Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dolphins cheer tryouts go online
The coronavirus has come up against the beeming-bright positivity of the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, who are deftly doing a digital dance around the pandemic.
The quarantine orders have forced the cheerleaders to move their auditions for the 2020-2021 squad’s season online. Now through May 2, women who want to try out can do so virtually.
■ To register, go to MiamiDolphins.com/cheerleaders/auditions.
■ For guidelines and qualifications, go to MiamiDolphins.com/ cheerleaders/auditions/virtualguidelines.
■ Also, the cheerleaders have launched a series of online virtual prep classes for those needing a little guidance to get through the preliminary and semifinal qualifying rounds.
■ And they are also hosting virtual prep classes each Thursday starting at 6 p.m. and having Q&A sessions on their Instagram account at Instagram.com/dolphinscheer.
“Pretty much we’re doing the exact same thing, but virtually,” says Johanna Torres, the Miami Dolphins cheer manager.
Torres says the Dolphins organization started working on this alternative right away. “There was a lot of planning and hard work from home,” the midtown Miami resident says. “And different departments helped us
out, the I.T. team, video and our [website] teams streamlining the best way to have people upload a video.”
A silver lining has been that by having a virtual process, the audition has opened up to a much wider field than just South Florida, as was customary in the past. There have been approximately 150 submissions so far with entries coming from Texas, New York and Hawaii.
But Torres cautions that the videos sent in really need to reach out through the screen and engage the panel of judges.
“They’re nothing like in person. We would love to do it in person. But now, because of the world we live in … we still need to see a connection with people on a different level. We are asking candidates submitting virtually you need to give it 150 percent to showcase your personality.”
On the other hand, she also says that there is no nervous factor with judges sitting a few feet from you. And, you have more time to prepare a video package. The virtual auditions may also give the Miami Dolphins organization a different view of candidates, for example, how they connect through a screen.
“As NFL cheerleaders, you’re performing on a field with thousands and thousands of fans,” Torres says. “You’re projecting your personality. You have to bring the joy, bring the energy. A candidate has to shine, through TV or in person. You have to shine through that screen.”
Normally auditions were in-person with a preliminary and elimination round held in one day in front of a 12-person panel of judges. Each hopeful would give a little introduction of themselves and why they wanted to be a Miami Dolphins cheerleader. Then they would do a free-style portion. If they passed that, then they would be taught a short routine. From there, the attendees would be set up in groups from which the judges select a final group after additional cuts.
The finals would then follow two weeks later when the hopefuls attend the interview/boot camp phase. “They learn choreography and learn technique and style,” adds Torres. “This allows us to watch them for a twoweek period.”
Then the finals, which are open to the public, are staged in early May and the final group selected then heads off to training camp before the season starts.
“By the time August comes around, we have set the final squad,” Torres explains. “Pretty much now we are doing the exact same thing, but virtually.”