Dances occupy a strong place in a person's life. They help you relax and have fun. In addition, dances are used in various commercials and videos to attract the audience. Many people love to move to the music, but even more enjoy the contemplation of professional dancers. Today there are many types of dances. It is worth noting that now cheerleading is gaining popularity. Not everyone knows the meaning of the word. However, we often encounter it. Let's find out what the word "cheerleading" means, the history of this concept and what terms are associated with it.
Meaning of the word
People who wonder "What is cheerleading?" often do not know that this word comes from the English language, because this dance style originated in the United States. The term appeared due to a combination of two English words: cheer - approve, support and lead - manage, lead.
Many mistakenly believe that the concept of "cheerleading", the origin of which we examined above, is not just a kind of dance, but a sports direction. It combines the performance of dance, gymnasticelements and acrobatic stunts. As a rule, cheerleading is used to support athletes during team games, competitions, and so on.
Origin story
Now that you know what cheerleading is, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with the history of the concept. Surely you will be surprised that this direction in sports appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. Officially, the concept of "cheerleading" was registered in 1898. It is worth noting that earlier this sport was more common among men than among the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity. This is eloquently evidenced by the fact that the first cheerleader is Jack Campbell.
Cheerleading (the meaning of the word we discussed above) became less popular in the early twentieth century, but after World War II, cheerleading boomed again. It wasn't until around this time that most of the cheerleading began to be done by girls: according to statistics, more than 90% of all cheerleaders were female.
In the 60s, in such large countries as the USA and Great Britain, cheerleading becomes an integral part of all sports competitions. This sport is beginning to be treated not as entertainment, but as a necessity, because support is the key to winning.
Over time, thanks to women, gymnastic elements were added to cheerleading. Also in 1985, the pompom was invented. The performances of cheerleaders became more and more vivid and emotional, which contributed to the prosperity of this sport.sports. To this day, cheerleading (which means supporting sports teams) is not losing ground.
Cheerleading trends
This sport is divided into two main areas:
- Cooperation with sports teams to attract more fans, provide moral support to athletes, create a favorable atmosphere at the competition;
- Competitions between cheerleading teams that demonstrate the dance, gymnastic and acrobatic skills of athletes.
Thus, cheerleading has long ceased to be just an addition to such sports as football, basketball, hockey and so on. Today, it has become an independent unit in the sports world.
International Cheerleading Federation
In today's world, some people still wonder: "What is cheerleading?", While today there is even an international federation for this sport. It was founded in 1998 as a result of the increased interest of the European population in the dance and gymnastic elements that are performed before and between matches.
The International Cheerleading Federation includes countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Australia, Great Britain, Slovenia, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Brazil and other member countries of the European association. The world's first cheerleading championship was held in 2001 in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, the championship has been held annually. The competition is hosted by the winning country.
Terms related tocheerleading
Now that you know what cheerleading means, you might be wondering what terminology is associated with this sport:
- Chir is a team number, which is based not on dancing, but on acrobatic and gymnastic elements. Athletes perform various lifts, rearrangements, pyramids, jumps, etc. When evaluating the performance, the jury evaluates, first of all, the emotionality and synchronism of the show.
- Cheer-mix is a number closely associated with the Cheer nomination. The only difference is that not only women, but also men participate in it.
- Cheer-dance - dancing elements are welcome here, rather than acrobatics. Be sure to use pompoms in the setting. The use of chants and acrobatic elements is prohibited.
- Individual cheerleading - the performance of one person from the team, usually the leader. He can perform both gymnastic and dance numbers.
- Group stunt - the collective construction of a gymnastic pyramid. Group will be performed by several people from the team, most often, five people. Participants at the top of the pyramid are called flyers.
- Partner stunt is a performance in which a man lifts a woman, and she performs acrobatic and gymnastic elements above.
These terms should be freely used by any person who is somehow connected with cheerleading.
Cheerleading Costumes
Cheerleader outfits –one of the main elements of the production, because it depends on how emotional the performance of the athletes will be. Accordingly, costumes should be bright and colorful. The fabric can be embroidered with shiny sequins or beads. Since cheerleading is a team sport, all dancers are dressed in the same outfit. The suits are made of stretchy fabric that fits snugly to the body and does not hinder movement.
It's worth noting that cheerleaders' attire should not reveal private parts of the body or show underwear (even though costumes are usually quite short and open).
As for shoes, they should be the same as clothes. For the convenience of dancers, you should choose sneakers or sneakers with stable soles, preferably without laces.
Cheerleader Code
- Do not drink alcohol, take drugs or doping substances.
- It is forbidden to use abusive language in your speech and swear.
- A cheerleader must treat his opponents, coach, jury members and fans with respect.
- Cheerleader is forbidden to smoke, as bad habits discredit the honor of the team.
Now you not only know what cheerleading is, but also familiar with all the intricacies of this sport.
