Reeds teen in running for Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad

BY ALLIE HINGA
The Joplin Globe
May 9, 2015

REEDS, Mo. — When Holly Powell was a child, she watched the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on TV.

Ever since, she’s been training so maybe one day she could make the squad.

“That’s what I want to be a part of,” she said.

Now, she’s closing in on doing just that. Powell, of Reeds, is a finalist for a spot on the squad.

“It feels amazing to be a finalist,” she said Friday in a phone interview. “Especially for this organization, because they’re the best of the best.”

At 18 years old, she’s also one of the youngest in the running. Powell currently is about to receive her high school diploma.

Powell has been home-schooled her junior and senior years to accommodate her pursuit of dancing. She started dancing at 3 years old and reached the point where she was commuting extensively to obtain training at various dance studios.

“It’s my life,” she said of dancing. “I love it. I don’t think I would want to do anything else.”

She’s skilled in all genres of dance, she said, which translates well into cheerleading.

“I definitely take my training very seriously,” she said.

Powell traveled to Dallas with her mom and aunt for auditions. On the first day of the competition, she performed a short improvised dance. The next day was filled with learning a short choreographed dance and a kick line, and performing those for the judges. Also part of the audition steps is a written test covering questions about the NFL, dance terminology and current events, among other topics.

“It’s a very strenuous process, but I definitely think that I’m doing very well,” she said Friday. “I’m very excited to be headed into finals.”

On Friday, Powell was doing interviews, and today will perform a solo, as well as the dances she learned earlier in her auditions. Later today, an announcement will be made as to who will head to training camp, after which the final squad will be determined.

“You can’t say you didn’t try,” she said Friday. “You have to try.”

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In addition to Powell, another woman with ties to the area is among the finalists. She is Kaleigh Lundy Walker, a native of Pittsburg, Kan.