TEAM SPIRIT
EXHAUSTING WORKOUTS Sometimes it’s difficult for Vezza to stay positive during
long rehearsal hours at the studio, but she tells aspiring dancers to never give up on
their dreams.
Francesca Vezza of Wayne has been dancing toward her role as a Jets
Flight Crew Cheerleader since she was able to walk. As a toddler, she
would balance on the balls of her feet, a habit that lead her grandmother
to believe Vezza would one day be a dancer. At age 3, her mother bought
her a pair of tap shoes and a Shirley Temple videotape that she would
mimic in the living room. By age 8, she was competing with the Gloria
Frances School of Performing Arts competition team, The Dance Edition, in
Wayne, putting in long hours of training and rehearsal. And, as a student at
Wayne Valley High School, Vezza was captain of the varsity cheerleading
team and a member of the Student Dance Association.
The summer before her sophomore year at Montclair State University,
Vezza attended a Jets game, but instead of concentrating on the game, she
studied the moves of the Jets Flight Crew Cheerleaders, and the next day
started training for an audition with them. It took until the third and final
round of auditions for Vezza to recognize that she could possibly become
a professional cheerleader with the 2015 Jets Flight Crew. The most
rewarding moments of her cheerleading career have been when she has
proven to herself that she could achieve her goals and, as she notes,
“when I finally get that triple turn.”
28 WAYNE MAGAZINE FALL 2015
COURTESY OF JETS FLIGHT CREW
Francesca Vezza
2015-2016
Jets Flight Crew Cheerleader