Charlotte and Cassie: Their Journey
Former Stampede Spirit Dancers both made NFL’s Seattle Seahawks dance team “Sea Gals”
By Travis Tate
Idaho Stampede
5/16/2012
Faced with just a minute on the clock, the pressure mounts. Thinking of all the time, energy and mental preparation from the past few months, the competitor hopes to stay calm and stay away from a trip up or mental mistake.
Of course, with the help of a teammate, the moment can become more manageable, but there’s still that clock that tells you that just 60 seconds remain.
Then, the music starts.
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This was not the end of a Stampede basketball game, though – it was the challenge of making the Seattle Sea Gals, the official dance squad of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Former Stampede Spirit Dance Team member Charlotte fought through the pressure, making the 32-member squad with lots of preparation, but also the ability to just flow with the music.
“The music starts and your body just starts moving,” said Charlotte. “I was just happy to feel the music and feel relaxed.”
For the open call in mid-April, each participant is asked to simply dance for 60 seconds – considering the pressure and importance of this task, many dancers may script out every move, but that idea is thrown out the door considering the dancer does not know the music they will hear as they dance.
“There’s a lot of pressure because you don’t know the music that they’re going to play. I’m glad I didn’t make anything up and go out there and forget what I’m going to do – I wasn’t trying just to run through the moves,” Charlotte said. “The Seahawks are the only team that I know of that have freestyle in their audition process, so it’s kind of unique to them. It’s very scary, but I was very happy because it was similar to the Stampede experience.”
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Charlotte, still in Seattle after the 3-week long tryout process, said that she feels Seattle is similar to Boise, but is just larger. She had a number of visits to Seattle over the past year, visiting her close friend, former Stampede Spirit teammate and current Sea Gal teammate Cassie.
Cassie (left) and Charlotte
“Cassie and I had become a few years earlier from the BSU dance squad and when we had auditions for the Stampede, I told her to come on out and that she would totally love it,” Charlotte explained. Last season, Cassie made the Sea Gals, and the two stayed in close contact.
“I came out here and made sure I loved the city and met some other Sea Gals – and they are all really, really nice, and they all gave me advice and some things to expect and were all very, very helpful,” Charlotte said. “There are a lot of mother-figures on the team, a very diverse team – they’re just all great.
“The city is different from Boise, but it’s still the West. The water is beautiful and I’ve been to Pike and a couple restaurants, but so far, I’ve just gone to the gym a lot and auditions. It’s good to not be going somewhere completely different like the East Coast or Miami or something.
The stadium is absolutely phenomenal, all the facilities are beautiful and wonderful. Right now, I’m just glad to get to be a part of the program.”
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As for her future, Charlotte isn’t certain, but having made an NFL dance squad is reason enough to celebrate. For now, she doesn’t know what’s next.
“Some girls use this for a modeling future,” Charlotte said. “For me, this is the last possible thing I could do. I don’t know what else is higher than dancing for an NFL team. It’s what I’ve wanted to do for a really, really long time.”
With the preparation of her dance career all finished and a major goal finally accomplished, Charlotte will just listen and go wherever the music takes her.
Stacie Kinder
