Dancing All the Way to the Super Bowl

With 10 seconds left on the clock of the NFC Championship game against the LA Rams­—those 10 seconds separating the Seattle Seahawks from Super Bowl LX—and the crowd of 12s at Lumen Field whipped up in near hysteria, Seahawks Dancer Gianna Kelly looked at one of her fellow dancers in near disbelief.

“We're about to win this, we're going to go to the Super Bowl,” says Kelly, 23, who in addition to her duties as a first-year member of the Seahawks Dancers—the team’s cheerleaders formerly known as the Sea Gals—works for Disability Services at Seattle University.

Then the clock struck zero.

The dancers turned to each other and started jumping up and down, screaming in excitement.

“It didn't feel real,” she says. “And I don't think it will feel a hundred percent real until we are there in San Francisco.”

It’s been a wild ride for the rookie Seahawks Dancer, who moved to Seattle from her hometown of San Diego in May after landing a spot on the squad as one of 27 dancers. Then in September she started as the testing center coordinator for Seattle University's Disability Services.

In this role Kelly helps students with alternative testing accommodations. As a psychology major at the University of San Diego, she knew she wanted to find a career in a helping field.

“I knew that I enjoyed working with college-age students and thought this position would be a step in the right direction,” she says.

Kelly’s dance career started at age 3 in her hometown of San Diego. She focused on dance and cheer during high school, performing with the school team at football and basketball games. At the University of San Diego she was a four-year member of the dance team, serving as a captain her senior year.

During college, Kelly attended summer dance camps—combines, in the parlance of sports—where she first connected with professional dance programs, including the Seahawks, which led to her try out.

The demands of balancing her work life and her duties with the Seahawks felt like a lot at first. The dancers practice twice a week, averaging eight to 12 hours a week, and that’s not including all of game day or any additional promos and appearances.

“I've definitely gotten used to it and know how to set myself up for success,” she says. “And a lot of that just comes with planning ahead and making sure I am getting enough sleep, feeding myself properly and really just living in the present.”

Her favorite part of being a Seahawks Dancer is witnessing how the love of the home team joins together people from all ages and backgrounds.

“Everybody comes together and has this shared passion of not only football, but just being there for each other in those games, those stressful moments,” she says. “Everybody wants them to do well and there's truly no environment like Lumen Field.” 

Though it’s Kelly’s first year with the team, it’s the 50th anniversary for the Seahawks as well as the 50th anniversary of the Seahawks Dancers, making her rookie season even more special.

“We've gotten to celebrate all the alumni that have come before us and getting to hear their stories and how much they've loved the organization,” she says. “I couldn't have imagined making it this far and having this much fun experiencing the postseason and dancing with different music artists at halftime. The opportunities were endless this year, it’s just a dream come true.”

Besides performing at games, dancers visit training camp to mingle with fans, something Kelly says they take very seriously knowing they might be the only Seahawks with whom fans will personally interact. Dancers will also go on hospital visits, elementary schools to read with students and show their support at flag football games.

On Thursday morning she left for San Francisco to begin preparing for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots at Levi Stadium.

Though her arrival on the dance team aligned with the team's unexpected (to some) ascent to the Super Bowl, Kelly isn’t going to take credit for being the magic ingredient to their success this year.

“I genuinely think it's a team effort,” she says. “Obviously the players have come so far since the beginning of the season and also the 12s, the fans, they bring this energy that is so contagious to game day. I truly think that makes a difference.”