Description:

A cheerleading choreographer is responsible for creating new and unique routines and teaching them to cheerleading squads. A cheerleading choreographer is different than a cheerleading coach for they are only hired part-time to choreograph routines, such as competition routines, for a squad. A cheerleading choreographer has a great amount of flexibility in their work for they are not limited to just one squad but can choreograph dance routines for multiple squads at a time.

How I got the idea / found the employment:

I was a gymnast and a cheerleader all throughout my life. In high school, I worked as a gymnastics coach and also as a coach for various cheerleading camps. While in college, I was approached by a coach of a local cheerleading squad about creating their competition routine. After that, they started hiring me on a regular basis to choreograph other routines for them. Later, I started choreographing routines for many other cheerleading squads.

Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:

The hardest thing about being a cheerleading choreographer is being able to come up with unique routines. You have to make sure you do not reuse dance moves for the different schools. Each routine has to be completely different and after awhile, you run out of things to do. To solve this I usually ask friends who also have a background in dance and cheerleading to help me brainstorm and come up with new steps.

What I learned:

Not only was I able to profit from the gymnastics and cheerleading skills I had acquired earlier in my life, but I was able to use them while being in a leadership role. This job required a lot of responsibility from me and taught me to keep deadlines. It also instilled more confidence in me as I got used to instructing a large group of people.