New England Patriots 2008 Cheerleaders audition is around the corner
We’re in the offest of off-season for football players but it’s already preseason for NFL cheerleaders. The New England Patriots Cheerleading Squad hold their 2008 auditions on Saturday, March 8. The final round will be held on March 22, when the 75 finalists try to make the 24 slots on the squad. More info at Patriots.com.
I don’t actually know anything about cheerleading, but I’ll hazard some high-level advice anyway (IMPORTANT: Consult your physician before changing your diet or exercise).
I would say there are three key areas where a cheerleader has to stand out to make the cut: Attitude, physique, and technique.
1) Attitude. NFL teams seem to look for cheerleaders who are confident, quick learners, able to handle themselves during public performances and have the ability to smile at all times. The last thing is something you can practice, just stand in front of a mirror and smile. For hours if necessary. And I’m not kidding. And make sure your smile is an all out teeth-baring bright-eyes smile. As for ability to handle pressure, don’t ever tell the judges you did something wrong because you’re nervous. If the they make you nervous, imagine what 68,000 roaring fans at Gillette Stadium will do to you.
2) Physique. “We need you to look your best” appears to be the euphemism in NFL cheerleader circles for “lose some weight.” So look your best. Tone up. On top of that, you need to have the stamina to do high kicks, dance moves and general cheers for three hours plus during games.
3) Technique. NFL cheerleaders seem to be more dancers than what high school and college cheerleaders are, so if your background is cheering but not dancing you probably need to work like crazy on the dancing. That said, it’s still cheerleading so if you have a background in dancing but not cheerleading you should probably work on your cheer moves prior to the auditions. The high kick in particular seems to be crucial since it says something about your balance, agility, strength and grace (and don’t forget to smile while high kicking).
One way to prepare yourself is to study up on the Patriots cheerleaders. They have plenty of pictures and video clips you can watch at the cheerleader section of Patriots.com, including from previous tryouts.
Here’s how the Patriots describe the auditions:
Participants will be asked to perform the first combination in small groups for a panel of judges. Scores will be based on dance ability, showmanship, overall appearance and level of physical fitness. After the first dance combination is taught and then performed by all auditioners, the first tabulation process will take place. During tabulation, a second combination will be taught. Participants advancing to the next round will be announced and those ladies will then be required to give a self-introduction, perform a series of high kicks, and perform the second routine.
[Note to regular readers: I get quite a few searches for how to become a Patriots cheerleader, so think of this as a public service announcement. Exciting posts about census data and similar stuff will return tomorrow.]
[Update 3/8/2008: Pictures of Patriots cheerleaders from 2007]
[Update 3/9/2008: Photos from the audition at Boston.com]
[Update3/14/2008: Patriots.com has a report and photos from the audition as well as a podcast where the auditioning process is discussed.]
