Cho and members of dancing team. [China Daily] |
"I take the role of trainer as a serious and life-time practice. All I am doing is drawing inspiration from different training methods around the world and to construct a suitable one for the Chinese," she says.
In 1999, Cho founded the Soojin Dance Team and the earliest members were seven regular attendants of her gym class.
At first, they performed for themselves and later scored a few commercial jobs. It was not until the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea that the team became celebrated on an bigger scale.
The event drew an influx of Chinese spectators because it was the first time the Chinese national team had ever entered the final round at the World Cup. "However, I found that there was no professional cheering squad from China, besides the self-organized cheering teams of football fans," Cho says, who was a cheerleader in school.
Cho and her team became stars when they appeared in the stadium wearing chic sportswear and designs of the Chinese national flag painted over their faces.
They waved rattle-drums and led spectators to cheer for the Chinese football team, making front-page headlines in South Korea. "People, particularly in my home country, wondered why a South Korean girl was leading a Chinese cheering squad. Actually I didn't think about it much. I stayed in China for several years. I simply wanted to do something to unite the Chinese spectators," she says.
During their tour in South Korea after the World Cup, Cho published a book about her life in China, encouraging her female compatriots to strive for their ideals.
"In my country, girls are taught to be qualified wives and mothers. I hope South Korean women can take more initiative in public affairs, and they can enjoy the bitterness and sweetness during the pursuit of their own career like I do in China," she says.
Cho was designated the head coach of CBA's cheering squads between 2002 and 2004.
"I knew nothing about basketball. It didn't matter. I believed that a good cheering team should try their best to interact with the spectators and spice up the field."
She had only two weeks to revamp CBA's cheering squad, whose previous performance was criticized for being boring and conservative like the morning exercises in China's school.
"When we performed on the opening game of CBA's new season, a lot of spectators were stunned, their eyes and mouths were wide open," she says.
"They shouted, applauded and broke into cheers. And after the show, I heard some one saying: 'We finally have a real cheering team'."
She signed another contract with the CBA in 2005. Before resigning, she went to the United States and watched several NBA games and took notes.
"Maybe we don't have to follow the example of NBA. We need to create a cheerleading culture of our own," she says.
Cho has interviewed many girls aspiring to join cheer squads and says many see the job in a wrong way, thinking all they need is a beautiful face and a hot body.
"To be a good cheerleader, you should first display positive attitude toward the job. You should be devoted to strict training and high-intensive exercises, so that you can look healthy and energetic before the spectators," she says.
Cho now devotes herself to her dance team, which has undertaken many cheer performances during the ongoing "Good Luck Beijing" competitions. These include beach volleyball, handball and wheelchair basketball.
The team is gearing up for their biggest performance in August.
