AUDIO: Ben-Gal 'Q' Off to the Super Bowl in Her Rookie Year

Elizabeth Quinlan is a former student and current teacher/coach at Roni's Dance in Aurora.

Elizabeth Quinlan. Photo provided. 

(Aurora, Ind.) – A Cincinnati Ben-Gal with ties to Eagle Country is going to the Super Bowl.

Elizabeth Quinlan, who goes by ‘Q’, is a rookie on the Ben-Gals squad. Her first season will be capped off with a trip to LA as the Bengals have made it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989. 

Q grew up in the area, attending Rising Sun schools until she moved to Lawrenceburg during her sophomore year of high school. Her path to becoming a professional dancer started at age 11 when she started attending Roni's Dance in Aurora.

“I kind of never left the studio, so now I’m a coach and have my own competition team, so it’s really exciting for me to kind of start a legacy of professional dancers from my hometown.”  

HEAR DOUBLE T'S INTERVIEW WITH Q IN THE AUDIO PLAYER BELOW

The excitement from Bengals fans has been felt throughout the Greater Cincinnati area since the first playoff win against the Las Vegas Raiders. For the Ben-Gals cheerleaders, their trip to LA was always going to be contingent on the Bengals winning the AFC Championship. 

Like many other Bengals fans, Q watched the AFC Championship Game on TV knowing a win would send the team and the cheerleaders to LA. 

“I was with about half of the girls on the team. We didn’t go to the Kansas City game, but we all went to someone’s house and got together and I’m sure everybody’s palms were sweating at the last minute there, but we really, really wanted to win and there were tears of joy and complete shock.”

The Ben-Gals will make their way to LA on Thursday. Their itinerary for the weekend is mostly unknown currently, but Q is excited for the opportunity and to share the experience with students at Roni’s Dance.

“I think that is my greatest contribution to my students right now is that I’m the person in their life that is going out and doing this dream they all are hoping to achieve one day. I don’t take that lightly. I always want to be an excellent role model for my dancers, share my experience, the highs and lows, and all the hard work and dedication that goes into it.”

Look for Q at the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on NBC.