LBCC cheer and dance team collaborate for halftime show

LBCC’s cheer team and hip-hop club Cypher Crew, worked together for three weeks to rehearse their halftime routine that was performed at LBCC’s football homecoming game on Oct. 18. 

According to the head coach of the team, Diana Galias, this moment marked the first time in over 10 years that the cheer team and the dance department collaborated in putting on a halftime performance. 

Ayrin Reed, the president of Cypher Crew, mentioned that the collaboration was “perfect timing,” since the club already had a dance ready to put into the halftime performance when they were asked by cheer to join them. 

They had performed this dance a couple of times before at their own events. 

“We didn’t have to come up with anything new, stress over rehearsals like that. We were like, we’re just gonna do what we already know. Cuz coming up with something new before a performance, like a week or two before, is stressful,” said Ayrin Reed. 

Ten minutes before the halftime show, Jalen Stokes, a member of Cypher Crew, shared how excited and confident he felt about performing. 

“I’m feeling good, I’m feeling great, yeah I feel I’m finna do a great job, we finna work the turf, yeah and I’m finna work that 50-yard line out,” said Jalen Stokes. 

Reed was a standout performer, dancing with confidence and sass the entire time and exaggerating her moves to fit the hype and punchy music being played. 

^{Ayrin Reed, middle, and other members of LBCC’s hip-pop dance club Cypher Crew dance during their halftime performance at the homecoming game on Oct. 18 at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Cypher Crew and LBCC’s cheer team collaborated to put on the homecoming halftime performance, having practiced for three weeks together to prepare for it. (Paloma Maciel)}

During the first scene of the performance, Reed quickly paced the stage, emoting the lyrics of Missy Elliott’s hype announcement with fast hand movements to the song “Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch.”

The performance was split into three sections, with the opening dance being a hip-hop routine that Cypher-Crew danced, while the cheerleaders did stunts in the background, and some tumbling. 

After, there was a section that focused on cheerleading stunts where the cheerleaders performed their most advanced stunt in the routine, rewinds during a pyramid. 

This skill is characterized by flyers being brought up to do a back tuck in the air and their feet land the jump on the hands of the bases which are lifted up.  

One of the cheer’s assistant coaches, Ava Sedillo, mentioned that the cheer team learned the skill a week before the performance. 

Before the halftime performance, the cheer team experienced some adversity while practicing their rewinds, as they had difficulty landing them. 

However, during the actual performance, they were able to land their rewind.

 A cheerleader on the team spoke about overcoming that moment while describing how she felt about the team’s performance. 

“I think we did really good, I think we pushed through, I loved that we hit our ending pyramid. I’m like all the ups and downs and we still get it, period. I loved my dance section, guys I think I ate that dance up,” Alexandra Zarate said.

Following the stunt section of the dance, the dance team joined the cheer team again as the groups performed an energetic and fast cheer-like dance, with the category being indicated by the sharpness of the moves. 

Reed emphasized that the performance was a success and that it was the first time the hip-hop club performed at a football game. 

“I think it went really well for us, it’s actually our first time doing a football game. So not our first time performing but just the football game in general. It was good for it being the first time, so it was very fun. We were all cheering after, like we did good,” said Reed.

Reed gave some insight as to what it was like having the two teams rehearse together to put on the show. 

“It’s more simple than you would think actually because as long as we go over who’s part is who’s, or what we’re in, it’s smooth from there because dance is always adapt(ive). So it was pretty easy and it was more fun because it’s new people,” said Ayrin Reed. 

The homecoming game was the first time this season that LBCC’s football team won a home game. 

Cheerleader Mia Heneise shared how this winning atmosphere encouraged the team’s performance. 

“I think it went really well, and it’s our first like win, I feel like the whole homecoming vibe just took all of our like spirits and we all did such a great job today,” said Heneise.