Team Spirit Days
Years of dance lessons prepare women for professional cheerleading jobs
BY ADRIANA MARIELLA
24
WAYNE MAGAZINE FALL 2015
Breena Murray
2007-2009
Knicks City Dancer
It’s no surprise that Pompton Plains native
Breena Murray started dancing at age 3. Her mother,
Linda, was a dancer who encouraged Breena and
her sister, Ryann, to embrace the stage at a young
age. At age 10, Murray began classes at Performing
Arts Academy, which began a decade of competitive dancing and intense training. For years,
she attended school daily until 3 p.m. and then
danced at PAA until 9 p.m.
When it came time to apply to college, Murray
struggled with finding the right place for her. With
a resume filled with dance accomplishments (and
four years of field hockey experience), her passion
was for dance, not academics. Murray attended
Manhattan College, where she joined the dance
team, but by the end of her freshman year, she
felt that she wasn’t being challenged, so she tried
out for the second season of So You Think You
Can Dance. When she didn’t make it to the next
round, she decided to audition for the Knicks City
Dancers. A friend at Manhattan College was
dancing for them and Murray decided to attend
the weeklong auditions. She made the team two
years in a row, dancing for the Knicks from 20072009, while juggling school at the same time.
Knowing now that dance would not become
a lifelong profession, Murray says she wishes she
had enjoyed it more in the moment. “I was so
stressed about little things,” she recalls. “I didn’t
even realize the things I was accomplishing.” The
experience wasn’t entirely lost on her, however.
“Sometimes before we would run out to cheer,
I would look up and think ‘I’m in Madison Square
Garden,’” she recounts fondly. ➤
INSET PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MURRAY FAMILY; ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
B
eing a professional cheerleader takes physical stamina
and dedication: skills many cheerleaders learn in the
dance studios in which they grew up. Graduates of
Gloria Frances School of Performing Arts in Wayne
and the Performing Arts Academy in Pompton Lakes
are among these highly competitive athletes and
performers who promote the spirit of their professional sports
teams on and off the playing field.