Cleveland Force Energy Dance Team

Location: Cleveland, OH

Cheerleading & Dance has expanded into many different elements over the past 10 years. Girls would cheer on the sidelines for Basketball & Football Games to root for their team. The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders did it 30 years ago with a different type of "football", and now dance & cheer has expanded onto the soccer fields.

With the rebirth of the city of Cleveland with the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, soccer fans can get a glimpse of the new Cleveland Force Energy Dance Team this fall.

Under the Direction of Hikia Dixon, 22 semi-finalists were selected from a group of talented young women during the preliminary try-outs to compete at the finals for the 16 positions on the Force Dance Team. The semi-finalists were introduced to a panel of celebrity judges, fans, friends and families in groups of four and then preceded to entertain the crowd with a choreographed routine.

The celebrity judges panel was comprised of former Cleveland Browns defensive Back "Top Dawg" Hanford Dixon, Cris Glaser of Scene Magazine, Vic Gideon of WKYC TV-3, Nard Boy of 92.3 Extreme Radio, Mike Polk of WUAB TV-43 "The Block" and Kenny Roda host of Happy Hour on WKNR 850 AM, which was being broadcast live during the dance finals.

The Cleveland Force Energy Dance Team will be featured weekly on Reel Cheer and Dance TV, which is a reality show that features Pro Cheer & Dance Squads in the NFL, NBA, AFL, and now MISL. The show is set to air again this fall on PAX-NBC. Reel Cheer & Dance TV also features the Cleveland Force Jr. Energy Dance Team who will serve as the main cast and gain words of wisdom from the Energy Dance Team and other Professional dance/cheer teams.

According to Dance Team Director Hikia Dixon, "This squad is going to be the highlight of the city. They are the only Professional Dance Team in the nation to have their own TV show. People all over the will be feeling the Force of this hot new squad."

The new Cleveland Force Dance Team will be hard at work throughout the season by posing in front of the camera on various photo shoots, TV appearances, calendars, charity work, as well as many corporate events throughout the Greater Cleveland Area.

According to Energy Dancer Lisa Janatovich, "The girls are all talented and friendly. You can’t help but like one another. With the hype of the tryouts and the re-birth of Cleveland, everyone wants to be a part of something new and innovative".

The all-new Energy Dance Team will truly live up to its title Energy!. The squad practices 4 times a week with the majority of their games on the weekends. Members are also required to take cardio kickboxing and body conditioning classes that are provided through the Right Path Studio, the official training facility of the Cleveland Force Energy Dance Team. "These girls will be doing a lot of training because they will need the endurance to keep up with their name (ENERGY!)", notes Dixon, "In my past experiences in working with the Cavaliers (Jr. Squad) over the years, I feel that I have now advanced into Directing a professional Squad. This squad is doing something new and innovative in the sense that they are working on martial arts as part of their body conditioning".

The 16 members of the 2004-05 Cleveland Force Energy Dance Team are as follows: Randi Brooks (Akron), Melissa Cerasi (Brecksville), Teresa Clark (Mount Vernon), Allison Collins (Independence), Suzanne Dominak (Lakewood), Nicole Elias (Parma), Kendall Eshleman (Wooster), Gina Fiorino (Cleveland), Lisa Janatovich (Parma), Valerie Malloy (Berea), Lindsay McCoy (Stow), Melissa Moore (Wickliffe), Tiffiny Robinson (Mansfield), Danielle Shook (Tallmadge), Amy Sowa (Painesville) and Kristina Trifiletti (Concord).