Cheer Dance Guide PDF - Movements, History, and Techniques

What is Cheer dance? Also known as cheerleading, refers to a type of grouped dance that intends to give a motivation and support to a sporting team, entertainment to audience, or competition. Most cheer dance group consists of dancers, both male and female, executing different formati...

What is Cheer dance? Also known as cheerleading, refers to a type of grouped dance that intends to give a motivation and support to a sporting team, entertainment to audience, or competition. Most cheer dance group consists of dancers, both male and female, executing different formations and acrobatics. Most cheer dance are “boosters” who leads the supporting crowd to make the chants, yells and simple but creative dance movement to motivate their sporting teams. Cheer dance performance involves various movements that are typically precise, breath-taking which will be discussed in this session.  What is It HISTORY OF CHEER DANCE 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". In 1903, the University of Minnesota organized the first cheer fraternity called Gamma Sigma. They likely used a megaphone to project their voices. In the 1920s women became involved in cheerleading. The lady yellers sported ankle-length skirts and varsity sweaters. 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. By the 1940s women were mainly leading the cheers, and routines took on a voice their own. https://cheer.epicsports.com/cheerleading-history.html# ELEMENTS OF CHEER DANCE A cheer dance performance consists of different structured and organized movements which are being scored when in competitions. The movements must be proper and efficient on order to earn scores and avoid deductions. Here are the elements of cheer dance to consider in creating a routine:  Yells/ Chants – are usually done by the performers with pride and confidence. This element helps to encourage the supportive spectators to cheer along and bring the prideful message to the competitors. The basic technique in yelling and chanting is the use of diaphragm instead of the throat. It is done also while doing the other elements of cheer dancing.   Motions Basic Hand-body Movements BEGINNING STANCE- Feet together, hands down by the side in blades CHEER STANCE- Feet more than shoulder width apart, hands down by the side in blade CLASP- Hands clasped, at the chin, elbows in CLAP- Hands in blades, at the chin, elbows in  HIGH V- Arms extended up forming a “V”, relax the shoulders LOW V- Arms extended down forming a “V” GOALPOST (or TOUCHDOWN)- Arms extended straight and parallel to each other, fist facing in LOW TOUCHDOWN- Arms extended straight down and parallel to each other, fist facing in  3/4 T (or BOW AND ARROW)- One arm extended to side with other arm bent at elbow in a half “T” motion OVERHEAD CONE- Arms are straight, above the head in a clasp and slightly in front of the face DAGGERS (or TABLETOP)- Arms bent at elbow, fists in front of shoulders LOW CONE- Arms extended straight down, in a clasp and slightly in front of the body  PUNCH- One arm extended straight up, one arm on hip, in a fist L MOTION- One arm extended to the side with other arm extended in a punch motion, (Left L shown) DIAGONAL- One arm extended in a high “V” and the other arm extended in a low “V” (Right Diagonal shown) T MOTION- Both arms extended straight out to the side and parallel to the ground, relax the shoulders  HALF T- Both arms parallel to the ground and bent at the elbows, fists into shoulders SIDE LUNGE- Lead leg bent with the knee over the ankle, back leg straight, feet perpendicular to each other. FRONT LUNGE- Lead leg bent with the knee over the ankle, back leg straight, feet perpendicular to each other  Jumps Basic Types of Jumps: o Spread Eagle – simply swing and jump with arms of doing high “V” figure and legs apart. Knees facing forward but not toward the sky. This jump is used as progression to learn more advance jumps. o Tuck Jump – Legs in front while knees tucked to the chest. Closed fist and arms spreading forming “T” or “V” figure. o Toe Touch – one of the most common jumps used in cheerleading. Legs are straddled, straight and parallel to the ground forming “V” figure. Knees face the sky, toes pointed, arms form “T” position, closed fist and must not touch the toes despite the name.  o Pike- Legs are straight, together, and parallel to the ground. Toes are pointed, arms are straight reaching the front while hands are in closed fist. o Hurdle- One leg is straight facing forward (front hurdle) or facing outward (side hurdle) with arms forming “T” figure. The other leg is bent, knees facing the ground (front hurdle) or facing forward (side hurdle)  Stunts Most stunts are done by flyers (usually female) with bases (male lifters) and spotters. It is essential to know the proper execution of the stunts to secure the safety of both flyers and lifters. o Bases These are the athletes (usually male cheer dancers) that hold, lift, and toss a flyer up to the air during stunts. Bases must be strong an alert at all times. They make sure that the flyer will land safely and secured. There is no gender requirement for a base. o Flyers Flyers are the athletes being held, lifted, and tossed up to perform certain stunts in height or in the air. Female cheer dancers are usually assigned to be the flyers. They are usually, but not always, the smallest person in the group. They are flexible, and balance efficient while being lifted up. Before performing air stunts, flyers must learn first the proper techniques https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/349169777341341264/  Tumble Including tumbling skills in your cheer dance routine is an excellent way to add extreme, thrill and excitement. Safety and security must be observe at all times to avoid injury especially tumble skill involve gravity-defying and intense ground impact. Types of tumbling skills: Standing – completing tumble in a stationary position. Running – completing a tumble from a running start. o Cartwheel – A type of tumble in which the body moves sideways imitating a wheel. Steps - Start in a lunge - Allow upper body to fall down and put your hands on the ground. - Lift the behind leg up to kick - Kick foot over the head (the kicking foot should land first) Land in lunge. https://brigettemora.deviantart.com/art/Cartwheel-62365152 o Round off – this tumble is similar to cartwheel but the difference is, landing must be in both feet together.  Steps - Start in a lunge - Allow upper body to fall down and put your hands on the ground. - Lift the behind leg up to kick - Kick foot over the head, - Push the ground, and feet intact again together - Snap down and Land in luge with both feet together https://sportsaspire.com/gymnastic-moves BASIC FORMATIONS Formations play a vital role in cheer dance since most of the cheer dance competitions are viewed from the top by the spectators. Formations may vary depending on the dances and stunts choreographed. It is important to have creative formations that will create excellent visual effects to enhance the dance routine. Synchronization must be always observed in making formations in the cheer dance. Bowling Pin Diamond Diagonal Staggered