Cheerleaders warm up for Murrayfield

THEY have been formed for less than a year and remain the Capital’s only pro-cheerleading team.

But the girls – and one boy – of the Fierce Pro Dancers are ready to step out in front of the biggest crowd of their careers as they provide half-time entertainment at Murrayfield tomorrow for the Six Nations match against France.

Ten of the dancers are to perform a two-minute routine to Party Rock Anthem, and have been squeezing in last-minute rehearsals after having their booking confirmed just last Thursday.

They only gave their first stadium performance at the Hearts v St Johnstone match at Tynecastle in December, and now are ready to face a capacity crowd of more than 67,000 at Murrayfield – the first sell-out for a Scotland v France game since 1994.

Kayleigh Cameron, one of the group’s founders, said they had been very busy since getting together in May last year. She said: “In our first year we’ve had 27 gigs.

“At the end of last year we did a performance on the third of December at the Hearts - St Johnstone match. That was the first game in a stadium we’d done, and now we’ve been booked for the rugby.

“We approached them just to say ‘This is our website, have a wee look at it, let us know what you think’, and they came back to us saying ‘Can you do our half-time performance?’.

“It only got confirmed last Thursday so we’ve been chasing our tails, running about trying to get organised. We had a training session with the routine that we tested at Hearts and we’ve added in tumbles and stunts. This being a bigger event with such a big crowd, it should be really exciting.”

Scottish Rugby Union spokesman Dominic McKay said the cheerleaders would be part of a package of entertainment for fans at the stadium.

He said: “We’re pleased to have these guys along to support Scotland during the France game. We’ve made a number of changes this season to our match day environment, which includes more use of music, so we have live bands playing – including the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. We’re passionate about making Murrayfield the place to be any time there’s a Scotland match on.”

Co-founder of Fierce Pro Dancers, Brooke McLellan, said the dancers, including sole male representative Keith Low, were equally thrilled to be a part of the day’s programme.

She said: “We’re super-excited about it, it’s a great honour for us. It’s a sold-out crowd which I think is about 65,000 people, which will be really exciting. This is on a totally different scale to what we’ve done before.

“We’re prepared, excited, and we’re ready to rock it.”

Fierce Pro Dancers, who are sponsored by Adcentiv Media Communications, are holding auditions for their 2012 team on March 4 at Leith Victoria Swim Centre, from 12pm to 4pm. Auditions are open to male and female dancers and gymnasts aged from 18 to 37. No professional experience is required. For more information see www.fierceprodancers.com.