dance. It’s simply a chance to do something different. Dance teams are looking for their own recognition – apart from the cheerleading squad. The teams want to have an identity separate from cheerleading. It is not insulting to be called a cheerleader; it is just the wrong title.
To gain control, a team and its coaches must get along. Last year the Cabrini cheerleaders ceased to exist due to miscommunication between the team and the coaches. “It was a bad program with a bad staff,” said Lisa Cicchetti
Due to Andrea Manieri’s and Suzy Szafran’s (the dance squad coaches) love of dance the Cabrini dance team evolved. The team is an ever-growing group of women who are determined to entertain during the halftime shows at our basketball games.
