Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders…So Much More

We share some of the stories behind the ladies who make up America’s Sweethearts.
< "http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=385535F5-BFEB-0584-394BDC1A33B42A86">Dallas Cowboys
June 14, 2010

They are internationally known as the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, their ever-recognizable uniforms made up of about one yard of blue and white material, white vests, blue blouses, white short shorts, and their famous white boots.

And it does not matter where they are, dancing on the sidelines of Cowboys Stadium, making a corporate or commercial appearance, or going on a USO Tour to Iraq or South Korea, everyone seems to know just who the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are.

Even on the western coast of Mexico, where the DCC invaded this spring for its annual swimsuit calendar photo shoot, this time landing in Riviera Nayarit, just north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the tropical shores of Bahia de Banderas. They came 28 strong, working with three photographers from the beachside town of Nuevo Vallarta heading north all the way up the coast as far as San Blas, Nayarit, with stops in between at such places as Bucerias, Punta Mita, San Pancho, San Francisco, and Sayulita.

Unbeknownst to most, while treated as rock stars wherever they go, be it at DFW International’s Terminal D or Tepic Mall in the state capital of Nayarit, they are your everyday young ladies. Some college students. Some chasing professional careers. Some established. Some a tad camera shy. Some with a phobia of flying in single-engine propeller planes. Some real hams. But all with this one common denominator:

Brother, can they dance – nearly every one of them starting at an early age.

When spending a week with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on one of these calendar shoots, you discover so much more about these ladies, so we thought this time around some of their many stories should be told.

Enjoy.

Whirling Dervish

Sydney Durso was destined to dance for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders ever since the age of 3 when her parents first enrolled her in dance classes. It’s just that she didn’t know it.

“Ever since she was 1½ and walking, she never walked, always ran everywhere,” says Sydney’s dad, Mark Durso, as for why they decided to enroll their little girl in dance classes at such a young age. “She was always happy when she danced, and she danced all over the house. She danced in the morning, noon, and night.”

Ballet was her choice, and Sydney was darn good at it, too, growing up in Mission, Texas, same hometown as Cowboys legendary head coach Tom Landry. She would perform in “The Nutcracker” for five years as a member of the Rio Grande Valley Ballet, the very first non-professional to take on the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. She played the role of the Snow Queen and Clara, too.

By 16 she already had finished high school, and was on her way to a year of college, still a ballerina but wanting to add to her dancing dimensions.

“I wanted to try something new,” Sydney says, “so I took a modern (dance) class and a hip-hop class, and they were like, ‘You should go and compete.’ I thought, really? So I gave it a try.”

Well, as the story goes, while she was at one of these dance competitions she gets a text from her director saying she needed to talk with her.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I do?'” says Sydney. “And then she says it’s ‘very urgent.'”

What she didn’t know was a scout for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders happened to be at the competition that day and was mighty impressed with this tiny dancer, and wanted to encourage her to audition for the DCC.

When she caught up with her dance director, it was “here you go, here is a bye to the semifinals” of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders auditions back in 2008.

“So I went through with it,” Sydney says.

And the rest is history.

Teammates Of Teammates

This might be oddity squared.

Just a couple of years ago, only one daughter of a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader had grown up to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. That distinction belonged to Billie Gosdin (1979) and daughter Amber Gosdin (1995-96 and 2003-04).

Then three years ago along comes Meredith Oden of The Woodlands, Texas, the daughter of Kim Oden, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader for two years (1982-84).

Then a year later, the third legacy cheerleader, as they are called, arrived on the scene: Cassie Trammell of Garland, Texas, daughter of Judy Trammell, not only a Cowboys Cheerleader for four years, but the squad’s head choreographer since 1991.

But the real oddity?

Judy Trammell was a member of the DCC from 1980-83, meaning she spent two seasons as a teammate of Kim Oden, thus two DCC teammates from the ’80s now have daughters who have been teammates for the past two seasons.

This holds a special meaning for Kelli Finglass, herself a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader from 1984-89, and the director of the squad since 1991.

“When I see legacy cheerleaders, that means so much to a mother like Judy,” Finglass says. “It’s just neat to be a part of a group of performers considered to be the best at what they do in the world, and it’s still special. The quality and philosophy of an organization means enough to a mom that she would want her daughters to do it.”

And as the story goes, the Trammells and Odens were much more than teammates back in the ’80s. The families were basically best of friends.

“It’s really fun now to see Cassie and Meredith cheering together,” Judy says. “It brings our families back together again. Like yesterday.”

From Alice In Wonderland To

Most would have thought this was the bomb when Brittany Evans, doing an internship one summer at a New York dance conservatory, auditioned and was chosen for the role of Alice in the play “Alice In Wonderland” aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships.

From Pearl, Miss., a suburb of Jackson, Brittany took leave from Ole Miss for a once-in-a-lifetime chance. She thought. But after returning from this nine-month experience dancing on a cruise ship and going back to Ole Miss, “she tells us one day,” says her dad, Tony Thornton, “she’s not sure she wants to give up dancing.”

So Brittany, who once posed for a picture in a little cheerleading outfit with “Cowboys” across the front, decides she wants to audition for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and heads to Texas.

“So I just came to Dallas, didn’t think I would make it to the finals, and then I did,” Brittany says. “But I came with just one suitcase, and then I ended up staying in Dallas.”

And for Brittany, life just fell into place. First of all, she had places to stay, between family friends who lived in Arlington and her Disney Cruise Line roommate who lived in Irving. And on the day she found out she made the DCC following training camp that summer, Blake, her husband who was still back in Mississippi during this time, found out he had landed a job in Dallas.

“It was all God’s perfect timing,” Brittany says two years later.

Family Affair

Perry Trevino calls his daughters “two peas in a pod.”

Trisha Trevino, 25, and Crystal Trevino, 24, have been somewhat inseparable since they were young, especially when it comes to dancing. They love to dance.

“They used to dance for us at home,” says Diane Trevino, their mother. “Just make up dances: ‘Mom, we want to show you this dance,’ and we’d get in the living room and watch them over and over again.”

That was a long time ago, back when the Trevino girls wanted to take dance classes, and mom and dad were a tad skeptical. That is until one day Diane says she told Perry, ‘”Let’s just try it,’ and we did and they’ve never stopped.”

Nope, not until their dance studios went from the family living room to Texas Stadium to now Cowboys Stadium. Trisha progressed to a group leader in her five years. Crystal has finished two seasons.

And while there have been sisters previously on the DCC, this is so special for the two young ladies.

“Cheering with my sister has been such a blessing,” Trisha says. “Crystal is a lot different though but we can just read each other. (She’s) very caring and such a good friend to everybody. She speaks her mind more than I do. And I’m sure she’d say I’m pretty laid back.”

No touch of sibling rivalry here, although Trisha says since she arrived on the DCC first, she “set high expectations for my sister; put a lot more pressure on her.”

Maybe, but as far as Crystal is concerned, “The neatest thing is having my older sister Trisha cheering on the squad with me. I learn from her daily. She is my biggest fan, huge support, she teaches me so much. I don’t know what I’d do without her.

“A lot of people expect me to walk in her shoes, but I have my own shoes to walk in. She lets me experience things on my own. She doesn’t tell me about all the surprises she had as a two-year veteran. She wants me to feel that for myself.”

Maybe mom sums up the family’s feelings the best, saying of her two daughters together on the DCC, “It’s just the best thing ever.”

Woman For All Seasons

Some girls danced. Some swam. Some were in gymnastics. The backgrounds of these Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are immense and varied.

And then there is Sunni Cranfill, raised on a dairy farm near Hooks, Texas, best known for being the hometown of football great Billy Sims. Sunni began dancing at an early age, actually studying ballet. She would go on to run track in high school, even earning herself a college scholarship to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, where she also studied dance with the Russian Ballet.

She can sing, too. And, oh yes, she just happened to be selected Miss Texas for the Miss America pageant. That’s right, the high school and college hurdler is as comfortable in an evening gown as she was in a track outfit crashing over hurdles over 100 and 300 meters, her best events.

Quite the contrast.

“You skin your knees, you bump your knees, you knock over hurdles, twist your ankles, hurt your hip flexors, have stress fractures, take some brutal falls,” says Sunni for those who can’t seem to picture a pageant winner in another light. “I’ve had my legs torn up by gravel. You name it, I’ve been there not the girly-girl stuff.”

She had done all this, but at age 25 decided she wanted to follow a dream before it was too late. She auditioned for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the group she just adored growing up in the northeastern part of the state, no more than 20 miles from Texarkana. She didn’t make it.

Undaunted, she would try again. This time she made it to training camp but was released on the last cut.

“I don’t give up easily,” Sunni says, something her mother Elaine Cranfill confirms.

“The thing about Sunni is she sets goals, she knows what it takes, and she will not quit until she gets that goal,” mom says. “Just like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”

Just like it, since Sunni, now 28 going on 29, tried out a third time. This time she made it, the 29-year-old rookie.

“I’ve said this before,” Sunni says. “I never had the guts to audition, never had the confidence to audition. But I finally fulfilled a childhood dream and it was my very first childhood dream, to be dancing for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

“It’s gone full circle, but I could not have gotten to this accomplishment had I not gone through all the other things.”

And she went through a whole lot of other things.

Now if you are wondering if there is anything Sunni can’t do, like has she ever failed at something? Well, there is.

“I am not any good at golf; can’t even hit the ball,” she says.

Hey, she’s just turning 30. Give her time.

Struttin’ Their Stuff

Brooke Sorenson has cheered, danced, and modeled for four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, moving to Dallas from Miami after high school just for this opportunity.

She calls the swimsuit calendar shoot “the best week of the year.”

This time, her fourth calendar shoot was even better than ever – and better than expected. Because for the first time since the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders began shooting these swimsuit calendars at tropical locations in 1993, they threw down a swimsuit fashion show – music, lights, runway over the pool, and a huge crowd of appreciative guests at the Marival Residences and World Spa one night.

“It’s funny, we’re used to dancing, not walking,” Brooke says. “We’re used to running from yard line to yard line, so to get out on a runway and walk in heels that are this big (holding her hands about a foot apart) was definitely different for us.

“But it was one of the coolest experiences. Some girls walked off, and you could see their faces glowing because it was something new and so much fun to do, and the adrenaline was there.”

So they came out one by one, down the runway, turned to the side and then back, to the music of “Tonight’s Going To Be A Good Night” and “Brick House” and “Calendar Girl” and “Ladies Night.” Then two-by-two. And as the night went along, these one-time athletes and dancers and cheerleaders became pretty confident models.

Sassiest?

“Tia Williams,” Brooke says. “Tia is our diva. Everything she does is so glamorous.”

Loudest stomps in those highest of heels?

“Loudest stomps, Cassie,” insists Ally Traylor, a three-year veteran. “You could hear her coming.”

But as fun as all this sounds, this swimsuit shoot grew even better for Brooke, the one-time Florida Marlins cheerleader who came to Dallas at age 18 specifically to take her shot at making the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. That’s because that’s her gracing the cover of this issue of Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine.

“The whole calendar shoot is so much fun,” Brooke says. “We spend weeks preparing for it, being in the gym every single day, making sure our bodies look strong and are really prepared. So to be on – to have them use our picture for anything is amazing. For them to use it for the cover for the Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine is crazy cool.”

Understand that a whole lot of work goes into these photo shoots. Thousands and thousands of images are captured by the three photographers: Bobby Badger, Wade Livingston, and Roberto Aguilar. But this image of Brooke, the one on the cover? Why that was taken by Livingston on the very first of six days shooting in Riviera Nayarit, at sunset on the private beach of Imanta Resorts in Punta Mita.

If she had only known.

“If I would have known they would have used that,” Brooke says tongue-in-cheek of her striking shot in the white swimsuit on the beach with the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean in the background, “I would have done that one day of shooting and then ate all the food that I could in Mexico, got burned and everything, and just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the vacation.”

Still, quite a week indeed.