Before the White House ... Go, Redskins!

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Before she made it into a White House state dinner without an official invitation, Michaele Salahi made it onto the Redskins alumni cheerleading squad — without ever having been a Redskins cheerleader.

Salahi performed at FedEx Field during halftime of the Redskins-St. Louis Rams game on Sept. 20, with a group of 150 former Redskins cheerleaders, the Washington Post reported. Salahi’s rehearsals with the group were filmed by a crew that has been following Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq, for possible inclusion on a cable TV reality show, “Real Housewives of D.C.”

Several alumni cheerleaders told the Post that Michaele Salahi’s presence at a rehearsal drew attention because of the presence of TV cameras, but also suspicion because no one seemed to remember her. Their doubts were heightened when Salahi couldn’t perform some of the basic cheerleader routines, including the standard choreography for the team’s fight song, “Hail to the Redskins.”

But it wasn’t until stories about the Salahis’ White House incident last week that the cheerleaders decided to follow up on her credentials as a Redskins cheerleader.

“She was never at an audition, never at a game and never performed” as an original cheerleader, said Sheryl Olecheck, a Redskins cheerleader from 1986-96 who choreographed the team for seven years.

A video company, Half Yard Productions, showed up to film Salahi at the practice Sept. 18. At one point, a producer asked Olecheck if she could put Salahi in the front row. Olecheck declined. “I already had the formation, and besides, she was too tall and couldn’t dance,” she said.

Salahi didn’t return calls or e-mails seeking comment Wednesday. A spokesman for the Redskins said the team was not aware of her participation in the cheerleader events.

-- Washington Post