OTHER DANCE FORMS
(Cheer Dance)
CHEERDANCE 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.
Cheerdancing rooted from cheerleading.
Cheerleading is the 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.
It originated in the United States. Due to Filipinos’ love for
dancing, they added more dance routines to their cheers and
came up with the term cheerdance wherein it is a routine
composed of yells and cheers, gymnastic skills (pyramids and
tosses, stunts, tumbling skills, arm and hand positions and
jumps), and dance (fusion of different dance genres).
Today, cheerdancing is identified as one of the most spectacular
events in one of the biggest collegiate sports events in the
country, the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the
Philippines).
ESSENTIALS OF CHEERDANCING
Arms/hand movements Legs/feet positions
• Beginning stance and cheer stance
• “T” and half “T” positions • Feet Together
• Clasp, clap, overhead clasp, low • Feet Apart
clasp • Dig (front and side)
• Touchdown, low touchdown • Hitch, Liberty, and Scale
• High “V” and low “V”
• Tabletop and punch, etc. • Lunge (front and side)
• “L” and diagonal positions • Knees and Hips positions
CHEERDANCE BASICS (Gymnastic Side)
JUMPS
TUMBLING SKILLS
• Tuck
• Star • Forward Rolls and Backward
Rolls
• Pike • Forward Backward Handspring
• Cartwheel and aereal cartwheel
• Split • Head and handstand
• Round-off
• Hurdle Jump/Hurkie • Forward and backward saltos
• Toe Touch Jump
CHEERDANCE BASICS (Gymnastic Side)
Pyramids (optional)
Composition: Steps in Executing a Pyramid:
Setting up (Preparing to lift)
Flyer, Base & Spotter Load (Actual lift)
Levels: Hit (Striking for a final
pause)
One-and-a-half high
Dismount (To move down by
two-high the flyer)
two-and-a-half high
CHEERDANCE BASICS (Dance Side)
Jazz/Classical Dance Basics:
Hip Hop Basics
Tendu (point)
Bounce (Downrock) Pliē (knees slightly bent)
Groove (Toprock) Grand Plie (full knees bent)
Power moves: Relevē (heels raised)
• Pump Elements of Dance Piquē (Raising a knee)
• Lock (Space, Time and Battement (Kicks)
• Point Energy)
Ball Change and Chassē
• Curl Freezes Piroutte and Chaine (Turn)
CHEERDANCE BASICS (Cheer Side)
Cheering is the very essence of cheerdance
performances. To cheer is to make someone or a team
motivated and encouraged. It boosts, salutes or acclaims
the morale of individuals and teams. In cheerdance,
cheering needs to be strong, loud, and metered so that it
will be delivered in time with rhythm or the music played.
Basic Jumps
Spread Eagle
Keep knees and toes facing forward
Point toes down and out
Arms hit high V as legs explode
outward
Bring legs together for landing
Alternative: Put arms in touchdown
Tuck
Arms in touchdown position
Bring knees to chest
Feet in front of waist
Keep head, neck and back straight
Keep knees and feet tog
Double Hook
A jump where the legs are in the "cheer sit" position.
Jumps
Side Hurdler/Herkie
Front leg up and straight out, knee and foot facing up, arm with fist on hip
Other leg bent, foot towards hip, knee down, arm straight up against head with fist
Toe Touch
– In this jump, the legs are straddled and straight, parallel to the ground, toes pointed, knees are
back, and your hands are in fists or blades and arms in a "T" motion. Despite its name, you do
not touch your toes during a toe touch, you reach out farther in front of your legs. keep your back
straight and bring your legs up to you. This is the most common jump.
Advanced Jumps
Front Hurdler
Bring front leg up and straight out from body, knee up towards chest, toe pointed out,
head and shoulders forward
Other leg bent at knee, 90 degree angle, toe out and down
Pike
– This jump is among the most difficult of jumps. Both legs are straight out, knees locked. Arms
are in a touchdown motion out in front to create a folded position in the air, this motion is also
called "candlesticks". This is often performed at a ninety-degree angle to the audience in order to
show off the air position.
Double Nine
– A jump similar to a pike except one leg and one arm are bent in to form two "nines".
Motions
Basic Stunts
Shoulder sit and stand
Thigh stand
Stunts
Prep
Advanced Stunts
Extension
Liberty
Arabesque
Scorpion
Basket Toss
Extension
Liberty
Arabesque
Scorpion Stunt
Basket Toss
Formations
Uniformity
Ripple
Easy Tumbling
Forward roll
Backwards roll
Tumbling
Cartwheel
Round off
Round off - Jump
Advanced Tumbling
Front Handspring
Back Handspring
Ariel
Tuck
Showmanship
Knee Drop
Jump Splits
