Most individuals will likely see the POM team and believe they’re watching the cheerleaders. Then, they see the team and start wondering “Why are there two cheer teams?” “Could it be they’re different?”
Basically, Cheerleading squads include dance, stunts, and tumbling into their routines, performing throughout a sporting event, and often on the sidelines. A POM squad or Drill squad uses pom pons in dance routines and often performs during halftime shows.
But, are there other distinguishing characteristics between the two arts? Sure! There are several ways to differentiate between the two teams. Let’s explore them below.
Differences between a POM Squad and a Cheer Squad
Purpose and Activity
There’s a huge difference between what both teams do.
POM dance is a form of art that’s created to tell a story, express an emotion, rhythm, or movement through the use of the body. It’s meant to entertain the crowd. They perfect choreography for weeks.
They don’t perform many lifts and tricks. They’ll be the ones doing leaps and turns. They also don’t yell during routines.
Cheer though entertains the crowd, but it also boosts team spirit by helping to pump up the crowd. Cheerleaders encourage their home sports team through movements, tumbling, and acrobatic stunts mixed with cheers and chants.
They’re responsible for riling up crowds and getting them excited for offense or defense.
Uniform, Costume, Clothing
If trying to watch the team, and what it’s doing, is too much distraction from the game, then check out their outfits.
Some POM schools may ask their students to put on a set of uniforms consisting of the school’s training clothing and a tracksuit branded with the school logo.
For performances dancers typically wear costumes made from lycra or spandex with rhinestones, tulle, sequins, and chiffon to beautify them. They put on stage makeup and do their hairs in special styles that keep the hairs off their faces.
Cheerleaders wear an A-line or pleated skirt and top combination with colors representing the team they’re rooting for.
Many female cheerleaders wear high ponytail hairstyles decorated with a big team-colored bow. The males wear team tops and pants.
However, the biggest hint in wardrobe difference is the shoes. Most dance teams have black or tan shoes.
The tan shoes only cover from the toe tips to the ball of the foot. The tan shoes have elastics that strap the shoes to the feet by hooking around the heels. The black shoes are made of soft leather with some elastic and cover the foot.
Furthermore, different dance shoes exist, depending on the dancing style. There are ballet slippers, lyrical turners, jazz or tap shoes, character shoes, acro shoes, dance sneakers, etc.
Conversely, cheerleaders wear cheer shoes. They’re white shoes that are similar to lightweight tennis shoes. They’re easier to use during lifting and offer extra support. The shoes also don’t easily get torn up by asphalt, if the performance is on a track.
Stunts, Tumbling & Jumps
If you don’t want to distinguish the difference by their outfits, you can always look out for specific activities and actions.
Cheerleaders lift other cheerleaders who will perform stunt skills while suspended in the air. They learn to perform various stunts, including pyramid, split lift, prep, shoulder stand, thigh stand, shoulder sit, etc.
An essential part of cheerleading is tumbling. Tumbles are seen in gymnastics and involve a combination of handsprings, round-offs, backflips, somersaults, walkovers, twisting in the air, etc.
There can also be standing or running tumbling which means the action is completed on the same spot or over a short distance.
It’s highly effective when pulled off by many cheerleaders in unison, has impressive height and speed in the tumbling, or it’s a difficult trick that only a few members can pull off.
Cheer teams also perform specific jump types in their routines, including the tuck, spread eagle, straight, pike, front hurdler, and toe touch.
On the other hand, POM dances very rarely include stunts. Although, some specific acts like acrobatic dancing may involve some walkovers, backflips, walkovers, etc.
POM dancers also perform several types of jumps in their routines, most specifically, tour jetes, jetes, temp leves, sautes, assemble, cabriole, tilt leaps, heel clicks, etc.
Agility and Muscle Strength
A POM dancer’s core needs to be stronger than any other muscle in their body to lift their arms and legs above their heads without strains or injuries. Ankles and feet must equally be strong for all the pointe work, dancing on releve, and tap work that they do.
Cheerleaders require good arm and upper body strength to lift each other and take their body weights during tumbling. Great upper leg strength is required for landing from lifts and tumbling.
Key Movements
Some of the key movements you’ll see in cheerleading include clasp, T-motion, high-V, touchdowns, and cone.
Different movements occur in POM dance, depending on the dance type.
- Hip Hop: running man, whipping, dabbing, Nae Nae
- Tap: time step, shuffle, heel drops, ball change
- Jazz: spirit fingers, step ball change, parallel turns, stag leap, split leap/jete, round kick
- Contemporary: death drop, parallel, contraction, levels, inversion
- Ballet: Plie, jete, pas de bouree, saute, pas de chat, pirouette
Music
Dance is rarely performed without music. Beats and rhythms are typically the inspiration of dance. Cheers aren’t always performed with music but to chants performed by a leader and the entire team.
Choosing between POM and Cheer
Choose a cheerleading team if you love cheer stunts. Cheer teams often perform tosses and stunts as an element of their routines. If gymnastic stunting is appealing to you, consider cheering.
Choose a POM team if you love dancing. POM dancers, often focus more on dancing concepts rather than stunts and chants. If you love modern and jazz dance, consider joining the POM squad.
Join a cheerleading squad if you crave showcasing your intense team spirit. Cheerleaders get the crowd going and involved, chant to players, and often cheer and dance with the team mascot.
Is It Easy To Switch From One To Another?
Yes, you can participate in both or even switch from one art to another. Even with their differences, some similarities exist between them, including:
- Both are heavily reliant on routines and rarely freestyled.
- Routines are generally set to a beat, rhythm, or sound. Neither activity is performed in complete silence because team members must be able to count and time their steps.
- They both require energy, dedication, and time to master. Cheerleaders and POM dancers must practice regularly to create muscle memory and also stay in shape. If you’re unwilling to do the work, then neither is suitable for you.
- Both are all-inclusive. Dance and Cheerleading don’t have male or female-only If you can invest the energy, time, dedication, and other things required, you are surely welcomed.
- They are both performing activities. The routines created or learned are meant to be performed to the delight of an audience.
Wrap Up
There have been several instances where a POM team gets cheered because the crowd thinks that they are cheerleaders. They are most often mistaken during parades. So next time you attend a parade or a game, ensure that you check which team you’re cheering.