The first and only British cheerleader in the NFL, Holly Warden, embarks on a new life after fulfilling all of her aspirations as a cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins. Warden danced on the sidelines of the Hard Rock Stadium for three years, performed in three fashion shows, went on three military tours and visited seven different countries, including England.
Last February, Warden went on her last military tour, interacting with the men and women of the military and putting on a show with other cheerleaders and retired Dolphins players. “They teach us about what they do, and just to spend time with them to show them they’re not alone,” Warden said. “I made friends with some guys who I still talk to now — really nice guys who have families and have been serving for years.” In this last tour, while visiting the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.K., Warden’s sister Zoe and uncle Stewart got to visit her in one of the bases in England. They traveled for four hours by train and by cab after a snowstorm hit.
“I was so worried that my family was not going to make it up to see me,” Warden said. “I’m from a small village in the south and when it snows the trains don’t normally run.”
Warden’s sister still lives in England and has only seen Holly perform twice in the games, so every moment they share is special.
“It was great to see them. It was only a couple of hours because we had to fit them in between work, but it was great to see them and we had a nice dinner all together with the team,” Holly Warden said.
Having concluded her last season as a Miami Dolphins cheerleader, Warden plans to use what she learned in cheer to open her own dance studio called “The Cheer Lab.”
“When you’re on cheer and when you’re on a team and you’re working together it’s more about the larger picture than being a solo dancer,” Warden said. “I think that everyone leads by example so if they see that we work hard together, we work as a team, we are kind to each other, we are not just dancing next to each other—we are actually friends.”
