Photograph Getty
“I moved to London from France last year, not knowing a soul. I’d always wanted to try cheerleading, so joined a class – and it didn’t disappoint. I quickly made new friends and the passion of our coach was infectious.
Each class starts with a half hour warm-up, then we work on choreography to tunes like Timber by Ke$ha and Another One Bites The Dust by Queen. We do stunts, too, where lots of us form a base to throw ‘fliers’ up in the air. Trust is key: if the flier feels we aren’t confident about lifting her, she won’t go. Bases must be perfectly synchronised, so we have to look at one another – but I initially found it hard not to look at the flier! I worried I wasn’t strong enough, but I went for it and it paid off.