High Desert Storm cheerleaders bring the heat to C.O.
Squad finishing inaugural season with a lot of pep in their step
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- If you come to one of the Oregon High Desert Storm's indoor football games, you'll be in a great mood from start to finish-- and for that, you have to give a lot of credit to the cheerleaders.
Just like the new professional indoor football team, the High Desert Storm, this is the inaugural season of the cheerleading squad, the High Desert Storm Dance Team.
The ladies hail from different backgrounds and ages, but share a common goal of wanting to dance and entertain. With pom-poms, the upbeat dance routines and, of course, the smiles, the cheerleaders bring crowd energy levels from zero to a hundred.
Working mom and HDS cheerleader Jessica Cenotti told NewsChannel 21, "It's really fun, just to try and watch the energy levels of the crowd. It's exciting. Even though it's a broad range of age groups and backgrounds, and different lifestyles, we just get along really well."
Cenotti says she joined the dance team to get back to her roots of dance and performing.
The HDS Dance Team started with just two young women, and now has eight members.
The ladies are led by coach and choreographer Kimmy Licitra. She owns Diamond Dance Academy in Redmond, where the ladies rehearse for their games twice a week.
"We've never had a professional team at all, so it's kind of exciting to start something new." Licitra said.
Licitra reached out to organizers to head a squad when she learned a new pro football team was coming to Central Oregon. The HDS Dance Team performs only for home games, and the ladies are contractually required to attend them all.
She told NewsChannel 21, " We've got eight girls, and it'd be great if we could have 800. Whoever wants to join can come join. Right now, we are undefeated at our home games, so it's been great for these girls, and the audience as well."
After a year in a pandemic , for the ladies, the squad is a saving grace.
Cenotti explained, " Just to be part of a community again, doing something that you love, and everybody loves it together, is just really meaningful and really great."
The last home game for the High Desert Storm football team is set for Saturday.
Dance team tryouts for the upcoming season will be on Saturday, July 31, at 10:30 a.m. at Diamond Dance Academy, and anyone interested is welcome to come out and participate. For more information: https://www.oregonstorm.com/high-desert-storm-dance
