California Style…you hear about it in movies, songs and in fashion. Katy Perry say California girls are “unforgettable” and both the Beach Boys and David Lee Roth wish that all the ladies “could be California girls”. The CHEERpros California State Cheer & Dance Championships showed us why Cali is famous for their own special style. We saw it in their uniforms, their hair and definitely their choreography. 

Cheerforce Infinity International Open Coed Level 5:

This clip of their stunt sequence has blown up on social media. When we posted it on FloCheer twitter yesterday it was retweeted nearly 300 times! This partner stunt sequence below is just a taste of what the rest of the routine has in store for the audience. This team of 24 team members packs in so much action you would think they were a team of 50! The tumbling section is one you won’t want to miss. It starts with a group of aerials and in the left corner 2 groups have fliers in a split stunt and they vault a guy over them straight into a tumble pass and this is where the tumble section begins. Toward the finale of the tumble section nearly 10 guys are all tumbling at the same time and it appears that they will collide but perfect choreography provides them with safe landings. As they transition back into the next section fliers tumbler toward their partners and then immediately cartwheel out and then do an inversion into their next group. It’s like a tumble pass without their feet on the ground but instead in the hands of their bases. You can see this full routine in our archives when you subscribe to FloCheer. 

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Santa Margarita Catholic High School:

They had a beautiful opening with perfectly synchronized whipped right hurdlers into toe touch back tucks. It is rare to see a skill like this performed by an entire team in the high school divisions and they performed it with precision. In addition their traditional look gave them clean lines on the floor. 

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Academy of Our Lady of Peace:

This team had an eye catching stunt & pyramid section. They began with switch libs into very fast spinning scorpions. They hit scales and all 7 groups walked in quickly so they were side by side. They proceeded with a variety of paper doll pyramids and connected extended awesomes. This section was very visually appealing and well executed. The spinning scorpions are hard to pull and spin quickly and this section grabbed the attention of the audience and the judges. 

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Murrieta High School Dance:

This group of young ladies have obviously been stretching a LOT! Their opening includes impressive illusions, kick scorpions, back bend pull ups and gorgeous high kicks. 

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Tesoro High Pom:

This team had such a sharp, traditional, varsity style look with their red and white uniforms, large emblem and crisp white poms. They performed a technical pirouette to straddle split jump with some girls doing three in a row, some two in a row and one highly talented girl performing three in a row. 

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Agoura High School Sideline:

Signs, Flags, Poms…this team had it all and what seemed like a team of 35 or more team members! Whoever choreographed this had impressive team management skills because making a team this size work together, to create a vision for the audience, takes true talent!

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A few coaches gave us their perspective on the style of California teams. 

Nicole Cestone - Santa Margarita Catholic High School:
For dance, we love having a one piece uniform dress uniform. And, of course we love to bling it with rhinestones. West Coast teams have a different style ­ we are more flashy with thematic visual effects and staging.

Katie Bowers - Eldorado High School:
Having traveled to UCA Nationals in Florida since 2011, I have had the opportunity to see the ranging styles from the West to the East Coast. The West Coast has more of a flashy feel with regards to their choreography. Music also is huge in the West Coast as opposed the rest of the Country!! Voice overs and sound effects are largely evident in the West Coast style.

Cris Stuart - Tesoro High Cheer:
Most California teams have better and flashier choreography. I like the clean look and the traditional look.

Danielle Calta - Tesoro High Song:
Creative choreography and a high level of technical skills definitely sets California apart from the rest of the states. Both are more prominent on the West Coast in the Pom divisions. I believe the talent on the West Coast is very high. Many of the California teams do exceptionally well Nationally because they have innovative choreography, exceptional execution of technical skills, and they definitely know how to sell their routines with their performance quality. I feel most West Coast teams are up on the current trends. More teams have been designing their own uniforms so they stand out on the floor. There has also been a large increase in rhinestones on the uniform over the last few years.

I feel anything that flatters the team and is not too busy is "What's Hot". I prefer clean lines on the uniform to help enhance the choreography. "What's Not" is too short of skirts! I am all about keeping it tasteful, especially if the teams wear these uniforms at school cheering at sporting events.