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Photos courtesy of Denver Broncos
BERKLEIGH is going into her second season as a member of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.
She joined us to discuss varying topics ranging from life as an NFL cheerleader and being on the cover of the Broncos Cheerleaders swimsuit calendar to her favorite movies and foods.
PDC: Talk about your dance background and what led you to being a Denver Broncos Cheerleader.
BERKLEIGH: I have been dancing since I was three, started dancing competitively at a studio in Topeka, KS. called the Dance Factory. I did ballet, hip hop, contemporary, jazz and all of the competition stuff. When I got to college, I danced for the Rock Chalk Dancers at KU and that’s what led me to want to continue dancing professionally because it shows you what the professional dance world would be like. I came to the Broncos because there’s not another team that I would want to cheer for because my family has always been Broncos fans, especially my brother, so I kind of followed in his footsteps growing up. I also followed the Broncos Cheerleaders growing up as well and I thought that it would be a great organization to be a part of that a lot of people look up to and I really wanted to be a part of that.
PDC: Coming from a basketball school like Kansas, what made you choose the NFL over an NBA dance team?
BERKLEIGH: I have always loved the football atmosphere and coming from KU, obviously KU basketball is really hard to beat. If you have never been to a KU basketball game at Allen Field House, it should probably be on your bucket list, but dating back to high school, I have always just loved football. The atmosphere, being outside with the loud music and everyone is so happy and coming together for everything, I really just enjoy that environment, so I knew that I wanted to do that. I also feel that the NFL is more of my style of dancing, it’s more jazzy and girly, especially here in Denver where we dance to a lot of country and I’ve really always liked that. NBA I feel is more hip hop and that is not as much my style.
PDC: Talk about the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders auditions process is like.
BERKLEIGH: The audition process is exactly a week long. The first day is prelims, where we learn a quick routine and perform it for the panel of judges. We are judged on everything from our speech to our look, picking up choreography and following that round, there is a cut. Then the semi finals are that same day where we learn a long and extensive dance to see how fast we can pick up and perform the more difficult choreography. They don’t expect it to be perfect that day, but they are kind of looking to see who can pick that stuff up because during the year, we do have to learn things pretty quickly. After we perform the new dance, there is another cut to the finals, so after the first day, you know if you are a finalist. Then you are assigned to either the Monday-Wednesday group or Tuesday-Thursday group for what are called “Finalist Workshops” and that’s when we learn a sideline dance vamp that is similar to we do at the games that is made up of four 8-counts. You also get assigned to your finals routine that you learn online and then come to the second day of workshop knowing the whole dance like the back of your hand. That’s where we are judged on our technique and we’ll also have our football test and our interviews. When it comes to the interviews, we are in there with our directors, the judges and Broncos executives and they are asking about stuff that we put on our resumes like a straightforward job interview. The football test is made up of everything from Broncos history to everything about the NFL like the rules, referee’s signals and more. Then that Sunday is the final show that is open to the public and sells out the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver. We have an opening number that we have been rehearsing with everybody during the week and go in groups of three and do the first dance in front of the judges before you go back around and do your finals routine. We will also do quick solos, basically four 8-counts of whatever you feel you are strong at, so for me, I like to tumble and turn. It gives us a chance to show our own personality. After that, the judges go back and deliberate and then come back and announce the team. Then we perform for the audience as a team for the first time ever.
PDC: Describe what the feeling is like when you find out that you have made the team.
BERKLEIGH: My first year, it was really crazy. You have your name called and I almost wanted to go up and double check because it was a surreal feeling and happened so fast. I was so excited, but then some of the friends that I made throughout that week did not make it, so you have to balance those emotions, but overall, it was super awesome and this has easily been the best year of my life. I met some of my best friends last year at tryouts and they are now my roommates. Going through it for a second year, I think it was harder than the first time because you know what you can lose and the expectations are so much higher. Where my first year, I really didn’t know what I was doing and there to have fun, this year I was really pushing myself because I wanted to do it all again. I almost felt more proud of myself this year for making it back.
PDC: Let’s talk about the swimsuit calendar shoot. How long after tryouts does the team go do the calendar and where did you go?
BERKLEIGH: It was about a month or so and we went to Cancun last year and we are going back this year.
PDC: Was that your first time to do a bikini photo shoot or had you done any swimsuit photo shoots prior to amking the team?
BERKLEIGH: That was definitely the first time I had done anything like that. We had a calendar back at KU, but it was in our uniform, but it was nothing like this. It’s really crazy, we have a glam squad following us around, a camera crew following us around and our whole team is there whether your shoot is at 5 a.m., which mine was or 9 p.m. Everyone was there to support each other and it was a really cool experience.
PDC: And you ended up being on the cover? How did you find out?
BERKLEIGH: I actually found out at our calendar release party and the cover was actually done by a fan vote after our director had selected three finalists. They had never done a fan vote before, so it pretty much became a thing where it was all over social media where fans could go on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and vote for their favorite picture. When I got to the calendar release party, there was a big thing out front with my picture on it. It was really cool, especially because not being from here and Broncos Country is a very tight knit group of fans, I just feel like it was awesome that the fan were so involved in the process and that they picked me.
PDC: So you have all of these highlights and the season has not even started yet! What are the game days like in Denver?
BERKLEIGH: Game days are incredible, the fans are awesome and I love getting to out in our iconic uniform. It was really cool getting to put it on for the first time to go out on the field. I did have to get used to the elevation though because being from Kansas, it’s obviously different than dancing a four hour football game in Colorado.
PDC: That brings me to the elements. PDC is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so the games we attend are (for the most part) indoors at an ideal temperature. What do the Broncos Cheerleaders do when it’s really cold?
BERKLEIGH: We have snow gear that we wear in case of any weather and we prepare for the weather before it happens. They are always going to make sure that we are warm enough, but you’d be surprised that no matter how cold it is, we are going to be sweating because we are moving so much. When we are sitting there, it gets cold, but when we are dancing, it’s a different story. I was used to that too from my time at KU because it can get really cold in Kansas.
PDC: We’ve hit some highlights of being on the field and the calendar shoot, is there any work in the community that the Broncos Cheerleaders do that stood out to you?
BERKLEIGH: Definitely. One of my favorites was when we visited Craig Hospital and went to the brain and trauma center. We visited a lot of patients that were really struggling and getting through hard times and it was really cool for us to inspire them and them to inspire us to where we were feeding off each other’s energy. We were with them pretty much all day, so we actually got to know them and help make a difference. We also do a lot with the Children’s Hospital.
PDC: Do you have a day job in addition to being a Denver Broncos Cheerleader?
BERKLEIGH: I am a surgical dental assistant. I work for an oral surgeon and I assist in oral surgery.
PDC: How do manage the schedule of a full-time job with the demands of being an NFL cheerleader?
BERKLEIGH: It keeps me busy because I have to be a work at 7 in the morning and then I’ll go straight from work to practice. It’s definitely made me a stronger person, but my boss is really understanding and very supportive of my Broncos schedule and always lets me leave right on time so that I’m not late to practice and gives me days off to do Broncos appearances. It’s really hard to find that balance, but because my boss is so great at understanding how much we have to do, it’s made it work really well.
PDC: Now that we’ve talked dance and cheer, let’s hit some fun stuff. What are some of your favorite movies?
BERKLEIGH: I love Bring it On, one of my all-time favorites. I also love Clueless and Legally Blonde.
PDC: Who are some of your favorite movie stars?
BERKLEIGH: Reese Witherspoon is my all-time favorite movie star. I also love Jennifer Aniston. I love Matthew McConaughey, I think he does a great job taking on every role.
PDC: What are some of your favorite TV shows?
BERKLEIGH: Friends and The Office are my favorites! I also like New Girl.
PDC: What are some of your favorite foods?
BERKLEIGH: I love a good steak with asparagus, scalloped potatoes and a chocolate brownie sundae for dessert.
PDC: Do you have any favorite restaurants in Denver?
BERKLEIGH: I try to go to a new place every time I go out to eat because there are so many great restaurants here. I really like Denver Chop House, it has a really cool atmosphere, like a combination of a really nice steak house with a bar-type feel. It’s elegant and casual at the same time, so that’s probably one of my favorite go-to spots.
PDC: Scenario is that when your time as a Broncos Cheerleader comes to an end, what would be your dream job?
BERKLEIGH: I have always wanted to be an orthodontist and help people enjoy their smile so that would definitely be my dream job.
Fans can follow BERKLEIGH on Twitter @DBC_Berkleigh and Instagram @DBC_Berkleigh
