DAVIS, Calif. -- As a child, Jada McLean pretended to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader for the enjoyment of her family. She was a fan of "America's Team," yet never had a chance to see the Cowboys in person. Witten and Ware, Zak and Zeke – these were merely figures on a TV screen for her. The idea of joining Dallas' cheerleaders, arguably the most famous dance team in sports history, must have seemed light years away instead of the 1,200 actual miles that separate the DFW area from McLean's hometown of Palm Springs.
Fast forward to August of 2020, and McLean found herself at AT&T Stadium, hoping to process the occasion of being handed the DCC's iconic uniform: the tie-up crop top, the white Lucchese cowboy boots, the fringed vest, the crystal-studded belt. In that moment, McLean, a two-year member of the UC Davis Dance Team, had achieved her childhood dream. Furthermore, she did so in front of a national audience: the 2020 DCC tryouts were chronicled for the 15th straight year of the CMT reality show, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team.
In joining the DCC, McLean carries on a recent tradition of Aggie Dance Team alumnae moving on to the professional ranks. Moira Niesman, a 2012 international relations graduate, enjoyed a five-year run as a member of the Sacramento Kings Dancers. That same year, Giselle Ross joined the famed Raiderettes after earning her political science degree from UC Davis. More recently, Rachel LeBrett joined the Raiderettes while continuing to work as an advisor for the university's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The chance that McLean, a third-year student in animal science, even threw her proverbial hat into the DCC ring came as a silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a normal year, the Cowboys hold open tryouts in the late spring, with hopefuls having to travel to Arlington for the auditions. This presents a gamble for anyone from outside the area, as she might incur the expense of flying to the Lone Star State, only to get cut on that first day. On the other hand, if a rookie makes it past the first round, she returns a week later, meaning more coordination with schedules, another flight, another hotel room, and so forth. For McLean specifically, a DCC tryout would have meant missing school and/or her team's annual Dance Showcase.
However, in 2020, the nationwide quarantine forced the DCC to conduct its opening round of auditions online. Dancers could now submit their initial applications – consisting of multiple videos and photos – from the comfort of their respective homes. No plane tickets, no hotels. In short, there was no longer any practical reason for McLean to decline an opportunity to pursue her dream.
"I honestly did not expect to make it past the first round," McLean said. "They're looking for good dancers, but they also want someone who can talk to people. There are so many factors, and I didn't know if I had the full package they're looking for, but I gave it a shot and hoped for the best."
Indeed, how well McLean presented herself outside of dance was a key criterion, both in the initial stages and in the Media Day portion of training camp. The DCC members are not mere sideshows at games, they are public representatives for the club. This aspect was not new for McLean, as the university's Dance Team has long served as ambassadors for the Aggie athletics department. They make community appearances alongside – or sometimes, instead of – UC Davis student-athletes throughout the year.
The COVID shutdown sent McLean home to Southern California, which oddly opened up an opportunity: it meant she had full-time access to her old dance studio, a Cathedral City venue called The Dance Program. Bear in mind, most gyms and dance studios were completely closed down during the spring of 2020. But not to Jada: her mother took ownership of The Dance Program in 2016. So while most of the rookie hopefuls filmed themselves in garages and backyards, McLean had her home studio as the setting for her audition video, with a proper sound system, suitable floors, and mirrors at her disposal.
The online portion of the audition process was much more involved than what was shown on the Making The Team telecasts, as it consisted of multiple stages. The record list of 1,545 candidates was whittled down to just 69 hopefuls, then that group underwent additional rounds of interviews and demonstrations. McLean received a video file from the DCC, trained on her own to learn the various steps, then performed the dances on video in real time. In the end, it was a group of 20 rookies – just 1.3 percent of the starting field – who earned the trip to the DCC training camp and the right to vie for one of 36 roster spots. Like the other rookies, McLean announced the news to her own Instagram account.
As it turned out, this was her last mention of the DCC for the better part of six months: before leaving for camp, she and her family signed non-disclosure agreements. The Making The Team series did not begin airing until November, and no member of the training camp could reveal any part of her DCC fate, lest it spoil the show for the television audience. Even the official Cowboys website and the team's social media accounts did not reveal the DCC members throughout the actual NFL season. Only upon the January 12 airing of the season finale, entitled "We Have A Team," was McLean freed to share her experience with the public.
"This being my dream, I wanted to tell literally everyone I knew," McLean recalls. "It was hard deciding who I could trust telling and who I couldn't.
"It was hard, but it was worth it. We couldn't share the news, and had to wait for the show. And when the show was finally over, our season was already over. But it taught me to live in the moment. I wasn't as concerned about posting on social media, or talking to fans who messaged me. I got to enjoy my rookie season without worrying about the extra distractions," she said.
The social media blackout also allowed her to focus during the grueling training camp, which saw a sizable overhaul from its normal operation. The DCC rookies received their routines via digital video, and were asked to demonstrate their skills on the literal first day of camp, which actually put them ahead of the curve than usual. The 2020 camp was sequestered at Arlington's Gaylord Texan hotel, nicknamed "The Bubble" on the series. Only during a brief visit to AT&T did the entire group get to rehearse as a whole, as the group was split up into smaller cohorts. And even in these group sessions, all dancers maintained social distancing throughout, and were required to undergo daily COVID testing.
And make no mistake, the term "rookie" is very much a misnomer: each of the 20 first-year hopefuls owned extensive dance backgrounds. For example, Sydney Hawthorne was a former Atlanta Falcons cheerleader and was even named as that team's Pro Bowl representative. Sheridan McDowell was already a member of the Dallas Mavericks dance team and had appeared on Season 11 of Making The Team. Among McLean's Group 1 teammates was Alora-Rose Morgan, who left her hometown of Groton, Connecticut at 18 to pursue dancing in New York City, and subsequently joined the famous Radio City Rockettes in 2017.
The camp is directed by Kelli Finglass, a TCU grad and a former squad member in the 1980s who assumed the DCC helm in 1991. She previously described the tryouts as the "toughest, most physically demanding audition in the entire entertainment industry." Her right-hand woman is Judy Trammell, the DCC choreographer whose resume includes a long list of TV and music video credits. Trammell became the head choreographer upon Finglass' appointment as director in 1991. Together, these two women have keen eyes for identifying dancers who can master the DCC style sometimes known as "power pom."
For her part, McLean began her dance career at the age of three. She later starred in track & field at Palm Springs High School, winning multiple Desert Valley League titles and advancing to the Southern Section Division 3 championship meet in both the 100- and 300-yard hurdles. During this time, McLean expanded her dance repertoire to include hip hop, jazz, modern, lyrical, tap and swing, but she did not get her introduction to the pom style until joining the UC Davis Dance Team.
"I had never held a pair of pompoms before I started college," McLean says. "I remember struggling in my first summer before starting at Davis. We had our little version of training camp. I thought there was no hope for me. I did not know how to hit the positions they were trying to teach me, and hold the pompoms at the same time. But after two years, I felt confident, and it was the UC Davis Dance Team that got me ready."
Still, a key turning point took place midway through camp. McLean and another rookie, Ashlinn, were called in to take part in a private session with Melissa Rycroft, DCC showmanship coach, and veteran Caroline Sundvold. As Rycroft warned McLean, "The huge thing you have going for you, being so tall and beautiful, all eyes will be going to you. Which is awesome and scary at the same time. But it does mean you have to be on time, all of the time."
While Ashlinn expressed concern that the one-on-one session was a bad sign of their progress, Jada took advice from the veterans: consider it an opportunity. They were the only two rookies being afforded such a session. The DCC staff was allowing McLean a unique chance to improve, and the improvement will get her noticed even more.
Sure enough, in the next rehearsal, Rycroft singled McLean out for her progress – with Finglass and Trammell on hand to hear it – and the reassuring words provided the Aggie dancer with a wellspring of confidence for the remainder of camp. "It was really cool to hear it from her," McLean said, about Rycroft. "She's been on Dancing With The Stars, the Bachelor. To have someone like her take the time to help you out was a cool experience."
On the day the team's executive vice president, Charlotte Jones, officially announced the final DCC roster, each of the 36 dancers received their custom uniform, one by one. The team slogan of "often imitated, never equaled" might as well refer to that attire, as many a child (plus a few adults) have worn replicas of it. But this was the real deal, custom-fitted to each member. McLean still decribes that moment with a single word: disbelief.
"I honestly don't think I've had a moment in my life more exciting than the moment when they told us to put it on," says McLean. "It sounds cheesy, like you're just getting to put on another costume or uniform. But nothing compares to a uniform that is made just for you. No one else will wear it. And you have to re-audition every year, so you're not guaranteed your uniform the next year. So this is mine for the time being, and I'm going to treasure it every single time I get to wear it."
For all of the excitement of the final announcements and the issuing of uniforms, the team immediately returned to DCC business. Finglass announced the coveted point position, the literal front-and-center spot of the "signature dance," which went to veterans Maddie Massingill and Rachel Wyatt. The positions of the remaining dancers were then assigned, and the stadium cameras lit up. Due to COVID protocols, the cheerleaders would not be allowed on the turf during the season, meaning they had to record their halftime dance on that day. The DCC had never performed its halftime dance all the way through, and now they were recording a version that had to play at eight halftimes for the rest of the season.
"Looking back at that day, I don't know how we did it or how we managed to learn all of it so fast," McLean. "But because it was the only moment where we were together on the field, it was super special."
During the dance, one characteristic ended up paying an unlikely dividend: her height. As part of the UC Davis Dance Team, she and teammate Emilee Harris towered over the rest of the squad. Similarly on the DCC, McLean was the tallest member. In the triangle formation, she occupied the back row, which is common for rookies. But when the signature dance transitioned to its famous kickline, the 36 dancers were arranged by height, putting McLean on the 50-yard line and at the center of the famous Cowboys blue star.
"It's not always cool being tall, but for once, I was so glad I'm tall," she said. "That's what I was looking forward to that whole day, was doing the kick line on the star. That's when it became real. I'm not hiding behind anybody in the back, I'm here and now."
The Cowboys hosted Atlanta for their home opener on September 20, with Dallas scoring a dramatic 40-39 win in front of a reduced-capacity crowd of 21,708 – by far the largest crowd for which McLean has ever performed, and the first time she finally see her favorite team in person. To separate them from the athletes and coaches, the DCC performed on a stage atop the end zone suites. "It was, hands down, the coolest day of my life," she said. "I wasn't smiling because I had to smile, I was smiling because I literally could not contain myself.
"As a Cowboys fan, I always wanted to go to a game, especially at their home stadium, but I had never gotten that opportunity. It wasn't something my family could afford growing up. And now I'm at a Cowboys football game, and I'm also cheering at it. I have the best seats in the house." Not only that, but McLean was fortunate enough to have her family in attendance for four home games.
With the Cowboys 2020 season in the book, McLean remains in the Dallas area. She and her teammates are on contract until the start of the 2021 training camp, meaning they stay nearby for promotional appearances. McLean took her classes remotely last fall, juggling DCC practices with her school schedule, and continues her studies through the offseason.
She lives within shouting distance of the other cheerleaders, but not just for work-related reasons. "When they say that the DCC is a sisterhood, they mean it," she says. "There is not one person on that team that I can't go to for something, that wouldn't be willing to help me figure something out. Yes, I love to dance and perform, and that aspect is awesome. But just to have friends and sisters who really care about you and are there for you – even outside of dance, just navigating life.
"I've now made some of my best friends from this team," McLean added. "I'm really grateful to the organization and their commitment to making sure that you have people on the team who truly care about you."
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
