---
title: "Should I mirror a cheer tryout video?"
description: "Should I mirror a cheer tryout video? Check one arm against the squad before you drill."
canonical_url: "https://dancermirror.com/guides/should-you-mirror-cheer-pom-and-majorette-tryout-videos"
md_url: "https://dancermirror.com/guides/should-you-mirror-cheer-pom-and-majorette-tryout-videos.md"
last_updated: "2026-10-24"
status: published
---

# Should I mirror a cheer tryout video?

Should I mirror a cheer tryout video? Only after you know whether the coach filmed it for you to copy as a mirror or as the audience sees it. A high arm on the wrong side is the mistake people notice from the back of the gym. Pom, majorette, and J-setting lines are not the same sport. They share this picture problem.

**Short answer.** Should I mirror a cheer tryout video when the coach faces the camera and your raised arm does not match the squad. Check one shape, a high V or the hit they care about, against a teammate or the counts. If the coach already flipped the lesson, flipping again puts you back on the wrong arm. Pom and majorette videos need the same check. Dancer Mirror does not download videos. Learn the file you were sent, not a new routine.

- A facing coach swaps left and right.
- One clean shape is worth more than a full routine on the wrong diagonal.
- Dancer Mirror does not download videos.

**Takeaway.** Pick one shape, the one the coach will judge first. Match that arm to a teammate or to the written counts. Then drill. Do not flip halfway through and hope.

## Which shape do you check first?

The one they will see from the stands. Often that is the arm that is high when everyone else is high, or the diagonal of a pom. Stand in the formation spot you will actually have, even if the spot is tape on the carpet. Hit the shape once. Look at a photo of the squad counts if you have one, or at a friend on the same video call doing it with you. If your high arm is their low arm, the picture is the wrong way round for copying.

Do not run the full tryout music to 'see if it fixes itself'. It will not. You will be tired and more convinced. One shape. Then the next shape. Transitions are where a corrected start dies. Loop the transition after the shapes agree, not before.

**Write the arm, not a novel**

| Bar | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hit | shape | hold | 2 | 3 | change | 5 | 6 | hit |

## What if the coach already mirrored it?

Then you copy what you see. A second flip is the full mistake in the other direction, and it feels like diligence. Ask one question: 'Do we copy you as we see you, or as we would stand beside you?' Coaches answer this quickly when you ask it early. They answer it angrily when the whole team shows up reversed.

If they do not answer, look at writing on a shirt in the video, or at a word on a wall. Readable text means you are seeing the room as the camera saw it, not a mirrored export. Mirrored text means someone already flipped it. Believe the text. Do not believe your nerves.

The picture flip is the [mirror guide](https://dancermirror.com/guides/how-to-mirror-a-dance-video). One decision. Write it on the first count.

## Pom, cheer, and majorette are different rooms

A pom hit, a cheer motion, and a majorette or J-setting accent do not share a practice just because the video is a person facing you. The picture problem is shared. The shapes are not. Learn the vocabulary your coach uses. Do not import a word from another team because a caption used it.

Props change the check. A pom in the wrong hand is visible. A fan, a flag, or a baton is a different object with a different grip. Learn the grip from the person who will judge it. A phone can show you the grip slowly. It cannot hand you the prop's balance.

## Three days is a short clock

Tryout videos arrive late on purpose or by chaos. You still do not get a new routine. You get clean hits on the counts you can repeat when you are nervous. Eight clean counts beat a full song with one wrong diagonal. Judges and captains see the diagonal. They do not see your effort.

Sleep. A 1am session that adds arms you cannot name is how the morning audition looks panicked. Stop when the correction has a name. Write the count. The file will be there in the morning.

## The file they sent

Dancer Mirror does not download videos. If they sent a file, use the file. If they sent only a link you are not allowed to keep, ask for a file or film your own run-through of the counts you were given, with permission. A random squad video with the same song is a different team.

Mark your spot in the formation in the note. Trying out from the wrong place in the count sheet is a different failure from a wrong arm, and it looks the same from the door.

## Sources

- [What the app does today](https://dancermirror.com/features)
- [How it works](https://dancermirror.com/how-it-works)

Practise the side you see. Download from the stores linked on the download page.