What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1469646
MONICA HOOPER NWA Democrat-Gazette I t might be as dangerous as football, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association still doesn't consider cheerleading a sport. That hasn't stopped Monica Aldama, 14-time national champion coach for the Navarro College co-ed cheerleading team and best-selling author, from making history. Maybe that's because cheerleading is more than a sport. "I've never been too offended by that whole discussion. As long as they don't say they're not athletic — because then I get offended! I definitely think the show opened up everyone's mind to what competitive cheerleading is. I just think that they didn't know that other side of cheerleading even existed," she explains. Aldama is speaking of the Netflix Emmy-winning docuseries, "Cheer," which chronicles the journey of the Navarro College's competitive cheer squad to a national title. Aldama is considered one of the most successful cheer coaches in the country. She is also the author of "Full Out: Lessons in Life and Leadership from America's Favorite Coach." "If someone came to a basketball game and watched the cheerleaders, they wouldn't be able to see all the crazy things that we actually can do," she says. "So I think the show opened up people to what competitive cheerleading is. Since it came out, that's all I've really heard is like, 'Wow, I had no idea.'" The sheer athleticism and the competitive nature of the team is undeniable. Now audiences will have a chance to cheer for the athletes of the docuseries at "Cheer Live," an exhibition of never-before-seen stunts, stage performances, skits and more. The appearance June 8 at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion is the kick-off of a national tour. "We don't have any rules, and we don't have a score sheet. So really we can do whatever we want to do. Think Cirque du Soleil meets cheerleading," Aldama says. "We just want to entertain." The team recently rehearsed, sometimes for 12 hours a day, at the Jones Center in Springdale to prepare for the show in Rogers. "I'm learning this as well because I've never done a tour," Aldama adds. "But I know that we are used to working really hard when we compete. So this is not any different as far as the grind. So that's good, that they're conditioned to the hard work. But it is different. It is a lot of choreography, which is a lot of learning. So bless their hearts." For competitive cheer, "we work all year and we do the exact same 2-minute-and-15- second routine. Well, this is not just a cheerleading routine. We're actual entertainers: we're performing, we're dancing, we're doing our cheer routine, we're doing fun skits and challenges," Cassadee Dunlap, a Sherwood native whom many will recognize from the Netflix show, explains. "We're making history. We're literally the first of our kind, and this show could change someone's life." Keyshawn Leflore says that he is looking forward to the new challenges that come along with an exhibition such as this one. "This is pretty much everyone's first time doing something like this. We're kind of like mixing the worlds now," he says. "This is a dream come true for me. We have choreographers coming in from LA that I have watched my entire life. To be able to just work with them is freaking insane." The show gives him a chance to try new things as well. "I'm a base. I lift the flyers up. Of course, I still lift the flyers up, but they have me flying. Like now I'm the flyer holding another flyer on top of me. So that's pretty new to me," he enthuses. Angel Rice, four-time world champion for cheer and a USA Gymnastics team member, started working toward her goals at the age of 5. The 23-year-old Atlanta native and Guinness World Record holder cheered for Trinity Valley, the rival team in the docuseries, but she is happy to be working with Aldama and company. "A lot of us are friends already. And we've never cheered together," she says. "It's like your best friends are on the mat with you even though we do compete against each other." And she has a message for those who still don't think cheerleading is a sport. "OK, we'll show you," she says. "A lot of people can dribble a basketball … A lot of people can't walk into a cheer gym and do a flip or pick people up above their heads." JUNE 5-11, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 5 FAQ 'Cheer Live' WHEN — 7:30 p.m. June 8 WHERE — Walmart Arkansas Music Pavil- ion in Rogers COST — $34.95-$109.95 INFO — waltonartscen- ter.org/amp LOOK HERE! See a video of rehearsals at the Jones Center at: nwaonline.com/ 65cheerlive/ Cheering For Themselves Competitors turn talent into national tour For competitive cheer, "we work all year and we do the exact same 2-minute-and-15-second routine. Well, this is not just a cheerleading routine. We're actual entertainers: we're performing, we're dancing, we're doing our cheer routine, we're doing fun skits and challenges," Cassadee Dunlap, a Sherwood native whom many will recognize from the Netflix show, explains. "We're making history. We're literally the first of our kind, and this show could change someone's life." (Courtesy Photo) ROGERS Monica Aldama, cheerleading coach and best-selling author, will make a special appearance during "Cheer Live" June 8 at the Walmart AMP. The show will be the kick-off for a tour featuring the cast of the Emmy Award- winning docuseries, "Cheer," on Netflix. (Courtesy Photo)