Local dancers share stage with superstar. For the two, tour has become a ‘personal growth experience.’

By Nedra Rhone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It’s hard not to notice Saidah Fishenden and Kimberly Gipson. The defined biceps, streamlined physiques and the way they seem to float rather than walk —- even in four-inch heels —- have a way of attracting attention.

This year, the two Atlanta dancers are getting some of the best attention possible. All the world is a stage for Fishenden and Gipson, who perform several nights a week as backup dancers on Beyonce’s “I AM…” global tour, which kicked off its U.S. leg last week and hits Philips Arena on Wednesday.

The journey from Atlanta to Zagreb, Croatia (where the tour opened in April) began with auditions late last year, not long after Gipson, a New Jersey native, moved to Atlanta. After three years as a Sixers dancer in Philadelphia and gigs at every casino in Atlantic City, Gipson hoped to find more opportunity in the South.

Kimberly at the Sixers Dancers Auditions in 2006
Continue reading On the Road with Beyonce

Knicks City Dancers Auditions:
June 28, 2009
The Monitor

Hundreds of dancers showed up to make their best moves at Madison Square Garden today, but only a few dozen were chosen to move on to the next round. Meet the women who made the cut – those who will hit the ground dancing again tomorrow, the next step on the road to becoming a Knicks City Dancer.

The dancers return to The Garden [today] for round two, so stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes audition photos and video of the dancers in action, plus hit Facebook for KCD coach Danielle’s updates from the floor.

Click here for MORE:
Meet the Semifinalists
Day One Highs and Lows
Toes to Nose: The Highest Kicks
How’d They Do That?!
Look, Up in the Sky: It’s Dancers in the Air!
Line Up With the KCD Hopefuls
KCD Audition Photos ’08: Round One | Round Two

Good friend of the blog and former Atlanta Hawks Dancer Desiree Nathanson sends us this photo from Fitness Universe 2009. Desiree is on the left and placed 13th in Fitness, moving her way up from 24th last year! In the center is former Cincinnati Ben-Gal Brooke Griffin who is the new Miss Fitness Universe 2009! On the right is another good friend of the blog, Amy Campbell, who cheered for the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals. Amy won Miss Fitness Classic!

Congrats to all the ladies!

I skedaddled out of the hotel on Sunday to catch my flight, so I missed the chance to say good-bye to most of the convention attendees.

Thanks to everyone: the organizers, instructors, sponsors, cheerleaders and dancers for a wonderful weekend.

Lots of photos coming over the next couple of weeks (that’s right, weeks!).

[AllPro3]

There was a great turnout for yesterday’s Clippers Spirit audition prep class! It was a terrific opportunity for aspiring dance team candidates to meet the Director, Audrea Harris, Assistant Director Cheryl Aure-Azurin, and a few Spirit alumni: Jessie, Brittany, Nicole, Melissa, and Brilane. (Click here for photos.)

Most of the afternoon was spent learning and performing a new combination choreographed by Cheryl. First, The Spirit girls (who had only learned the dance an hour beforehand) performed for the class, and then Cheryl started breaking down the counts. I swear, I hear that “Boom Boom Pow” song every day, and I had no idea the tempo was so fast.

Cheryl taught an 8-ct or two, then the group would do it a few times with the counts, then they’d do it a couple of times with music, and then she’d teach the next 8-ct. The Spirit girls were spread out in the crowd to help demonstrate and answer questions.

After they’d learned the whole combination and done it a few times, Audrea and Cheryl had them perform it in groups of six. Afterward, Audrea said they’d done very well, but she wanted them to try it again and really perform it – smile, attack the moves, keep it sharp, and make it clean. All of the girls took that advice to heart , and the second round of performances was really fun to watch.

Lesson learned: You can’t underestimate the importance of “selling” your performance.

It was a fast couple of hours. After all of the dancing was over, some girls had to leave, but most stayed for a Q&A session. There were lots of questions about everything – the audition process, what to wear, game night, choreographers, professionalism, time commitment, and balancing life as a Spirit Dancer with your life as a student, employee, race car driver, poet, turkey farmer, or whatever else you have going on.

There were lots and lots of questions.

By the end of the day, all of the girls had a MUCH better idea of what to expect and how to prepare for auditions. Tryouts aren’t for another 4 weeks, so the girls have a good amount of time to work on anything that needs to be improved between now and then.

Speaking for myself, I can’t wait to see these girls bring it on audition day. See you July 25th, ladies!

Campers put on impressive halftime performance
By Kevin Travis, Sports Editor
Washington Daily News
Sunday, June 28, 2009

PLYMOUTH — Boom goes the dynamite!

The cheerleaders at this year’s 2009 Charles Bowser NFL Youth Football/Cheerleading Camp certainly were explosive. Working in unison, the young cheerleaders put together a wonderful halftime routine during a flag football game that capped this weekend’s camp.

Miami Dolphins cheerleaders were on hand this weekend to interact with the girls.

Kim Leary, the camp’s cheerleading coach, was thrilled about the outcome.

“This has been a great experience,” Leary said. “The (Dolphins) cheerleaders have brought some excitement. They have taught them character-building, a healthy way to eat, the lifestyle of being a cheerleader, being smart and getting good grades, having fun and being disciplined.”

Amy M. and Kellie C., a pair of Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, were on hand to lend their support.

“This has been amazing,” said Kellie, a rookie on the Miami cheerleading squad. “The kids are so great. They’re eager to learn.

“They’re just full of life. We’re excited to be here and they’re excited to have us. It’s heart-warming to see them be excited to see us.”

Amy, a second-year cheerleader with the Dolphins, was glad she had the chance to mingle with and teach the campers.

“This means a lot for us to come out here,” Amy said. “Just to meet all these kids and to see how they’re doing in life is great.”

The campers were happy they had a chance to spend some time around professional cheerleaders.

“It’s nice because we don’t get opportunities like this all the time,” said Alexis Owens, 14. “It’s a good experience.”

Tiffany Palin, 13, enjoyed learning new routines from the Dolphins cheerleaders.

“It’s been good having them here,” Palin said. “They taught us some things we didn’t know.”

The campers returned the favor to the Dolphins cheerleaders.

“They taught us three dances and we’re hoping that we can bring them back to Miami and teach them to our girls,” Kellie said. “Learning the dances was the highlight, definitely.”

Campers were from Creswell High School, Creswell Elementary, Pines Elementary and Washington County Union. Participants ranged from first grade to tenth grade.

“It’s an exciting time to have all the schools come together and have a wonderful time,” said Leary, who thanked coaches Shirley Henson and LaTasha McNair for their help. “It’s all about learning to work together, and learning how to make friends.

“We’ve had a great time. I’m glad the girls had a chance to have this opportunity.”

There were certainly plenty of reasons to cheer.

Dance Your A** Off is a cross between The Biggest Loser meets So You Think You Can Dance.

The show features teams of overweight contestants will attempt to drop the extra pounds by dancing.

“Teams will get a new dance challenge each week that helps them sweat off those extra pounds,” Oxygen explained in a press release. “They will also learn how to incorporate healthy cuisine into their lifestyle. Each episode culminates with a weigh-in and dance-off.”

Sarah isn’t one of the contestants trying to drop a few pounds; she’s one of the professional dancers paired up with a contestant.

The show premieres Monday, June 29th at 10pm E/PT on Oxygen.

[Dance Your A** Off]

Good friend of the blog Sharica Brown (Ravens, Texans, Redskins) has just launched her personal website! Please visit www.sharicabrown.com for updates, photos, videos and more!

You can find more sites for teams and individual cheerleaders on our restored links page here. It’s a little out of date. Any corrections, additions, suggestions are welcome.