Meet Alison Gadia of North Broward Prep in Coconut Creek

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Gadia.

Alison, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Lighthouse Point, Florida and attended North Broward Preparatory School for 14 years – Pre K through 12th grade. I was apart of their dance program starting in 1st grade, and that is where I learned my passion for dance. Heather Haley was my dance teacher throughout elementary school, and she was truly my inspiration. When I think back to my memories as a child, I mostly remember dancing with Miss Haley. She was such a joyful person and seeing her passion for dancing and performing made me want to be just like her.

Once I got to middle school, Melissa D’Errico was the head of the dance department. I danced in her department from 6th to 12th grade where I got the opportunity to learn from not only her but other incredible instructors including Paula Caselton, Bridgette Castillo, Natalie Sager, Kim Alexander and many more. I graduated from North Broward in 2010 and attended Florida Atlantic University to study Multimedia Journalism. I stopped dancing during my first year in college to focus on my studies.

A year without dancing went by, and I knew I needed to dance back in my life. I have always been an avid South Florida sports fan, so when I heard about the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders auditions, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to blend my two passions – sports and dance. I tried out for the 2012 team and made the squad. I cheered for the Miami Dolphins for five seasons where I was the co-captain for one season, the captain for two seasons and the ProBowl Cheerleader in 2017. It was an incredible experience and such an honor to represent the Miami Dolphins.

As soon as my journey with the Miami Dolphins was finished, Melissa D’Errico reached out to me asking if I was interested in being one of the dance team coaches at North Broward. I was so humbled to be back at the place where I learned and developed my passion for dance, and now I was able to pass that on to the next generation.

As I was coaching at North Broward, I was still going to school at FAU. I got an internship with ESPN West Palm to pursue my dream as a sports broadcaster. During my time at ESPN, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and tryout to be the in-arena game day host at the FAU basketball games. They wound up choosing me to host the men’s basketball games for the 2017-2018 season! It was such an amazing opportunity that opened a door I never thought I’d walk through.

The Florida Launch (a professional men’s lacrosse team) saw that I was the host for FAU basketball and asked me to be the in-stadium game day host for their 2018 season. I couldn’t believe that stepping out of my comfort zone to try out for something I had never done before would lead me to the Florida Launch (which in due time would turn into something even bigger).

I finally graduated from FAU in May of 2018 but immediately had a moment of panic as most people do right after they graduate from college. My internship with ESPN was over, I didn’t have a full-time job, and I was getting married in July with absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my life.

Lisa Anderson, who was working alongside Melissa D’Errico at North Broward, reached out to me saying they were looking to hire a Head Dance Team Coach to run the dance team. At first, I didn’t think that could be my career (it just seemed to be too good to be true), so I kept looking for other jobs in the meantime. I kept going back and forth with what to do with my career. People go to college to get a degree and ultimately use that degree in their career choice.

I quickly realized that being a sports broadcaster would mean I would have to move away and I didn’t want to move away from my husband. I then applied to a sales job just to see what would happen and I was offered the position. I was so excited to have my first job offer, but deep down I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do. Yes, being a sports broadcaster was my dream since I was a little girl but being a captain on the Miami Dolphins and being a coach at North Broward made me realize something.

I have always had a passion for performing but teaching and motivating dancers to be the best that they can be gave me more joy than I ever thought possible. Seeing my students dance on stage and grow as performers filled my heart with so much happiness and I couldn’t imagine giving that up. I decided to apply for the Head Dance Team Coach position at North Broward, and I was offered the job. I was so happy with my decision and couldn’t believe I was now apart of running the program which made me the dancer I am today.

It is so surreal that I get to share my passion with my students every single day and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I love teaching and running a team so much that I didn’t want to stop just there. The Florida Launch is apart of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) which has nine teams in the league. A majority of the teams have dance teams, but the Florida Launch did not. Since I was the game day host there last season, they learned I was also a dance team coach.

With my coaching and dance experience, they decided I would be the perfect person to start a dance team for them. So… this season we will be debuting the first ever Florida Launch Dance Team! Never in a million year did I think I would be starting a dance team from the ground up and it is all because I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something I’ve never done before. We have 11 talented dancers that will be taking the field this season, and I am so excited for the MLL to see the final product!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @NBPSDanceTeam @Florida_Launch @Alison_Brooke
• Twitter: @NBFineArts @Florida_Launch @Alison__Brooke

Image Credit:
Erika Smith, Jason Jenkins @ [email protected], Theresa Garner @ [email protected], Heather Huntemann @ [email protected]

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