Tracy Sormanti, Cheerleader Director
Patriots.com
3/11/10

Cheerleader Final Auditions Photo Gallery >>

On Saturday, March 6, 52 talented and beautiful women still in the running for a coveted position on the 2010 Patriots Cheerleading Sqaud reported to Gillette stadium for final auditions. This event marked the third elimination in a series of four. The women were nervous, excited and fully prepared for the challenging day ahead.

The day began with a written quiz on football and Gillette Stadium and Patriots organizational facts.

After completing the quiz, the ladies were asked to line up for the swimsuit modeling round. As all members of the squad will receive an all expense paid trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic the last week of April to shoot the 2011 Patriots Cheerleaders Swimsuit Calendar (visit TNTVacations.com to book your trip if you’d like to join us!), the swimsuit modeling segment of auditions is a very important part of the process.



Once all of the candidates modeled their swimsuits, they quickly changed into dance attire, stretched on their own, and were given a short time to practice the routines they were to perform that day. After executing a series of high kicks and splits, the ladies performed two choreographed dance routines and then a 40 second freestyle combination.



The dance segment concluded with an optional tumbling pass, and then the meet/greet session with the judges began.

During the two week period between preliminary and final auditions, each finalist reported to Gillette Stadium for a personal interview with me. I met so many interesting women, diverse in their backgrounds yet all sharing a love of dance and performing. The panel of judges enjoyed the opportunity to meet each of these interesting women in the meet and greet session at final auditions.

At the conclusion of the day, the pool of 52 was narrowed down to an elite group of 38. That group is now in the midst of a two week intensive training program, attending rehearsals, public speaking drills and fitness training sessions (yes, that even means running the ramps at Gillette Stadium!). The fourth and final elimination will be made on Saturday, March 20 and the 2010 Patriots Cheerleading squad will be posted on March 23. Be sure to check back to see the new squad roster! 2010 is going to be a great year!

Brittany, Liz and Alicia

Former Baltimore Blast Cheerleader Alicia asked me if there was a website for former Pro Cheerleaders who were now stay-at-home moms. I suggested our good friends at AlumniCheerleaders.com, but she was looking for something more specific.

Maybe it’s too much of a niche, but if anyone has any suggestions or is inspired to start a Facebook group, or something, leave a comment with the details.

Brittany wanted me to point that she’s not a mom, and Liz says she’s like a mom to her 2 dozen or so Blast and Mariners Cheerleaders.

[Stealth Jr. Bombshells]

Current Sixers Dancer Kate and former Sixers Dancer Amber-Joi have started a have started a website called Phillyin.com.

Their mission?

To take an active role in promoting the “up-and-coming” City of Brotherly Love, through the eyes and ears of the personalities of phillyin.com. The focus will be on setting the record straight about what Philly has to offer, while helping to cultivate and document this on-going transformation from “old school” caterpillar to “A-list” butterfly, and having a ton of fun along the way.

Amber-Joi also has a post up about the upcoming Sixers Dancers Alumni performance scheduled for this Monday.

[Back on the Court: Part One]

[Phillyin.com]

The business was started by four black women who won’t discriminate in helping clients.

By Kevin Turner
Jacksonville.com

The partners in the new Jacksonville law firm Dorrell, Gale, Middleton & Wright say they want prospective clients to know that in addition to being African-American women who are parents of young children, they’re also qualified to handle virtually any case.

In an age when some attorneys specialize in narrow areas such as divorce or foreclosure, the partners of the new firm, which opened in January, say they want to be seen as a one-stop legal shop for anyone in Jacksonville - regardless of their race, sex, age or income.

“We are a full-service law firm. Between the four of us, we run the gamut,” said Dana Dorrell, a former Jacksonville Jaguars Roar cheerleader.

Dana Dorrell (from left), Angela Mathews Gale, LaFonda Gipson-Middleton and Regina Wright have formed a law firm they hope will help clients in search of more personalized service. But they’re parents of young children as well, and plan to lean on each other for support. They tried to seek similarly focused law firms for advice, but there weren’t any. “We’re the first of this size in the region,” Mathews Gale says.

LaFonda Gipson-Middleton, Angela Mathews Gale, Regina Wright and Dorrell come from different private practices and can handle civil cases ranging from personal injury to family law.

“We don’t want to restrict ourselves,” Mathews Gale said.

Duval County Judge Pauline Drake recommended they give the partnership a try to help further the visibility of successful African-American women in Jacksonville.

“It was my desire to put together a full-service firm of African-American women from all areas of law,” Drake said. “They put a lot of thought into it - in terms of their work to set it up. They really had the ambition and desire to do this.”

With Drake’s encouragement, the four discussed the idea in March 2009, they said. The idea took and they opened their new firm in The St. Joe Co. building.

“We met for lunch and found we still liked each other after a year,” Gipson-Middleton said.

All four say they’re aware that starting up a new law firm is a leap of faith. Gone is the pay security and services that come with working for a larger firm, they say. But they’ve brought clients with them, and they hope referrals and marketing bring in new clients.

Drake said the four are models for others.

“This sends a message to other African-American women that this is an achievable goal,” Drake said. “I think young women today need to see positive role models to give them something to aspire to. This is good news.”

In putting the new firm together, the foursome said they tried to seek out advice from other law firms partnered and run entirely by African-American women in the region, so they could anticipate pitfalls.

But they soon realized there weren’t any others.

“We’re the first of this size in the region,” Mathews Gale said.

Service comes first

Besides their experience, the four said they aim to give their clients a level of personal service and contact that larger firms aren’t able to match due to their high workloads. For example, Dorrell said she often got clients in her former practice who said they had come from large firms and were frustrated they couldn’t ever reach their attorney on the phone. Some said they didn’t even know who their attorney was.

All four partners are members of the Daniel Webster Perkins Bar Association, a Jacksonville attorney group dedicated to the African-American community; the Florida Bar; and the Jacksonville Bar. Wright, the first African-American woman to practice law in Columbia County, comes from Jacksonville’s Fourth Judicial Court as a division chief dealing with juvenile and repeat cases. Dorrell has taught business law at the University of Phoenix; Gipson-Middleton was given an award in 1999 for trying the most cases while she worked for the public defender’s office; and Mathews Gale, a former staff attorney with Jacksonville Legal Aid, is an expert in pro bono guardianship cases.

Parenthood in play

And all four women understand the demands of parenting. Gipson-Middleton has a 19-month-old boy; Mathews Gale has twin 3-year-olds; Dorrell has a 3-year-old boy; and Wright has a 5-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy. Working with others who understand the demands children can make on work time help keep the firm flexible because they can provide coverage for each other, they said.

But as far as the public’s perception is concerned, all four say they want the public to look beyond their commonalities and view them as attorneys.

“We want to ensure that is not the focus,” Mathews Gale said. “We don’t want to give that impression.”

The foursome will have an open house March 25 in their office in Suite 130 of the St. Joe building to introduce themselves to the community, said their publicist, Teresa Durand. It will also mark about a year since their fateful meeting, she said.

Dana is graduate of Alabama State University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

The Buffalo Jills were a big hit at the Buffalo’s Men’s Show.

The Buffalo Pro Cheer blog has the photos and video

[Official Website of the Buffalo Jills]

See what goes down at the interviews after prelims.

Catch up on the first three episodes

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Club will be holding auditions for the 2010 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders on Sunday, March 28 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Goodlife Fitness location inside of the Burlington Mall. The team is looking for 20 talented women who are interested in dancing and cheerleading, performing for an energetic crowd of almost 30,000 fans, taking part in community events, making new friends, and traveling to the 2010 Grey Cup in Edmonton.

All women over the age of 19 who have dance, cheer, and gymnastics backgrounds are encouraged to register for the auditions. For a full list of details and to download the registration form, visit Ticats.ca.
Requirements

All women wishing to audition for the 2010 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Cheerleading Team must meet the following requirements:

* You must have a dance, cheer and/or gymnastics background
* You must be 19 years of age by November 1st, 2010
* You must be available for two rehearsals per week from April to December at Goodlife Fitness in Burlington. Rehearsals will take place every Monday and Thursday night from 7:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.
* You must be available for all Hamilton Tiger-Cats home games in the 2010 season. Click here to view the schedule.
* You must be available for Grey Cup Weekend in Edmonton, Alberta - Thursday, November 25 - Monday, November 29, 2010
* You must have graduated secondary school
* You must be physically fit and healthy
* You must be available for a post-audition interview on either Tuesday, March 30 or Wednesday, March 31. Interviews will last for approximately 10 minutes and all women auditioning will have the opportunity to pick a time slot from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on those dates

What to Wear

All women auditioning for the 2010 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Cheerleading Team should come dressed in proper attire:

* All black dance wear - half top and leggings (no baggy tops or pants)
* Dance or sports shoes
* Camera ready hair and make-up

What to Bring

Please bring the following items with you to the audition:

* Photo Identification
* Current photo (if you haven’t submitted one online)
* Bottled water
* Lunch or snacks
* Resume

What We Are Looking For

There are a number of qualities in a Hamilton Tiger-Cats Cheerleader that we will be looking for at the audition:

* Strong performer
* Positive attitude
* Dedication
* Team player
* Outgoing personality
* Eagerness to work hard and have fun

[Ti-Cats Cheerleaders Auditions Info]

Knicks City Dancer Dana began her dance training at age two with her first performance coming just one year later. She danced for most of her life at the world renowned Broadway Dance Center in Manhattan New York.

At Lehigh University she continued to dance, becoming the university Dance Team’s choreographer the very first semester of her freshman year. She was Team Captain  for three years and the team won a gold medal along with best hip hop and best precision at NYCDA with her original Choreography.

After graduating with a BA in Behavioral Neuroscience, Dana began purusing a dance career full-time.   She’s been an instructor for twelve years and have taught all ages and levels in hip hop, street Jazz, modern and ballet. She’s taught for Triple Essence Dance Studio (Brooklyn), Ronnie Clifford School of Dance (Bethlehem, PA), Elite Dancentre (Rockville Centre, NY), Oceaside Dance Conservatory (Oceanside, NY),  Rider University, NYU, and the NJ Emerald’s Semi-pro team.

1. Behavioral Neuroscience is not a major most folks would associate with Dance. Why did you choose it?

I wanted to take advantage of a unique program that Lehigh offered. Originally, I had intended on studying biology and I took neuroscience as an elective. I ended up being really good at it and finding it fascinating so I decided to stick with it. I chose not to study dance because I wanted to have a safety net outside of the entertainment industry. You never know what life has in store and god forbid I ever get injured I wanted a reliable degree to fall back on.
2. You’ve had a chance to travel the world, what are some of the more memorable places you’ve danced?

I would have to say that of all the places I have danced that performing at Madison Square Garden, in my hometown New York, has been the most memorable. I am a New Yorker born and bred so it was the ultimate rush to get out there in front of all those fans and represent this great city. I love to travel and I have been blessed enough to travel around the world to some truly beautiful places. I have loved every place I have been and performed but there’s no place like home.

3. What sort of organizations or dance teams could benefit from having you as a Guest Choreographer?

I do a lot of choreography for studios, university dance teams, competitions, semi-pro teams, pro-teams and dance conventions. I think I could work with any type of team or organization and make the experience beneficial. My choreography is completely original and ranges in style from hip hop to street jazz and everything in between. I have been a choreographer for a long time and teaching is something I love to do and as a choreographer I am a chameleon. So, I find that I can do great work for any dancers at any age or skill level because I adapt well to the needs of any organization. No matter what people that work with me are guaranteed to have a lot of fun.

4. What do you enjoy most about teaching/choreographing?
The thing I enjoy most about choreographing is watching other dancers have fun doing my work and performing my piece. I love when people love what they are dancing because that comes through in their performance. It’s always amazing to watch something that starts as a few ideas come to life on a team or a group. It’s cool too because a lot of the time when I am teaching I learn so much by seeing how my students and other dancers use the material they are given. I am always really inspired by the people I work with.

5. What have you got planned next? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Right now I am doing a lot of big choreography jobs. I will be going on a countrywide tour beginning at the end of March in Baltimore working with teams and organizations all over America that will conclude with a major convention in Tampa in the fall. I plan on taking each day as it comes and performing and teaching as much as possible. This is my life’s work and I always feel blessed by every new opportunity. I plan to relocate to LA by the end of next year to try my luck on the west coast.

In five years I will have achieved some more of my bigger performance goals and danced at some more big venues. I would like to have opened a studio on the east coast and still be blessed enough to perform and teach every day.

[Dana at the KCD Website]

[Dana's Website]

(Still getting caught up from when my computer was broken)

So the last weekend of February I traveled down to Rockville, Maryland to see the PBL’s Maryland Green Hawks Dance Team. (The Green Hawks are the first “Green” professional sports team.) The game was played at Georgetown Prep, which looks more like a college, and probably costs as much (or even more!).

Green Hawks Dance Team

C0-Director Bea Codjoe, Choreographer Audra Weaver and  c0-Director Jane Said.  You may remember Bea and Jane as the Directors of last season’s AIFA DC Body Armor. Sadly the team folded, but Bea and Jane are really excited to be working with the Green Hawks. You may remember Audra as the Director of the AIFA Baltimore Lady Mariners. Audra says she’s happy that she can concentrate on choreography and no longer has to worry about directing.  Bea works for a DC non-profit, sort of like a “community kitchen,” while Jane works on the helpdesk for the Department of Labor.

Shawni has her Bachelors and Masters from the University of Maryland. She’s a mom and works in Law Enforcement. She danced at the University of Maryland and has coached high school and all-star cheerleading squads.

Rachel is a graduate of The Ohio State University.

Jess is an Ivy Leaguer with a BA from Princeton and an MA from Johns Hopkins and works for the Voice of America.

Charity is a personal trainer.

[Green Hawks Dance Team Gallery]

[Maryland Green Hawks Dance Team]