By Greg Nikkel
A Weyburn girl, Brooklyn Arts, has had her distinctively bright smile appear in a number of places, including as a member of the Felions, the B.C. Lions cheer team, and in TV and dance productions, including as an extra on the show “Riverdale”.
Brooklyn started by being a member of the cheerleading squads at the Weyburn Junior High and then the Weyburn Comprehensive School.
After graduating from the Comp in 2015, Brooklyn started attending the University of British Columbia to take kinesiology, and joined the university’s cheer team in her first year. She then joined a sorority in her second year, and one of her friends urged her to attend an audition for the Felions, and was accepted as a member of that cheer squad for the 2017 season.
“It was unbelievable. I loved it, getting to be on the field with the players and the girls. They’re an amazing group of girls,” said Brooklyn, during an interview while she visited in Weyburn with her family prior to the start of the new CFL season.
“They’re a group of 40 girls from all around Vancouver. We’re with each other a lot, especially when I go to a promotional event. You also get to meet a lot of people in the industry,” she said. “It’s definitely a good experience.”
A huge highlight of the season for her was taking part in the Grey Cup celebrations in Ottawa, where the cheer teams from all the CFL teams took part. The Felions team danced with performer Son Real prior to the Grey Cup, then they had a time when they could promote themselves in their own pavilion. During the half-time show with Shania Twain, her cheer team was the audience dancing in front of the stage, and she was part of the line closest to the stage.
During the season, the Felions only performed for home games with the B.C. Lions, and on game day, they would arrive three or four hours prior to the start to practice and go over their routines.
Just prior to kickoff, they sold calendars as their main fundraiser, and then changed to their cheer outfits to be on the sidelines during the game, where the team captain would call out a particular routine depending on the play on the field. In between the quarters and at half-time, they had different dance routines they would do.
Asked how being on the Felions compared to being on a Comp cheer squad or the UBC cheer team, Brooklyn said the level of precision is much higher and the pressure is much higher as it’s a paid position, and the girls represent the B.C. Lions both on and off the field.
“It’s higher stress as you’re in front of a lot of people. It’s something you represent all the time. We do a lot of promos,” she said, noting they get requests at events, or for charitable visits at the B.C. Children’s Hospital or at golf tournaments with the players.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Brooklyn, noting she’s loving the experience and the exposure that being with the Felions is giving her, as it is helping her with some of her other dreams and goals to be an actress and dancer in Vancouver. She was an extra on the TV show “Riverdale”, and has appeared as an extra in other productions as well. Just prior to her visit in Weyburn, she had an audition for an acting and talking role, and is hopeful it will translate into a part for her.
“I love being on set for sure,” said Brooklyn, noting she has one more year in her kinesiology degree to finish, after which she wants to stay in Vancouver for a little while to see what other opportunities for dancing or acting might come her way.
