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By Josh Perry
Hometown Weekly Staff
Needham High graduates Alexandria and Victoria Stavropoulos have taken the skills that they learned during their time on the school’s dance team and used it to begin successful stints on the New England Patriots cheerleading team (Alexandria) and Boston Celtics dance team (Victoria).
This year, the sisters were also chosen to represent those teams at the leagues’ respective all-star games. Alexandria, who has been with the Patriots cheerleaders for four years, traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Pro Bowl while Victoria, who has been a Celtics dancer for three years, was invited to dance at the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto.
“It was an incredible honor and achievement to be selected as the 2016 Pro Bowl Cheerleader and go to Hawaii to represent our squad and the New England Patriots,” said Alexandria by email last week.
She was chosen as the team’s Cheerleader of the Year by the team director and that honor allowed her to travel to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl festivities. Alexandria, who has been a choreographer and assistant coach with the Needham High dance team since 2011, has risen through the ranks of the Patriots cheerleading team and this past fall was named one of its captains.
“When I originally tried out for the Patriots cheerleading squad,” she explained, “the entire NFL cheerleader experience was new to me. My main focus was to do my best as dancer and teammate.”
Now in her fourth year, Alexandria can offer advice to the newer members of the team. She also shares advice with her younger sister.
“I gave her some guidance when she auditioned for the team as I had experience trying out for the Patriots,” Alexandria said. “She didn’t need much help as she is one of the most talented dancers I’ve ever seen.”
“We have been and continue to be a great support system for each other over the years as we’ve been on professional dance teams.”
The sisters share experiences from the field and the court and can work on new routines together. They are also present at games to cheer from the stands.
“It has been so much fun to share my dancing career and passion with my sister,” said Alexandria. “She continues to make me so proud as an older sister!”
Now that she has finished her fourth year with the Patriots, Alexandria has to give up her spot on the team, but the organization has offered her a way of fulfilling a career goal by offering her a position as the cheerleading team’s dance trainer.
“My goal for post cheering would be to eventually become a coach for a professional dance team,” she said. “So, I actually got my dream job immediately after arriving back from Pro Bowl!”
Standing on the field at Gillette Stadium or courtside at the TD Garden is part of the daily thrill of the job for Alexandria and Victoria. Feeding off the energy of the crowd and performing for thousands of fans every game has been Alexandria’s “favorite” experience, but she added that there are countless opportunities that have come from her love for dance.
“I didn’t know all the places my love for dance could take me and becoming an NFL cheerleader has helped me exceed any expectations I ever had for myself,” Alexandria said.
She highlighted trips to 10 countries for games and photo shoots, cheerleading and dance clinics for children around the world and community service projects that the team has taken part in at home and abroad. Of course, being able to cheer on the Patriots during a Super Bowl run counts pretty high too.
“And finally I’ve been fortunate enough to cheer up until every AFC Championship game for all of my four years and cheered for our beloved four-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLIX,” she remarked.
“When you follow your dreams anything and everything is possible!”
Josh Perry is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
