Belles Invited to Perform in India

“I was so surprised to receive the phone call last week”, exclaims Cher Fox. “What an amazing opportunity!” Fox, Owner and Executive Director of the Belles Performance Team, received a phone call and a follow up email from the Indian Premier League, inviting the Belles to perform in India for their cricket playoffs in April and May. The IPL is the top Cricket league in India, and considered very similar to the NFL in the United States.

“At first I thought, this can’t be real,” shares Fox. “I forwarded the email to my coaches and they reacted similarly.” After doing some research on the internet, Fox discovered the NFL Washington Redskins Cheerleaders were already in India, 12 ladies promoting cricket and building a new India based cheerleading squad for one team, the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Redskins Director of Entertainment and Cheerleaders Donald Wells is also onsite heading up this effort. This week, 12 cheerleaders representing Australian rugby teams Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm and the St. George Illawarra Dragons, are heading to India to add to the excitement.

“Unfortunately with such short notice, we were unable to attend,” explains Fox. “We just held auditions for our summer team and many of our dancers are students. This opportunity fell right during finals and we had to take their educational commitment into consideration when making this decision for our organization.” Fox believes the Belles were likely one of many American teams contacted for this opportunity. But she was honored that the organization was considered.

“This invitation confirms that although the Belles do not support a traditional sports team, we have an international appeal as an All American team of dancers and women,” states Fox. The Belles have been looking outside of the states for performance opportunities. Fox reveals that they have been preparing to submit an application for a USO entertainment tour. The application process is very thorough and it has taken the organization some time to create and gather all the necessary information and materials to apply.

“The Belles will become international entertainers very soon,” assures Fox. “The IPL plans to contact us again next year, hopefully earlier in the year, so we can be ready to share our spirit with India and the international fans of Cricket.”

Click here to see the latest news from the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders in India.

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Click here for the Washington Post's article on the WRC.

Click here for the New York Times' coverage of the WRC.

Click here for the Redskins' announcement of their Cheerleaders' trip to India.

Click here to learn more about the Aussie Cheerleaders in India.