Imagine the UCA Staff performing in a musical! Well, they didn’t exactly have their dancing shoes on, but the staff recently helped with the choreography for Bring It On: The Musical™.

Last week, creators of the musical visited Memphis where they put UCA staff member’s expertise to the test by giving them the opportunity to help with skills, stunts, and cheer choreography for the show.

Award-winning choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights) has been the driving force in the production of the new musical and set a goal to make the cheerleading in it as realistic as possible. While his choreography skills are well known, he felt the need to brush up on his cheer skills before finalizing the choreography for the show. After much research, Google and Facebook searching, he turned to UCA for help.

“I really wanted to be guided by the people who had the most information possible, but also people who cherished the integrity of cheerleading that I wanted to portray in the show,” says Andy. “To me, UCA/Varsity is the cheerleading identity. When people think of Varsity, they think of not only quality and passion but of safety and knowledge, and I knew I would find everything I needed with the help of their staff. The bottom line was to put together a show that was very much about passion and spirit, and I think UCA epitomizes the core values that are associated with cheerleading.”

With UCA on board, Andy made a trip to Memphis and got to work. Several UCA core staff members and local staff members were chosen to participate in the cheer development session, and this time, it was more than a cheerleading practice – it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Being on staff, we are used to long, difficult practices, but this was something completely different because it’s not cheerleading choreography, it’s choreography for a musical,” explains UCA staff member, Ashley Cowan. “It’s taking the elements that we already love and adding it to something more theatrical. It’s really cool to have the choreography tell a story. In cheerleading, you don’t really get to tell a story, but everything we practiced goes with the story line of what’s happening in the musical.”

With his limited knowledge of cheerleading, Andy—who had attended the National High School Cheerleading Championship earlier in the year—came to the practice with an open mind, gave his opinions, and listened closely to what the UCA staff had to say. With a story board already created, he used the staff to sketch out the number of people in the production, deciding along the way where cast members would stand, what they would do, and what acts they would perform.

For Andy, being around cheerleading experts was just what he needed to create his choreography. His goal was to learn how certain skills are performed and what stunts were more difficult. That way, when the cast is selected and practices begin, he will know exactly who to put where.

“I wanted to be surrounded by people with complete cheer knowledge,” Andy explains. “With this group, if something didn’t work, we had a new version in five minutes because they are so skilled.”

“We want to have moments in the show where someone who has grown up cheering can look at it and say, ‘I know how that felt. I know how it felt to want to make the team at tryouts. I know how it felt to step on the mat for the first time. I know how it felt when I didn’t succeed the first time.’ All of those things I want to make familiar, so if someone does have cheerleading in their life, they understand it,” says Andy.

While cheerleaders will obviously be the target audience, the crew hopes Bring It On: The Musical™ brings people from all backgrounds. According to Andy, everyone will be able to relate to the show in some way.

“The bigger picture is if someone doesn’t have cheerleading in their life, they can still understand the show,” he explains. “Throughout our lives we find our passions, we find out what we love, and we must have the courage to go for our goals. In this production, that’s all told through the lens of cheerleading, so if someone doesn’t know anything about it, they will still be able to relate.”

The show is tentatively set to begin touring in the fall, but there is still much work to be done. Says Andy, “We have found a few people we would like to cast, but there are still a lot of spots open we need to fill. We are looking for all-around talent – people who can cheer, dance, and sing.”

With the expertise of cheerleading from the UCA staff and the talent of choreography from Andy, Bring It On: The Musical™ will be a musical that all cheerleaders can relate to and enjoy.

For more information on Bring It On: The Musical™ and how to try out visit the official website!