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](node/358746)The Halloween Game Day experience is one that I look forward to every year! Since my rookie season on the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue in 2011, the Halloween games have been my favorite. This year we rehearsed at AT&T Stadium for several days leading up to the big game and had so much fun doing so because it gave us a chance to spend time with dozens of dancers from around the community along with our Dallas Cowboys family, The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

During the first rehearsal, we reviewed the choreography for our Thriller-based set and were given our spots in the formations. This is always a very tricky and time consuming task because we must position ourselves exactly on our assigned yard lines and transition into our different spots in a very precise way to make sure the audience is able to see all the choreography's exciting visual elements. These small details are what make this type of performance go from good to great. Once the formations were done, we practiced getting into our "Zombie" characters by testing different ways of crawling onto the field. Dancers tumbled, dragged, and manipulated their movement across the field to create the eerie effect that makes this show so unique.  On the last day of rehearsal, we were able to watch each other perform the entire set to give us perspective on corrections but it also made me even more excited for the audience to see our characters come to life. We also had a special little visitor at our last rehearsal; our director, Jenny Durbin Smith, gave us the surprise of bringing her cute little girl to watch us rehearse. It was a great surprise that made all the dancers smile and giggle as she cheered us on from the sidelines.

On game day, we all started getting excited when we saw the dancers arriving in their spooky zombie costumes. Not only were we looking forward to our halftime set, we were also excited to perform all of our pre-game performances in the Miller Lite and AT&T Plazas.  After several performances in the plazas and rallying fans during the first quarter, we rushed to our locker room and started getting dressed for the halftime performance. Our very own Jessica Stewart hand-made our costumes and made the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue look absolutely fabulous! We all scurried around helping each other put on black lipstick, tie up our boots, and pin ourselves into the 'Black Swan'-inspired outfits. Lastly, we threw on baby powder to create the finishing touches on our costume and rushed out the door with seconds to spare before the start of halftime.

The iconic song,"Thriller," by Michael Jackson started blaring through the stadium and out we crawled onto the field! The crowd was simply amazing. Their energy and excitement definitely made this Halloween halftime particularly special. We completely embodied our characters and had a blast while doing it! At the end of our performance the crowd's roar was overwhelming and I immediately gave my teammates and my DCC friends big hugs as we all felt a sense of accomplishment that we had officially completed another successful halftime together.

The Halloween game was a great reminder of just how lucky I am to be part of the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue and how honored we are to call AT&T stadium our home away from home. Being a part of the Dallas Cowboys organization and specifically in the entertainment unit under the direction of Jenny Durbin Smith is something I feel honored and privileged to be able to experience. I think my teammates would agree that being on the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue is truly something special.