Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Boehle.
Michelle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I began my cheerleading career in High School when I tried out for the Mater Dei High School Pom Squad. I had never taken a cheerleading or dance class in my life, but I was always dancing around the house and performing with my hairbrush as my microphone, I loved to dance and was very committed to learning. I practiced really hard and made the team and later ended up Captain. Mater Dei ‘s basketball team won the PAC-10 conference while I was cheering for them. It was so exciting, and the energy was infectious.
I am forever grateful for that first introduction into cheerleading because, in hind site, I now see how much it shaped my life. It became the perfect outlet for me, and it has inspired my creativity, and I met some amazing friends. After cheerleading in high school, I caught the bug. I just loved the energy of sporting events and cheerleaders had the best seats in the house. I knew I wanted to go to a college that was big in sports and had a big college atmosphere. I went on to attend UCLA where I majored in dance and psychology and earned a spot on the UCLA pom squad.
I served as Captain on this team as well, and UCLA Basketball won the NCAA Championship that year, and the football team went to the Rose Bowl. Upon graduating, I auditioned to be a Los Angeles Laker Girl, along with some friends from UCLA. I made the team and spent the next six years performing at the Forum and then transitioning to the brand new Staples Center. I helped cheer the Lakers onto their 3-peat championships with Shaq and Kobe. Many tell me that I am a good luck charm because all the teams I cheered for had great success when I was there.
During that time, I began a career in the entertainment industry, I taught dance to young, bright-eyed kids and began my choreography career. I enjoyed getting involved in lots of entertainment opportunities. I worked in television and film as an actress, dancer, and choreographer. But after I retired from being a Laker Girl, I realized that what made those times so memorable was the group of women that I called my team and sharing the experiences with others who had the same interests. Don’t get me wrong.
Having courtside seats at Laker Games and Championship parties at the Playboy Mansion made it pretty awesome, too. But, being on a team and learning how to work together was so valuable in life. Those teammates are my best friends to this day, and we all get together to celebrate birthdays, our kids’ birthdays, and we lean on each other in bad times. As a part-time job, while I was dancing as a Laker Girl, I taught after school cheerleading classes for the schools in Santa Monica. I repeatedly was asked by parents if I did cheerleading birthday parties.
I was asked so many times that I finally decided to start offering them. That is when Cheer Mania Cheerleading and Dance Dress up Parties came to life. In 2004, I was living in Hermosa Beach, and I made flyers and plastered them all over town. The local dry cleaner would pimp me out to all her customers, and I started getting really busy doing parties. My company, Cheer Mania offers a very niche party experience that includes dressing up in authentic cheerleading outfits, glitter eye makeup, cheer instruction, performance, photo shoot, and FUN. The little girls get so excited to dress up in “real” Laker Girl uniforms or UCLA cheer outfits.
Today, we offer several different themes such as Monster High, UCLA, USC, Laker Girls, NFL teams., Frozen, Shimmer & Shine. We customize parties to the birthday girl’s interests, but it always involves cheer and dance in some way. Since my parties were doing so well, I decided to offer a summer camp that first year. My camp was packed with little girls so excited to learn how to cheer and stunt and tumble. I love to see how they learn to work together for their stunts. I like to have them be as creative as possible, so they are all involved in the choreography process and even write the words to all the cheers.
Now, 14 years later, Cheer Mania is still creating memorable birthday moments for little girls who dream of being a cheerleader as I did way back when. Our instructors are all professional cheerleaders who love teaching and encouraging little people to be the best they can be. I am so proud that my little business makes an impact in some of their lives and encourages them to pursue their dreams. Cheerleading and dance have made it possible for me to have such a full life. It sparked an entrepreneurial spirit in me to start my own business, and the lessons I learned about teamwork assists me in my other profession as a medical sales rep also.
As a Laker Girl, we were often hired to promote big companies, and I learned how to sell products, how to speak with many different types of people and to be kind and gracious to everyone. My story has actually come full circle. I have two sons now… a 1-year-old and a 6-year-old. Cheer Mania will soon be offering an after-school cheerleading class at their school in Pacific Palisades. I want to get back to the root of my business and find ways to inspire more cheerleaders and school spirit in a grassroots way, close to home.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Cheer Mania has never been my sole source of income, so luckily I was able to take my time and evolve when needed. For instance, when I started the business, the High School Musical movies were very popular.
At that time, we offered HS Musical as a theme because cheerleading was a big part of the movie. We were so busy with parties every weekend. When that phase ran its course, I had to create new themes and always be on the up and up with what was cool and popular with the kids.
So there are some staple Cheer Mania themes, but we also add new ones to adapt to the trends. My mom would probably say the struggles were when I would keep asking her to sew more costumes for me. My mom is a pro at making cheerleading uniforms now!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cheer Mania – Cheerleading & Dance Dress Up Parties – what should we know?
I may have answered some of this already in the first question. But I will try to be more precise here.
Cheer Mania offers cheerleading and dance dress up parties for little girls ages 4-12, private cheer instruction and summer camps. We operate all through LA and Orange County. I hire only the best cheerleaders as my instructors, if you want to learn from the pros, you come to us. Myself and all of my instructors have either been college cheerleaders and dancers or professional dancers.
We really have tapped into a niche market, as I don’t know any other party company that specializes solely on cheerleading and dance themed parties. I think parents appreciate my background as a professional cheerleader and they know they will get quality instruction. I also have been doing this for so long, that we have perfected our parties and we know what to expect at what age and how to keep everyone having the best time at the party.
We allow the birthday girl to be captain for the day and it is all about allowing the kids to dream and imagine themselves as a Laker Girl or a cheerleader for their favorite team, or maybe their parents’ alma mater. A typical party consists of first the girls dressing up in the themed cheer outfits. Then we apply special cheerleader glitter eye make up to make them feel really special. They decorate their own megaphones and color cheer characters.
We then teach them to cheer motions by playing “cheerleader says.” Then we teach them a few customized cheers and stunts… and then we break them up into two groups so they can create their own team name and choreograph how they will enter and exit for their performance. Once both teams are ready, they reveal their team names and perform what they learned for each other and the parents. We do a photo shoot where everyone gets to take a photo with the birthday girl in their cheer outfits.
Parents love seeing the photos of the girls as little cheerleaders. When we do our summer camps, the one thing that the kids LOVE is our spirit stick. Each day, one camper gets awarded the spirit stick based on behavior throughout the day. This is another homemade item that my dad makes for me. HAHA. My family is very involved in my business. Whoever is doing nice things, helping others, being spirited, etc. receives a sticker. The camper with the most stickers at the end of the day takes the spirit stick home and then brings it back.
On the last day of camp, all the campers vote on who will get to take the Spirit Stick home and keep it. This is probably my favorite part of camp because we as instructors can always tell who will be chosen. But sometimes there are some mini politicians in the group who sway the vote by lobbying for votes, haha. The parents always like that we are positively reinforcing kind, helpful behavior. As a cheerleader myself, when our team would go to summer camp, there was always a spirit stick awarded to the most spirited team.
I took that idea and shrunk it down to one person, and made it into an encouraging way to keep the campers doing good throughout the week. The goal of the camp is to have fun, of course. We play lots of games and do tons of arts and crafts BUT… we practice a lot as well. In just five days they will learn a full routine with a cheer, a dance portion, and stunts. They perform this for the parents on the last day, and the room is decorated with all the team spirit banners they have made all week.
As a team, they pick a team name and they even write the words to the cheer, so they are very proud to show off what they have learned and created together. Cheer Camp is probably my favorite aspect of my company. We offer camps throughout Southern California, and we always have repeat campers. Some girls I met when they were four years old, and they have been coming to camp every year. Now they are my camp helpers for the younger girls.
On the first day of camp, everyone sits in a circle, and we go around and introduce ourselves, and each girl is asked to tell us all what they want to learn at camp. Some have been trying to do a cartwheel, and we get them to be able to do it by the end of the week. Others have never learned how to stunt or do the splits. With lots of practice and encouragement, everyone improves by the end of the week.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My background in professional cheerleading and as a dance teacher definitely gives substance to what I am offering. I love kids and have worked with kids all my life. I used to substitute teach, and I taught dance for years.
My mom was a preschool teacher, and she also taught at my school, so I was very aware of how to respect your teachers. I believe that I carry that into my teaching. I am pretty easy going and know how to make things fun, but I am very strict as well. I believe that children need structure and are more successful when given goals to achieve.
I always remind my instructors that they are going to a little girl’s birthday party and they need to make it the best day of her life. It is important to love what you do, and I truly love creating this magical day for each birthday girl. I love teaching kids and inspiring them, and I think that shines through in what I offer with my business.
Pricing:
- Cheer Mania Parties start at $375 for a party of 10 children and party favors are included
- Summer Camp is $325/week and locations are TBD
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cheermaniaparty.com
- Phone: 310-717-0444
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheermaniaparty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheermania
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheermania
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cheer-mania-los-angeles?osq=cheer+mania
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