Over Christmas break I had the honor of cheering at the halftime performance during the 2017 Sugar Bowl held on January 2nd in New Orleans. Team members from my gym, PA Extreme in Millerstown, could sign up to raise the money to go. From October to December, those of us who signed up worked on raising the funds we needed.

DAY 1: DECEMBER 30

My coach, my two friends, and I stayed together during the entire trip. We did not sleep the night before, since we were leaving at 1:30am for Baltimore. Our first flight was at 5:10am to Charlotte, and our next flight arrived in New Orleans around 10am.

At the airport EARLY

"Welcome to New Orleans!"             

After catching up on sleep, we toured the city.

Checking out the French Quarter

Sporting each team's hat before the big game

We ordered alligator!

Our first rehearsal was from 6-10pm at the New Orleans Convention Center in the one of the ballrooms. When our team walked in, we noticed everyone was dancing; we did not notice that every team was doing the same exact choreographed dance. Our coach found out that the choreography was sent to the other coaches in October, and we were supposed to learn it beforehand! Freaking out, we asked a high school cheer team from Chillicothe, Ohio to teach us part of the dance.

Working with the group to learn the dance moves

Practice, practice, practice!

DAY 2: DECEMBER 31

We rehearsed again in the morning from 7-11:30am. Later that afternoon, all of the participants attended the second annual Sugar Bowl New Year’s Eve parade which was broadcasted on the local news channel. The parade was on the streets of the French quarter beginning from Elysian Fields Avenue and Decatur to the end of the French quarter at Canal Street. It poured on us, but we had a great time performing at the end of the parade.

Our group during the NYE parade

Beads collected during the parade 

Later that night, we attended a New Year’s Eve event hosted by actress Lucy Hale, who was broadcasting back to Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest. During that time, we got to see Panic! at the Disco and Jason Derulo. Even though it poured on us again, it was great to see those bands again. We rang in the new year with fireworks over the Mississippi River at midnight.

DAY 3: JANUARY 1

This was an easy day, which began with another rehearsal from 9-12. We spend the rest of the day at the hotel until it was time for the Masquerade ball at the Mardi Gras World warehouse. This dance was sponsored by Worldstrides Onstage, and was held in the warehouse where they make the Mardi Gras floats.

Caitlyn and I at the Masquerade Ball 

DAY 4: JANUARY 2 (GAME DAY!)

We began the day with another early morning rehearsal before arriving at the Superdome around 4:30. After passing through security, our group took our seats in the stadium. Even though we were in the nosebleed section, it was still a good view of the game.

Our seats before the game began

Our big moment came at halftime when 1500 kids, including high school band students and 300 dancers and cheerleaders, marched onto the field at the 83rd annual Sugar Bowl. Our performance went well, but we were disappointed that it wasn’t aired nationally.

Our halftime performance

Proud of our performance

I met some amazing people while I was in New Orleans, including cheerleaders and dancers from  Alabama, California, Ohio, and Louisiana, and all around the country. It was especially fun meeting all of the choreographers, which included the famous Dee Caspary.

The choreographers

Worldstrides Onstage is an outstanding program, and this was such a memorable experience. I had an amazing time, and the people I met were very funny. I laughed almost the whole time, and I left New Orleans with some new friends.