do you like it or do you think its stupid?

Those are two pretty different options, having never done cheerleading I can't really say that I like it, but I don't think it's stupid either because I know it can be competitive activity that takes a lot of time and energy. I also live in Canada where (at least in my city) there aren't any cheerleaders, so it's not a big thing here.

Do you cheerlead? Is that why you're asking?

Why do you ask this on the Ballet board?

I dont know why I asked on the ballet board actually...where else could I ask

I have honestly never really been a fan. I've seen great ballet dancers LEAVE ballet because they wanted to take up CHEERLEADING - and I can't figure out why anyone would do that. It's almost a degradation! I mean...whoa...And, cheerleaders have a horrible reputation. I'm not trying to be mean by saying this or anything, but a lot of them are either trashy or extremely air-headed/glitzy. Sorry to any cheerleaders out there...I mean, I have a cousin who is obsessed with cheerleading! So...yeah, you know, I can't be too against it. But it really isn't anything in comparison to ballet...of course I would say that though!

I dont know why I asked on the ballet board actually...where else could I ask

There actually a cheerleading board! www.dance.net . . .

really I didnt know that.. thanx:)

I'll move this to the cheerleading board, as you're not specifically interested in the opinion of ballet dancers.

I've never done it, but I don't really have a high opinion of it. I understand that cheerleaders train hard and suffer numerous injuries for their sport, but still, I don't know, just the shouting the "Ready? Okay!" really gets to me. I just don't like it :S

Wow okay back up! Just beacause you 'can't figure out why anyone would want to do it' by no means makes it 'degrading' there isn't a dang thing degrading about it! Sure it may not be your style or your passion, but that gives you NO RIGHT to belittle the passion of others!

A lot of cheerleaders work very hard and spend hours in the studio, on the feild, practicing and comepting. There are try-outs with 100+ girls and with their heart set on one of those twenty coveted spots on the team. Cheerleading is not about shaking it and yelling 'ready okay' anymore.

I was a cheerleader when I was in high school and I loved it.

I posted this to see what people think because I wanted to start cheerleading and I agree with nyou it is a sport

I have never done cheerleading, only dance, but I respect it. I love to watch it too. It's not stupid at all, and you should never let anyone tell you that. I recently watched an episode of Penn & Teller's BS on the controversy of declaring cheerleading a sport, it was very interesting.

It's awesome. I don't do it, but I appreciate many things I don't do. Gymnastics, figure skating, diving, cheerleading etc. are all things I love to watch and have a high opinion of even though I don't do them.

To me, I see 'cheerleading' as falling into two broad categories: one is advanced cheerleading and one is the basic stand-on-the-sidelines and hop around cheerleading. The first I find amazing. The second I see as a waste of time, but that is more than a little dependent on the fact that I think sports (for which the cheerleaders would cheer) to be a waste of time. I admit that openly.

A few kicks doesn't really make a person be a cheerleader, but the complexity of the movement technique can be really spectacular. I cringe sometimes, just because the technique is so different than styles I know: so what is 'right' for cheerleading would be 'wrong' in my classes...but still--watching the National Cheering Championships or whatever, when it comes on TV, it awesome. And each of them had to start somewhere.

If you want to start cheerleading, then start no matter what anyone else says.

Cheering is an extemely athletic sport requiring execllent tumling and dance skills, and long hours of work. Flyers have to be very brave adn trusting to fly like they do, and the catchers have big a resposibility to catch. Not a sport for "airheads" or "ditzes".

I LOVE it!!! I was a gymnast and then a dancer, and after finding my uni didnt have a gym team, I decided to try cheerleading (as the squad were advertising for tumblers). I was expecting a lot of messing about and a bit of dancing - quite low expectations. But what I got was a sport (YES a sport) that combined gymnastics, dance, jumping and acrobatics. It requires atleticism, strength, flexibility, teamwork and tons of discipline. My only issue is the lack of technique that can sometimes be seen.

PLEASE watch some competitive cheer on YouTube, you might e pleasantly surprised!

Yes, sometimes tumbling technique isn't as sharp as is required in gymnastics, and is in part a result of the fact that judges at cheerleading contests and judges at gymnastics meets tend to look for different things.

Cheerleading is a great sport to watch, that's for sure. Just to see the amount of effort that goes into it.. wow.
Love the uniforms, love the shoes, love the sport, love it all!