Make the Best First Impression with your Pictures!

Editor’s note: Here’s a unique offer to help you with your audition aspirations from our friends over at Sideline Prep.


Photo Shoot with Celebrity Photographer – Registration Open NOW.

Even though things are a little uncertain because of COVID-19, some teams are still going full steam ahead with their dance/cheer auditions.  Be sure you’re prepared when or if your top team announces their virtual or in person auditions by already having professional audition pictures waiting and ready!!  

And of course, we’re here to help… it’s time for Sideline Photo Shoot!! 

Many of you have been asking for an opportunity to take pictures so you would be ready for potential NBA audition announcements. We heard and we listened.  We’ll have a one day photo shoot in the DC area, where we’ll help you capture a “picture perfect” image for your application… while following all CDC guidelines to keep us safe and healthy!  Once you sign up, you’ll receive our procedures that are MANDATORY to follow in order to participate in the photo shoot.

Remember, your application picture(s) sets the tone for your audition. This is a GREAT way to make a wonderful first impression… or of course, the picture you submit could work against you.

Keep in mind that during deliberations… the judges constantly look at the pictures that you submit with your application. So you want to make sure your pictures represent your “best you”!!

Sideline Photo Shoot is a “one stop shop” to get quality full body, headshots, and professional pictures for your upcoming auditions. Our photographer is the best of the best! Plus former professional cheerleaders and makeup artists are there every step of the way to make this the BEST experience ever!!

This photo shoot is open to any and everyone.  You can use these pictures for personal or professional purposes, pageants, etc.

This opportunity is on a first-come, first-serve basis… so register soon!!  We will NOT have a flow over date for this time. 

The date for the Sideline Photo Shoot is Sunday, October 18th. Click HERE to register!

Just as a reminder, our NYC/DC Celebrity Photographer again this year is Drew Xeron – who also happens to be the photographer for the First Ladies of Football, Washington Wizard Dancers, and the former Washington Valorettes and Baltimore Brigade Dancers! 

….So if the Coaches & Directors of these team trust him, then he obviously knows how to make our Lovelies look their BEST!

We look forward to helping you create “your best you” via your application photo!

Tampa Bay’s Anastasia, Lightning Girl To Buccaneer Cheerleader

Reprinted from the Daily Hampshire Gazette:

Anastasia “Anna” Lusnia grew up in Easthampton, Massachusetts rooting for the New England Patriots.

As a youth, she watched two of her favorite players, quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, lead the Patriots to multiple Super Bowls. Unfortunately, she never got to attend a game. Her sister had that opportunity.

But everything has worked out.

After graduating from Easthampton High in 2015, Lusnia moved to Tampa, Florida. In the five years she has lived in the Sunshine State, she graduated from college, became a full-time nurse and cheered for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Lusnia left the Lightning after the 2018-2019 season for a shot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She landed the job, and now finds herself cheering for Brady and Gronk from the sidelines.

“It’s wild,” she said. “I never would have imagined I would be cheering in Tampa and they would be here with me. … It’s pretty surreal.”

A friend cheered for the Lightning, which was how Lusnia got involved with the NHL franchise that recently won the Stanley Cup.

A dancer her whole life, she thought cheering for the Lightning would be a fun way to continue performing. It turned out to be more than just that.

“I think representing an organization so large as the Tampa Bay Lightning provided so many experiences that I never knew existed,” she said. “Just meeting the fans, the season-ticket holder members; I even got to link up with a surgeon who was a season-ticket holder member and I’m a nurse so I got to shadow him; do all sorts of things I never would have imagined I could do by being a cheerleader for the Lightning.”

Lusnia, 23, pursued the opportunity with the Bucs earlier this year.

“After my experience (with the Lightning) I kind of thought maybe I’ll take it to the NFL,” she said. “To me that’s the ultimate in terms of the professional cheer world.”

The COVID-19 pandemic made tryouts interesting. Lusnia started training in February in both a gym and dance studio, then auditioned virtually in early May. Over the course of a couple weeks she had Zoom meetings and sent more videos.

Prior to the audition the Bucs landed two of the most prominent Patriots. Brady signed in March and Gronkowski was traded to Tampa Bay in April. By mid-May, Lusnia received a phone call that only added to the excitement.

“I was in full scrubs, not expecting it all,” she said of the phone call. “It was a video call and they recorded my reaction, which I did not know at the time. They caught me off guard, but it was an amazing day for sure.”

As an intensive care nurse at Tampa General Hospital, Lusnia is well aware of the pandemic and the issues the coronavirus can cause. Prior the start of the NFL season, there was a lot of uncertainty as to whether she would cheer or not.

“It’s been a roller coaster of a ride,” she said. “We’ve been just kind of living day by day. We never really knew if we were going to be able to cheer or if there were ever going to be fans. We’ve been practicing and training since June with the goal and hope that we will cheer, and dance and perform at some point in the season, whether it was the first game or midway through (the season). We’ve certainly been living on the edge. Just have to be super fluid with everything going on.”

Cheering has been an outlet from her full-time job.

“Dance has always been a No. 1 passion for me and it’s certainly a lot different than my work in the hospital, even just the physical exercise,” she said. “I’ve always loved to work for something and the drive and the determination to get to where I want to be physically and performance wise. It’s definitely a great outlet.”

Lusnia has a deep background in dance. She trained for 15 years at the Hackworth School of Performing Arts in Easthampton, as well as the Massachusetts Academy of Ballet in Holyoke.

She has also been involved with the Miss America Organization, holding the titles of Miss Pioneer Valley, Miss Baystate and Miss Kissimmee in Florida. She competed in Miss Massachusetts pageants in 2015 and 2016, as well as the Miss Florida pageant in 2017.

She moved to Tampa to attend the University of South Florida.

“That’s one of the things when discovering this whole professional cheerleading world is you can have a full-time job and cheer for a professional sports team,” Lusnia said. “Both with the Lightning and Buccaneers we don’t travel to away games so that’s my saving grace. I don’t think I could do both, nursing and cheering if we did. It’s an amazing way to continue (dancing). I never really imagined after college I could still be dancing at this level so intensely and frequently.”

Lusnia’s first NFL game was Sunday when the Bucs hosted the Los Angeles Chargers. Brady threw for five touchdowns as the Bucs rallied for a 38-31 win.

“It was an incredible experience,” she said. “I think the adrenalin of the pregame, watching the players warm up, being right outside that home tunnel, our locker room is kind of right behind it; taking it all in was just incredible.”

A bonus that comes with cheering for the Bucs this year is that no matter what happens with Tampa Bay, the Super Bowl will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. So whether Brady, Gronk and the Bucs are playing in the game or not, Lusnia will be participating.

“We will be at a ton of events in Tampa for the Super Bowl, regardless if we are in it,” she said. “I am very, very excited for really any outcome because it’s here in our city at our stadium. We’ll get to be a part of it.”

Writer Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Follow on Twitter @mikemoranDHG.

 

Anastasia
Anastasia
Anastasia
Anastasia and Lightning teammates Kaley Alyssa and Morgan

2020-21 Sirens Dance Team Auditions

We are now accepting applications for the 2020-21 Sirens Dance Team!

Looking to be part of San Diego’s premier professional dance team? Apply to be a Sirens Dancer today! Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, Sirens auditions are going virtual! Fill out your application today to begin the audition process. Please direct all questions to danceteam@sealslax.com or on Instagram or Facebook.

The deadline to apply is Saturday, October 10, 2020.

REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must be 18 years of age on or before the date of the open call audition. Team members must have flexible schedules for weekly rehearsals, all Seals home games, photo shoots and appearances during and prior to the season. Team members must have a reliable means of transportation.

APPLICATION: The San Diego Seals are an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital or veteran status. The Sirens don’t discriminate against candidates with the presence of a disability or handicap. Provided that the candidate can, with or without reasonable accommodations can perform the essential functions of the position for which he/she is applying.

Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders Photos from Week 1

It’s a  new world out there and things are a bit different for NFL cheerleading.  No cheer action on the sidelines for the time being, but that doesn’t mean that the cheerleaders aren’t there, in person.  So let’s take a look at some photos of the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders, courtesy of Peter B. House Joneleit of the Rams.

Love the new uniforms!  Still getting used to the masks.