By Kurt Backscheider
Communitypress.com
July 10, 2009

Charlotte Jacobs said she may have discovered some future Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders.

Nearly 70 girls between the ages of 5 and 16 spent their summer evenings July 6-10 at Oak Hills High School participating in the first ever dance camp put on by the Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders.

Jacobs, the director of cheerleading for the Cincinnati Bengals, said campers learned basic techniques, choreography and general fitness from some of the NFL’s best dancers during the week-long camp.

“The camp is all about having fun,” she said.

“We have several cute little girls who really know how to show off.”

Green Township resident and former Ben-Gal Julie Raleigh, coordinator of the camp, said more than half of the camp’s participants are underprivileged girls from around the Tristate.

She said girls from St. John’s outreach program in Over-the-Rhine, Rees E. Price Academy in Price Hill and the Special Olympics were given free scholarships to the camp thanks to sponsorships from the Shayne Graham Foundation, Mercy Hospital Western Hills and Mercy Franciscan at West Park.

“We think this camp is a unique opportunity,” Raleigh said.

“Some of these girls will experience another avenue of life that is not usually open to them. This experience is an opportunity for the girls to learn dance and just have so much fun,” she said.

Jacobs said the camp also helped kick-off this year’s Cincinnati Junior Ben-Gals program, an annual cheerleading program for young girls that culminates with a half-time performance during a Bengals game at Paul Brown Stadium.

“The camp is a way to better prepare these young ladies for when they go into their school seasons, and help the girls in our Junior Ben-Gal program get ready for their season,” Jacobs said.

Raleigh said campers learned two dance routines, which they performed for fans at the Florence Freedom baseball game on Thursday, July 9, to raise money for Special Olympics.

She said the camp featured special guest speakers each night, including a Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy who talked to the girls about personal safety and the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Members of the Oak Hills High School Oakettes drill team and cheerleading squads also helped out to make the week possible.
Additional Facts
Be a Junior Ben-Gal

Parents and girls who would like to learn more about the Cincinnati Junior Ben-Gals program can visit www.bengals.com/cheerleaders/junior-cheerleaders

The program runs from August to December and is open to 100 girls between the ages of 5 and 15 from around the Tristate. The Junior Ben-Gals season offers clinics designed to create and promote self-esteem, pride and confidence, and girls in the program learn performance fundamentals from Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders.

The program’s highlight is an on-field performance in front of 65,000 fans at Paul Brown Stadium during the 2009-2010 season.

Patriots.com
July 6, 2009

Join the Patriots Cheerleaders as they unveil their 2010 swimsuit calendar at Ned Devine’s at Faneuil Hall in Quincy Market, Boston, MA on Wednesday, August 5 from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. (Ages 21+ only)

All 29 beautiful cheerleaders will be signing autographs, posing for photos and greeting fans. Copies of the swimsuit calendar will be available for purchase, and the Making of the 2010 Swimsuit Calendar video will be playing as well. Join us for a great night you won’t want to miss!

Bios and uniform shots are now online for the new edition of the Oakland Raiderettes. Click here to learn all about the team! And just for the heck of it, why not flash back to auditions last spring.

Headshots are now online for the 2009-10 Titans Cheerleaders. It looks like they’ve made a few changes to the uniform for the upcoming season!

No profiles yet, but I’m sure they’re coming.

Bios and uniform shots now online. Go check ‘em out!

By Luke Graham
Craig Daily Press
July 8, 2009
For the last five years the team had gone to an exotic location in Mexico to shoot its annual calendar.

But at the urging of fans, and the opportunities that abound in Colorado, the Broncos decided to keep it more local this year. And what better and more beautiful place than Steamboat Springs?

The Broncos cheerleaders have been in Steamboat since Sunday shooting their 2009-10 swimsuit calendar. The photo shoot ends Saturday.

Locations have included Strawberry Park Hot Springs, More Barn, St. Cloud Mountain Club, the top of the gondola, Vista Verde Guest Ranch, Steamboat Lake, Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club, Ghost Ranch Saloon, F.M. Light and Sons and several private homes, among others.

“It is different,” said Teresa Shear, the Broncos’ director of cheerleading and game day entertainment. “Not all the teams in the NFL can claim the mountains like we can. With the Broncos and our Western theme, it made it a perfect spot for us. We do hope it’s a unique calendar and stands out among the other NFL teams.”

Judging by the initial reactions of several cheerleaders, the shoot has been a success.

Although the team has tried to find some water to go along with the swimsuits, they’ve also found several of Steamboat’s most beautiful and famous spots to shoot.

Tuesday evening the team was at Steamboat Lake on a boat at sunset. The cheerleaders also were shot at the top of the gondola on Monday during sunset.

“Mexico is fun and it’s fun to be on the beach,” said Nicole Moore, who has been a Broncos cheerleader for three years. “But at the same time we’re excited to be up in the mountains. Our fans really wanted us to shoot in Colorado again since we are the Denver Broncos cheerleaders. I think they’re really looking forward to the calendar up here.”

Most of the girls treat their cheerleading as more of a passion than a job. All have years of experience in dance at the youth, high school and collegiate levels. Most are either full-time students or have other full-time jobs.

“It’s like the greatest experience,” said Jessica Flores, noting that members of team are also employed as teachers, architects and pharmacists. “We do so much with games and dancing. This is more for the charities and we get to hang out with our fans.”

The photo shoots have all varied, but each includes long hours. Flores, who was photographed at the St. Cloud Mountain Club next to its fireplace, said her shoot took more than five hours, including two hours of hair and makeup.

Shear said she was looking for the ideal Colorado location for the shoot. After visiting Steamboat several months ago for her daughter’s tennis tournament, she said she knew Steamboat was the place.

“It’s the perfect fit,” she said. “The Western aspect and it’s just so beautiful up here. I know it’s going to be a great calendar for us.”

The calendar will be finished Aug. 15 and go on sale after that. It will cost $14.95 and can be purchased at www.denverbroncos.com or at retail locations throughout the Front Range. To see some of the shots from Steamboat Springs, click here.

Lucie Bartlett’s Blog
July 5, 2009

By Bennie Scarton Jr.
InsideNoVa.com
July 5, 2009

When she was 3 years old, Crystal Boutselis began taking dance classes at Showcase Dance Studio in Manassas.

Now, 23 years later, she is running the studio.

In the intervening years she has had a remarkable dancing career.

Following graduation from Stonewall Jackson High School, Boutselis moved to New York City to train at Broadway Dance Center with top professionals in the dance industry.

After returning to Manassas, she performed four years professionally—three years as a Washington Red-skins cheerleader and one year as Washington Wizards dancer. She appeared twice in the Redskins cheer-leader calendar and has her own trading card.

While dancing with the two professional teams, Boutselis traveled around the world, performing in Kyr-gyzstan, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Africa, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras and China with Armed Forces Entertainment to boost morale of U.S. troops.

Retiring in 2008 from those sports teams, she began dancing with ‘The Capital Movement Pro-ject” in Washington to hone her jazz and hip-hop training.

“While I love performing in front of large crowds, my heart lies in teaching. I love choreographing routines for local school dance teams, as well as professional teams such as the Wizard Girls,” she said.

Boutselis’ love of dance led her to re-open Showcase Dance Studio as a tribute to the school that allowed her to dance in the professional arena.

“I want to make local residents proud of the dance talent in the community. For this reason, Show-case’s curriculum is based on style, technique and showmanship, which allows each student to excel in all genres of dance. Even more important, class sizes are small, permitting our instructors to focus on individualized instruction,” she said.

Showcase offers prestigious Royal Academy of Dance ballet, pointe and character classes, Broadway-style jazz and top classes, as well as jazz, hip-hop, musical theater, breakdancing and pom styles. Showcase is also a satellite studio for the Washington Redskins Junior Cheerleader program.

“I feel that by re-opening Showcase I’m giving back to the community of Manassas, where my love of dance was fostered,” she said.

She has been running the studio for the past year and recently held the first recital, with 115 students par-ticipating.

Boutselis trained with Carol Gil-Montero for 15 years, studying styles such as Broadway tap and jazz, theater ballet, pointe, pom, hip-hop and acrobatics. Gil-Montero had the first dance studio in Manassas, opening in 1972.

Boutselis was also a dance instructor for the Prince William County Public School System, serving two years as a captain for the Stonewall Jackson High School Raiderettes dance team and a year as captain of the freshmen cheerleading squad.

“Dancing is in my blood. I really enjoy what I do for a living,” said the 26-year-old dancer.

As a dance instructor, she now has students who start at 3 years old, as she did. She instructs adults and senior citizens as well.

Boutselis believes dancing classes can do a lot for an individual.

“Not only does it build self-confidence, but in my case it gave me the opportunity to travel around the world, which I could not have done otherwise,” she said.

One of her highlights was performing with the Washington Redskins cheerleaders in front of more than 90,000 spectators, along with forming lasting friendships and doing community charity work.

Boutselis will be busy this summer running dance camps. They begin today and run through Aug. 27 for ages 3 to 14 and include tap, ballet, jazz, pom, hip-hop and lyrical.

The studio is located at 8704 Rolling Road and the telephone number is 703-368-0555.