DENNIS M. SARDENGA, JR.
Age: 29
Height: 5'7'
Weight: 150 pounds
Resides in: Chicago ( Lakeview ) , for the past four years.
Status: Single, gay.
High School: LW Higgins, Class of 1996 ( Marrero, La. ) . Was a cheerleader and spent two years on the varsity soccer team
College: Southeastern Louisiana University.
Nowadays: Attends classes at the College of Office Technology, works at Sidetrack as a doorman and bartender.
Hobbies: Two-stepping at Charley's, gymnastics class on Wednesdays.
Nickname: Cricket, given to him by his mom.
Founding member: Chicago Spirit Brigade.
The 'fear factor' is what drives Dennis M. Sardenga, Jr., who first started as a cheerleader in junior high, continued in high school and then at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Sardenga is still cheering, still sailing through the air, still as energetic as ever. He's a founding member of the Chicago Spirit Brigade, a community-based cheerleading crew of about 24 ( mostly males ) that cheers at local events to support HIV/AIDS and cancer charities.
'In junior high, I was told that you could just stand there ( as a cheerleader ) and tumble. That was the initial attraction, such as doing back-handsprings,' he said. 'I continued as a cheerleader in high school because it was fun, and actually more fun than playing soccer. We went to different competitions, and cheered at all of the football and basketball games plus numerous parades.
'In college, cheerleading was a lot more difficult. In fact, it actually took me two years [ and ] two tries to make the college squad.'
Sardenga was living and working in Chicago for about a year before the Spirit Brigade started. Life then, he said, was dull and boring, even though he played volleyball.
'When I heard about the Spirit Brigade, I knew I had to join,' he said. 'I have since seen the squad grow from four ( members ) to 24. It's very gratifying to see the success that we've had, especially because cheerleading is a very hard sport.'
Sardenga and his crew will be cheering numerous times during the Gay Games, so too will other cheer teams from around the country. Sardenga will be the Spirit Brigade star sailing through the air some 25 feet in the air. 'I have no fear when it comes to being thrown in the air,' he said.
So what does through your mind during that skyward journey?
'Concentrating on keeping my form, staying tight and feeling how high I am going so I know when to complete the trick that I'm doing,' he said. Often, Sardenga reaches his in-flight apex, does a toe-touch, and then returns into the arms of teammates.
'It's like skydiving, and then having four guys holding their arms together to catch you,' he said. 'I get goose bumps when I start talking about the Gay Games. We're training hard, working hard and just really preparing for this huge event.
'I performed in San Francisco during the city's Gay Pride Parade, and that was my first performance with this group,' Sardenga said. 'It was an amazing feeling being in the center of this crowd and being thrown up by three guys while surrounded by literally thousands of people. That was intense, and I'm sure the Gay Games will be the same.'
Sardenga said his goal for the Games is simple: 'Do our routines without anyone falling down.'