Newcastle Knights: Cheerleader squad holding open auditions for men too
The Newcastle Knights’ cheerleaders are as synonymous with the red and blue army on game day as the players. Now for the first time the cheer squad is holding open auditions for men as well.
Central Coast
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The iconic Newcastle Knights cheer squad has been a mainstay of the club’s game day celebrations for years and now it wants to “change things up a bit”.
Knights cheerleading coach Alex Tsambos said the squad was looking to move with the times and expand its repertoire, which included opening up the roster to men.
“We are changing it up this season and looking for dancers experienced in hip hop, commercial jazz and cheer,” she said.
“While we will still be sticking to our true core of club ambassadorship and cheering on our team we wanted 2022 to bring a new take on game day entertainment.
“Being a part of our 2022 team will include representing the Newcastle Knights on game days and at a variety of corporate, community and charity events across the year. We want not only dancers with a passion for performance we want dedicated club ambassadors.”
Born and bred on the Central Coast, Ms Tsambos said many Knights cheerleaders have come from the coast, as well as the Hunter Valley, with training sessions held just off the freeway at Edgeworth.
Ms Tsambos said the cheer squad was looking at becoming more of a “dance team” with both women and men in the 22-person roster.
She said there was no set number of men to be recruited and it all “depends who fits the criteria”.
Ms Tsambos said in addition to forming strong friendships and performing in front of thousands of fans, cheerleading provided a creative outlet for a lot of women — and now men — who may have grown up dancing but have settled into full-time study or careers. And they get paid.
Open auditions will be held at McDonald-Jones Stadium on Tuesday, December 14, from 6pm.
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