Former UM Dancer Joins Popular Reality Show

Wow, congrats are in order for University of Montana dance program graduate Amber Laiche (pronounced Lesh.) She has been chosen as one of this season's contestants on the CMT reality show "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team." I've never seen it, but see the title all of the time when scrolling, and the show has been around since 2006, so it must be a hit.

How the Show Works

Amber is one of 52 rookies who will compete for a coveted spot with the iconic Cowboys Cheerleaders. The show follows the audition process with former cheerleaders from the 1980s calling the shots. The hopefuls are put through dance routines, uniform fittings, team history trivia, pretend media interviews, and even etiquette direction. The conclusion of training camp leaves some girls "cut" with 36 left to form the squad for the first Cowboys home game of the preseason. It sounds tough physically and emotionally, and there's got to be some drama if the show has been running for this many seasons.

More About Amber

Amber Laiche recently graduated from the U of M with hopes of turning her dancing into a career. U of M school news outlet the Montana Kaimin posted a great interview with her the day before her first episode debuted. In it, she says she wouldn't be where she is today without the connections she formed in Missoula, shares the history that led her to a career in dance, and talks about her very favorite moment with the UM Dance Team. You can read it in full here.

Amber's season of 'Making the Team' began on Friday, September 17th, you can watch the episode in its entirety here.