Over winter break, cheerleaders from CHS Kaelyn Kilpatrick and Autumn Ferrer, traveled to London with the All American League Team to perform in the world-renowned London New Year’s Day Parade.

Kilpatrick and Ferrer were selected out of more than 325,000 cheerleaders and dancers from across the country to participate in the event. Each attended a summer camp hosted by the organization Varsity Spirit, and were selected as “All American” at the camp based on their exceptional cheerleading and leadership abilities. Only the top 10% of the cheerleaders who attended these camps actually got the opportunity to perform in the parade, which was a little over 650 cheerleaders.

Varsity Spirit, the establishment that allowed the cheerleaders to compete in London, is a organization that trains cheerleaders and dancers and hosts competitions. It is one of the biggest cheerleader-based corporations in the U.S. and has been taking performers to London for thirty years.

To tryout for the exclusive team, the girls first had to be nominated by a camp instructor. For auditions, they had to learn a cheer, perform a series of jumps, and throw a tumbling pass.

The London New Year’s Day Parade is one of the biggest events in London, with an estimated 300 million people around the world watching annually. Organizations from twenty different countries are represented, and around 10,000 performers participated. The theme of the 2017 London New Year’s Parade was “Lights, Camera, Action,” so all of the performances and floats honored various aspects of the film industry. The girls performed a dance called Rocky to the song “Eye of the Tiger.” Both girls described their trip in a positive way.

“My experience was awesome! I loved getting to know new people from all around the U.S./U.K. and making lifelong friends,” said Kilpatrick.

The girls were not only given the opportunity to participate in the parade, but they had a chance to explore London as well. During their seven-day trip they were given the opportunity to learn about the city and its plethora of historical sites.

Both cheerleaders also participate in the CHS cheerleading program. They currently are on the JV squad. However, their experience in London used vastly different skills than what is necessary for CHS cheerleading.
“It was very different from CHS cheerleading because at CHS we do stunts and tumbles but in London we only performed the dance,” Ferrer said.

The London New Year’s Parade was viewed by millions of people from around the world, and Kaelyn Kilpatrick and Autumn Ferrer represented CHS in a positive way through the Varsity Spirit performance. These girls have shown true dedication and talent in both dancing and cheerleading by going to camp and participating in the London New Year’s Parade parade during their winter break.