The New York Predators Code Red Dancers are now taking applications from dancers and cheerleaders for our 2012 season! Auditions will be held at the end of February!

Wanna be a part of Code Red but aren’t a dancer or cheerleader? Why not apply to be an Ambassador?!

We are currently seeking ladies for our 2012 Ambassador Team to make appearances throughout the area, mingle with Predators fans at games and other events, and to join the Field Team at charity and community events!

No audition required for Ambassadors!

[Code Red Dancers Application]

Congratulations to the 2012 San Antonio Talons Sky Dancers who were chosen earlier this week. You can see photos from the finals at the Talons Facebook page.

By Kala Kachmar
The Bulletin

At 19, Montville High School graduate Cassie Go already has accomplished her dream of becoming a professional dancer.

Last year, Go was one of 31 women chosen from a pool of 300 to become a cheerleader for the New England Patriots. Now, as Super Bowl Sunday approaches, Go has an opportunity to dance in front of millions of people watching from all over the country and beyond.

“I’m so excited,” Go said. “It’s unreal. It still hasn’t even hit me.”

She left Thursday with her cheer squad for Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, where Super Bowl XLVI will be played. She said her weekend will include a welcome reception, a post-game gala, rehearsals and numerous promotional appearances.

“It’s going to be a full week, and I’m just so excited by every second of it,” she said.

Being a cheerleader for the Patriots takes up a lot of her time, Go said. The cheer team practices twice a week, makes promotional appearances and participates in charity events.

“Being a Patriots cheerleader is 24/7, whether we’re at practice or appearances or practicing on our own,” Go said. “I’m always representing the Patriots and doing the best I can to do that.”

In her spare time, Go gives dance lessons at Alyson’s School of Dance in Colchester. She also works part time at Family Physical Therapy in Colchester and part-time dancing for an entertainment company in Hartford. She still lives at home with her family in Montville.

“Since Montville is so small, everybody is very supportive,” she said. “My family, friends and friends of friends. Every time I see someone, they’re always asking me about it. It’s really nice to have that.”

But Go said she’s also close with the 30 other women on her squad. She said being a Patriots cheerleader isn’t just having a job or being on a team — her teammates are her family.

Began as toddler

Although this is the first time Go has been a cheerleader, she has been dancing since she was 2. She’s done tap, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern and contemporary.

“I just love dancing and performing,” Go said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of dance I’m doing. I could be doing my favorite dance in the whole world, or I can be doing one I don’t care for. As long as I’m in front of an audience performing, I’m loving every second of it.”

Go said her dance instructor, Alyson Ayer, has been her inspiration. Ayer also is proud of Go.

“The fact that she’s able to use this to broaden her horizons and to travel and meet new people is a wonderful thing,” Ayer said. “We always knew she was destined to do something with it. I think she has a very special gift. It’s wonderful to see her sharing it.”

Ayer said Go started dancing at her studio when she was 3. At 11, she became an assistant instructor and recently began teaching her own classes.

“She always had a lot of spunk,” Ayer said. “I knew she had something special because she couldn’t wait to get on stage. Any time she performed, it was like a light switch went on in her.”

Rachel Bagdasarian, 11, of Colchester, is one of Go’s dance students. She is learning jazz and contemporary.

“She’s a really, really good, talented dancer,” Rachel said. “There’s still a lot to learn, but I’ve definitely learned a lot so far from her.”

Rachel said she looks up to Go as a dancer.

Go said she plans to continue to be a professional dancer and eventually plans to open her own dance studio. She said she will reaudition for the cheerleading squad in March, but no one is guaranteed a spot.

“Being a professional dancer, I think it’s amazing that I accomplished my dream when I was 18 years old,” Go said. “This is just the beginning. I want to go on and do more things like this, maybe more dance teams.”

“I’m just so thankful for this experience,” she said. “It really feels great that I’m able to do something with my passion.”

[Cassie at Patriots.com]

Good friend of the blog, former CFL Cheerleader and hostess for the NLL Toronto Rock, Shannon Kelly, spotlights the Toronto Rock Cheerleaders

Host of the 2011 NLL Champions, the Toronto Rock! Social Media Manager, former CFL Cheerleader

[Toronto Rock Cheerleaders]

[Shannon on Twitter]

A Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader at the P-R-O Convention

Guidelines on how to send your photos are here.

Complete ‘Photo of the Day’ Archive here.

Click here for a look back in time at recent, and not-so-recent Super Bowls.

Philadelphia Eagles Liberty Belles at SuperBowl XV

By Jay Oza
North Andover Patch
January 31, 2012

[Photos]

Two amazing journeys started in the football season of 2001.

A young quarterback by the name of Tom Brady buttoned up his chinstrap after hometown favorite Drew Bledsoe went down with a severe injury.

The same season, a young dancer named Melissa Amershek moved to North Andover and joined the Patriots cheerleading squad.

The adventure that ensued will forever live on in the hearts of New Englanders, and it would also help Amershek open up a dance studio in North Andover that was recently voted the number 1 dance school in Andover and North Andover in each of the last two years.

For Amershek, the owner of Just Dance in North Andover, that journey began with a test.

Amershek joined the cheering squad in 2001 with only a basic understanding of the game. “They make you take this five page test,” Amershek told Patch. “You’re not allowed to be on the field until you pass the test and you know your stuff,” she continued.

And with that, a seed of passion for football was planted. “By the second or third game we were so into it we could make calls ourselves,” she recalled.

As Brady gained confidence and wins, Amershek and her cheerleading teammates had a phenomenal view from the field.

“It’s intense being on those sidelines,” she said. As the playoffs approached, the intensity increased.

In the divisional round of the 2001 playoffs, the Patriots hosted the Oakland Raiders in what is unanimously known as one of the most dramatic, picturesque, and exciting football games of all time.

The “Tuck Rule” game was played in almost blizzard conditions and it was the last game played at the old Foxborough Stadium. In the waning minutes, the game was almost lost when Brady appeared to have fumbled the ball.

Amershek and her teammates held their breath on the sidelines until the final ruling declared that the Patriots would retain the ball.

“Thank God for that call, it’s made history,” Amershek recalled.

After winning the AFC Championship in Pittsburgh, Amershek, Brady, and the Patriots moved on to Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans.

“To be there for the Super Bowl, it was unbelievable,” Amershek said.

When asked which experience was more memorable, Amershek replied “It was the first successful Super Bowl so that would have to take the cake.”

“The Snow Bowl was a close second; that was the last game in the old stadium,” she continued.

Amershek now runs one of the Merrimack Valley’s most successful dance studios, Just Dance.

“This is my passion; it’s what I love to do,” she said.

“I had over 100 customers on day one of opening my doors, and it’s grown every year,” she continued. “Right now we’re at about 300 students and it’s still growing.”

Amershek also credits the town of North Andover for fostering a good attitude toward businesses. “When you’re trying to open a new business in this area, the town works with you so much,” she said. “It’s business friendly, its family friendly, and it’s just a nice, safe area.”

Just Dance offers competition and recreational programs as well as a popular boutique. “We have something for everyone,” Amershek said.

As for her beloved Patriots, there is a big game on Sunday, in case you needed a reminder.

In Super Bowl XLVI, Amershek, like many of us, is hoping for another Patriots victory. “I don’t want to jinx us, but I’m thinking Welker as MVP,” she said.

The adventure continues this Sunday as Brady and the Patriots hope for a fourth Super Bowl win and Amershek and her students continue to dance their hearts out.