Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Auditions: Making of an American Sweetheart

My tips for becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader!

I’ve have always been a huge Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader fan and have praised the performance aspect of these ladies for years. Once they allowed the public a look into the background of the auditioning process I was even more impressed with all that it takes to be secure a spot on this famous performance group. However, after watching the 6^th season of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team on CMT I’ve realized that a lot of women still do not do enough research once they have decided to audition for this prestigious performing group, nor are they mentally or emotionally prepared for the journey to becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

Through my eyes there are in essence 3 major areas that the judges are focused on.

The Look, The Style, & The Kicks!

Entering into auditions with these areas secured under your belt will certainly give you an edge on being invited into training camp.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have always been regarded as “America’s Sweethearts”, combing the girl next door look with an exciting and strong dance foundation. Ok, that was the 80s, once the 90s hit the DCC began an evolution of their style and performance factor. Yes they are still “America’s Sweethearts”, but they now embody the girl next door with an edge look. So how do you fit your image into the DCC style?

The answer is simple-basic image and body awareness. Start with your face and work backwards!

Face

• Make sure your make-up compliments your face and doesn’t distract. You don’t want to “cake” on layers and you certainly don’t want to barely apply any. You want to use foundation and colors that will allow your natural beauty to shine through. You want to glow without beaming. Spend some time at the salon, or make-up counter at your favorite beauty store, or where you choose too, and take some time to find the right shades of foundation, blush, eye shadow, and lipstick that works best for your features and skin tone. PS-Bare Minerals works, I’ve seen a number of women who use it and they glow beautifully.

Hair

• It’s hair talk time. I will say it flat out, put down the aqua-net and the brush! I know a lot of women want to grab a brush and a can of hairspray and jack it to Jesus! For those of ya’ll not from the South the saying down here is; “The bigger the hair the closer to God!” The reality is we do not live by that method. Though when used at the right time that phrase is truly hilarious. Like with your make-up, use a style and a color that compliments your face. Remember the impression you want to leave on the judges is a positive impression.

Body:

• Of course above all your body will play a major factor in securing an invite into training camp. Lets’ put aside the big chest and skinny impression of what we think the judges want, because that’s not the truth of the matter. The judges are looking for a woman’s figure that will be able to hold up well in the uniform. This means an overall lean build. That doesn’t mean you have to be toned all over. You want to make sure the areas that are displayed are appealing to look at. Focus points are the stomach and the legs. So take a moment and stand in front of your mirror in a sports bra and spandex shorts. Take inventory of how your stomach and legs appear from all sides. Remember you’re not looking for toned; however you do want as little jiggle and possible. Also your body shouldn’t hang over any part of your shorts.

The dance style of the DCC is basically, power dancing. All the moves of the field routines are strong, big, and pack a punch. Don’t believe that just because you’ve have 10 years of Jazz training, or 6 years of Ballet, or because of you’ve just recently endured 3 to 4 years on your high school drill team that you are ready to tackle the DCC style. Becoming comfortable with the DCC format, quickness of routines and power style comes with time. When you’re learning the DCC routine during auditions; don’t let it over whelm you. Take it one 8 count at a time and try your best to quickly set it to memory.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are known for their infamous high kickline. This means if you can’t kick there is no point to attempting the audition, one of the brand staples is the high kick and there isn’t any room for compromise. For those ladies what can kick here is what you’re aiming for:

• Posture: your chest/shoulders are upright, back is straight, arms are not pulling down the person next to you, and head is held up in the direction you are kicking. You should have the flexibility of bringing your leg to your face and avoid trying to hunch over.

• Kicking Leg should be straight from the hip to the toe when you’re kicking, making certain not to have any wobble in your ankle. It may also help to record a profile view of yourself kicking. In this you will be able to see exactly how high you are kicking. The goal is for the highest point of your kick to be around 7in or closer to your face.

• Finally the ending jump split: make sure that you’re jumping straight up and not at angle. Because you’re still connected to someone, there is a danger of pulling them out of line. Also once you’ve landed in your right leg split; it should be a full split. This means from your right heel to your left toe and everything in between needs to be flat against floor, or close enough to the floor so that the judges can see that the possibility of a full split will happen by the end of training camp.

As a performer you would want to be as prepared as possible for the DCC auditions. If auditioning for the DCC is something that is in your heart to do take the time before hand to work towards it. Spend the season prior to auditions practicing; taking a variety of dance classes, working on flexibility, and working on trying to come to auditions with the total package. If you’re in the Dallas area enroll in a couple of training classes with Kitty Carter( Kitty Carter's Dance Factory), she is a DCC alumni and is brought into the DCC auditions to assist in evaluations and giving feedback on the training camp candidates. She knows the importance of the Dallas Cowboys brand and will give out all the advice needed to create a strong DCC performer. Also the DCC does hold workshops throughout the year in preparation for auditions. Attend a workshop or two that way you will have experience as to the style of the DCC and that will also better prepare you for auditions.

Auditions are out of the way and the only hurdle left is training camp. Hopefully this will help some future Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader on her journey to landing a coveted spot on the team one day.