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Building the Pyramid

An exploration of girlhood through the eyes of the Charles E. Jordan High School Varsity Cheerleading Team

The High School Chearleader, a trope enforced by countless teen movies, books and TV shows, is popular and catty. She is usually thin and blonde, and she is always a mean girl. For the High School Cheerleader, the sport is merely a means to gaining

Jaetta James (left) and Braxtyne Seetram (right) perfect their hair and makeup before a game. Not all the girls wear makeup to perform, but the ones who do treat it as a sacred pre-game ritual. Many athletes are superstitious about their pre-game

Jordan’s cheerleading and football teams prepare for their last away game at Riverside High School. They arrive one hour early so that the boys have plenty of time to dress for the game and the girls can practice their cheers.

Unaccompanied by their coach to their away game at Sanderson High School, the girls play “Down by the Banks” and danced for a full hour instead of practicing cheers.

The two team captains, Alanna Autry (left) and Senam Batse (right), take a nap on the bus to Riverside High School. “Our bond is what makes our team special,” says Alanna.

“These need to be much better for the parents tomorrow,” says Coach Kortnee McAdams, or “Coach K” as the girls call her. The girls practice their jumps for the last time before they perform at Parent Night.

“This season started out pretty rough at first,” says co-captain Senam Batse. “We all have different styles and come from different experience levels. Alanna and Nyah are used to competitive cheering, but the rest of us have been doing Stomp N Shake

The girls all meet in Coach K’s classroom at 6:00 pm to get ready for the game. Here, Kennedi Bulla meticulously paints Lazayrea Smith’s eye makeup, using a paper towel to create perfect lines.

Braxytne Seetram takes a selfie while waiting for the Homecoming Queen to be announced at halftime.

Tracy Childress, Britney Overbeek and Nyah Hasan (left to right) watch their team perform at the final football game of the season. Coach K removed them from the game because they missed practice for a mandatory choir rehearsal. “It sucks that we ha

The team circles up for the last time before starting their final game. Although the girls were not all close at the beginning of the season, they’ve grown to love and look out for one another, despite their different personalities and cheer styles.

The girls all extend their hands to help stabilize Nakhiya Shearin as she practices a jump before a game. “We might clash sometimes and there might be drama, but at the end of the day, we have each other’s backs.”