Russia Woman Makes Ben-Gals Cheer Squad

By Terry Pellman
Ohio Community Media

Russia native Vania Brandt is a multi-talented young woman whose professional and recreational interests are quite diverse and are now taking her to a whole new level of experience – as a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader.

For a career, the 2005 Russia High School graduate and Newport, Ky., resident works as a circulation technician at Good Samaritan Hospital. In that role, she operates the machine that circulates blood during heart bypass surgery. In her spare time, Brandt is now a new member of the squad of Bengals cheerleaders, known as the Ben-Gals.

At Russia School, Brandt served as a cheerleader in both junior and senior high school. She found she enjoyed the performance aspect of cheering and the atmosphere involving the crowd in attendance. However, while attending the Ohio State University she did not try out for the Buckeye cheerleading team. Her demanding load of studies for such a technical field did not allow time for such endeavors.

The daughter of Mark and Lisa Brandt of Russia, she was initially unsure what her major field of study would be at Ohio State, except that she knew that she had an interest in the field of medicine. Her father went with her to a medical career fair at the university, and a sign she did not understand caught her attention. Out of curiosity, she walked over to a booth promoting “Profusion Circulation Technology.” Upon receiving an explanation and then doing research and some job shadowing, Brandt knew that she had found her niche.

“I absolutely love it,” she says now. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Brandt is now in her third year of operating the critical cardiac machinery. She finds the work rewarding but notes it is stressful and felt she needed a diversion from the serious job. Also, her work hours are driven more by patient need than by a regular schedule, so she had some flexibility regarding time.

Already a football fan, Brandt ended up going to a Bengals game with a friend, and from their seats just a few rows high, she was able to observe the Ben-Gals in action. Brandt decided, “That’s what I’m gonna do”, and resolved to try out for the squad. Although she had never cheered at the college level, Brandt felt that simply cheering for Russia had given her the ability to be comfortable in front of larger crowds.

Brandt researched the tryout process, and the first time she got as far as the final cut. Not to be easily deterred, Brandt went out again this year and made the squad after what she calls, “A really rough process.”

She explains that there are three stages to the tryouts. At the first session in May, around 100 women tried out, and 35 were dismissed at the first cut. At the second, 10 more were let go.
For the final stage of the tryouts near the middle of May, the public was invited to be in attendance. Brandt recalls that around 500 fans were on hand to watch the remaining 64 women compete for 32 slots.

At this final trial the candidates are required to perform a more complicated and physically demanding dance routine, which some simply could not do. There were given the routine to learn just a couple of days before. But Brandt, a former member of the track and softball teams in high school was in condition, and passed the test. The position requires one to undergo “interval training,” allowing the heart to rapidly adjust from rest to extreme bursts of activity.
Brandt says the routines alone do require a high level of fitness, and that it is “very, very hard. You have to be in top shape.” She noted weather is also a factor. When a game is played on a sweltering day early in the season, you can assume the temperature reading on the field will be 10 degrees warmer than the announced air temperature.

For a professional sports franchise, the cheerleaders serve as team promoters and goodwill ambassadors to the public. Brandt says that about 90 percent of their time spent as Ben-Gals will not be at the sidelines during games. The 32 members of the squad are expected to serve as role models to young and aspiring cheerleaders, including attending cheerleading clinics for school-age kids. And the selection process is strict; to be a Ben-Gal, a woman must be employed full-time or be a full-time student, as the team prefers having professionally oriented women on the team.

In fact, serving as a Ben-Gal is mainly a way to have a good time while contributing to the community. The cheerleaders are modestly compensated per game, but do not attend games away from Paul Brown Stadium. Their primary role is that of a goodwill ambassador to the fan base and community at large.

Asked about her family’s reaction to her accomplishments, Brandt notes that her parents have expressed their pride in her for both her career and pastime. She tries to travel back to Russia each month, and keeps in contact with many of her Russia High School classmates. Although there are no set plans for her to appear at any Russia events, she leaves open the possibility of doing so.