Twins turned Texans cheerleaders
By Abigail Ventress
The Houstonian
April 29, 2015
Identical twins and Sam Houston State University students, Jordan and Randi Lane, recently made the Houston Texans Cheerleading Team. Over 1,200 girls tried out for the team and only 34 were selected.
“As long as we can remember, we have always loved the HTC dance style,” Randi Lane said. “We see the ladies as role models, and it is truly a dream come true.”
The twins have danced for 13 years and have taught dance for five years. They began dancing competitively at the age of six and have always danced together. Jordan and Randi often performed duet dances at competitions.
“We have stuck with dance because it has been a lifelong passion of ours,” Jordan Lane said. “It is a hobby that we will never stop loving.”
To prepare for tryouts, the twins did gym workouts at least three times a week and focused on eating healthier. They also ordered identical uniforms online and hand-decorated them with rhinestones.
“Coming from a huge dance background, we felt very confident throughout the rounds,” Jordan Lane said. “But since over 1,200 girls were auditioning, we still had that bit of uncertainty and nervousness in the back of our minds.”
The day of tryouts, the twins arrived at the Houston Methodist Training Center for registration. The staff intentionally assigned the twins consecutive tryout numbers in order for them to be able to be side by side throughout the entire process.
“We were very nervous and excited the morning of tryouts,” Randi Lane said. “We definitely saw [being twins] as an advantage and felt very privileged to have each other as support. Our dancing is so identical that we felt it would make us stand out.”
Tryouts began with stretching and a group dance party. Following the dance party, candidates began round one, which consisted of performing the dance in groups of five for the judges. There were three rounds during the tryout process, and as the rounds progressed, the dance combinations became more challenging.
“The fact that we only had about 15 minutes to learn a dance and 10 minutes to go over it was quite challenging,” Jordan Lane said. “It was very sad to see the ladies that got cut have to pack their belongings and leave the tryouts.”
After each round, the groups would meet in front of a projector screen to see the tryout numbers of the girls that would be continuing to the next round. At the end of the night, 50 finalists were selected to attend training camp.
“It is so nice to always have a supporter and shoulder to lean on,” Randi Lane said. “If one of us does not pick up choreography as quickly, the other is quick to help. The best part of tryouts was seeing our numbers up on the finalist board. It gave us such a rush, and we could not wait to call our family and tell them the good news.”
The 50 finalists moved onto training camp, where 34 girls were chosen to be members of the Houston Texans Cheerleading Team. Both of the twins’ numbers appeared on the projector to let them know they were selected as part of the team. The announcement of the new team was streamed live on the Internet. The first people Jordan and Randi shared the news with were their parents.
“We were extremely excited, grateful, and could not contain our happiness,” Jordan Lane said. “Tryouts lasted from about 3:30 p.m. to 11:30p.m. We booked a room at a hotel because we live so far away, and we did not know how long tryouts would take.”
The twins have already begun their practices as Houston Texans Cheerleaders. They work out with a trainer twice a week and practice dances three days a week.
“The practices are very strenuous, but a lot of fun,” Randi Lane said. “We share a vehicle and take turns driving to and from practices.”
Being a Texans cheerleader comes with benefits such as a pay check, free tanning and hair, according to the twins.
“We love to perform in front of a crowd,” Randi Lane said. “It is an adrenaline rush and makes us feel very confident. We are going to see how this year goes and enjoy every minute of it.”
The twins celebrated their 19th birthday earlier this month. They are both fashion merchandising majors.
“Since we are both fashion merchandising majors, we hope to one day work together in the fashion industry,” Jordan Lane said. “We keep a healthy balance between our education and our work as cheerleaders. We take time on the weekends to do extra homework and stay up to date on assignments.”
The sisters have never had to compete against each other. Because they are identical, they are often confused as the opposite twin. One way to distinguish between the two is Jordan being a bit taller than Randi.
“People are constantly comparing us, but it has no effect on us because we love each other no matter what,” Jordan Lane said. “We get confused everyday of our lives. Because we are identical, we don’t blame people for getting confused.”
The twins said they are excited for their first year as Texans cheerleaders. They will be balancing their cheerleading career as well as being students of SHSU.
“Ever since we can remember, we have always been a great team together whether it be teaching dance, playing sports or performing,” Randi Lane said. “Therefore, this is second nature to us. It is so unbelievably exciting to have your best friend with you every step of the way and to always receive constant support from each other. We are so blessed to be able to experience this opportunity together and look forward to enjoying every minute of it.”
