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.
Here they are, the 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th edition of the Pussycat Dolls. (I have completely lost track by now.) The new line up includes Laker Girl alum Vanessa Curry, and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader alum Erica Jenkins.
Back: Chrystina Sayers, Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Erica Jenkins
Front: Paula Van Oppen
FYI: the other three PCDs might look a little familiar to you too.
Chrystina was a member of “Girlicious,” the girl group created as a result of the reality show “Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.” Girlicious was a sort of spin-off of “Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll,” which has its own pro-cheer connection. The winner, the one selected as “the next doll” was New York Knicks City Dancer Asia Nitollano. (She won, but never actually joined the group. The whole thing seemed kind of shady, but I digress.)
Lauren was a member of the “Paradiso Girls,” the first PCD spinoff group created by Robin Antin, with one or two of the also-rans from “Search for the Next Doll.”
Paula was a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance, season 6. She auditioned for season 5, but got cut. She auditioned for season 6, and made it to the top 20, but then dropped out to be in a movie (“Burlesque, ” according to the grapevine.)
ou of which was “PussycatThe new PCD will make their big debut during the Super Bowl, in a commercial for GoDaddy.com. Watch it here:
Join the world famous Science Cheerleaders! Are you an NFL & NBA current or alumni cheerleader working in or studying science, engineering, math and technology? The ladies have been featured by NASA, on CNN, in Discover Magazine and in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Now the Science Cheerleaders will perform the Big Cheer and entertain at the national Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, DC on Friday, April 27-Sunday, April 29, 2012.
Hotel, uniforms, poms, autograph cards are provided. Cheerleaders must fund transportation, meals, and white boots. Cheerleaders must learn four short routines and cheers by video. Current cheerleaders should acquire permission from directors to participate.
Going Pro Entertainment is proud to serve as the choreography and creative production team for the Science Cheerleaders. Costuming is provided by Go Wild! Wear by Angela King Designs.
If you qualify to be named a Science Cheerleader but are not interested in wearing the uniform or performing, there are other opportunities for you! “The Big Cheer” will be led across the United States in various cities on April 27. This is just one way you can serve in the Science Cheerleader role without leaving your hometown.
All qualified cheerleaders should contact THE Science Cheerleader Darlene Cavalier at darlene@sciencecheerleader.com. Learn more about the Science Cheerleaders programs at www.sciencecheerleader.com. Learn more about Going Pro Entertainment at www.goingproentertainment.com.
Bonnie-Jill Laflin returns to Candlestick with her father, Ross Laflin, to reminisce about the 49ers.
By Bonnie-Jill Laflin | Special to Page 2 ESPN Page 2
January 17, 2012
As I prepare for this weekend’s NFC Championship Game, I am filled with anticipation.
It is so exciting to see the San Francisco 49ers host the most important game of their season.
I’m so proud to see they are getting the respect they’ve been missing since those glory years.
Fans everywhere are talking about their chances against the New York Giants and how this will be a true test. But, win or lose, the new Jim Harbaugh 49ers are making a statement. In just one year, they have made an incredible turnaround, and who would have thought the road to the Super Bowl would come through Candlestick Park.
As a San Francisco native, I grew up a 49ers fan. I had no choice, being a daddy’s girl and he being a 49ers season-ticket holder; I was always in tow to each home game.
This past Saturday, as I stepped onto the sidelines at The Stick with my dad, my head flooded with so many emotions.
These were the same sidelines I cheered on as a member of the 49ers Gold Rush from 1994 to ’96, the years when if we didn’t win a championship, it was a bad year. The dynasty years, the era of Steve Young and Jerry Rice. The year when Young finally got that monkey off his back, and now here I was again.
It was a perfectly sunny day, unlike most in San Francisco in January, when the fog and biting cold are normal. I wondered whether this was a sign.
Bonnie-Jill Laflin was a 49ers cheerleader in the mid-1990s.
I looked around the stadium, soaking it in.
I had my Super Bowl ring on, along with all my blinged-out Niners gear.
I felt like I was back home and with my 49ers family, surrounded by so many 49ers greats from the ’80s and the ’90s, such as Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Eric Davis, Brent Jones and Keena Turner, now supporting the new members of the 49ers family.
I said hello to coach George Seifert, who was being honored that day, and we reminisced about the good old days and talked about how we both hoped this would mark the return of the 49ers, the 49ers of the DeBartolo years.
But now we’re here in 2012, with a new regime led by 49ers president Jed York, who spent a few moments with me on the field prior to the game and dubbed me the 49ers’ good luck charm.
The player intros of the starting defense got those in the crowd swinging their rally towels and screaming, “Who’s got it better than us — nobody!” That’s Harbaugh’s mantra. The game was an emotional roller coaster, a high-powered offense and the NFL’s stingiest defense battling quarter after quarter. Who would have ever thought that in the final four minutes, these two teams would be exchanging blows like heavyweight boxers in the last round of a championship fight.
The emotions bonded us as we exchanged high-fives, and paced up and down the aisles with each lead change. Fans who did not know each other before the game now were united in one cause to get a W and advance to the NFC title game once more. The Stick was rocking it.
Then came “The Grab” with nine seconds left as Vernon Davis scored the winning touchdown on the 30th anniversary of “The Catch.” And finally Alex Smith got the monkey off his back and silenced his critics.
Harbaugh, in only one year, has instilled a new attitude and a new energy.
This is what sports is all about.
I looked around the stands, and I saw everyone hugging and screaming, my dad and I sharing the same hug we shared when I was a girl, and I thought to myself, “Who’s got it better than us — nobody.”
Bonnie-Jill Laflin is the first and only female scout in the NBA, an animal activist, and a former cheerleader. She can be reached on Twitter here.
By SAL CIMATO, MATTHEW GELLER, JOSHUA POLANSKY AND SYDNEY TRAVIS, YOUTH REPORTERS – Newsday The Bellingham Herald
Jan. 12, 2012
We met actress Stacy Keibler at the New York Health and Racquet Club in Manhattan. She is an actress and former WCW Nitro girl and Baltimore Ravens cheerleader. We talked to her about her career and the new video game Your Shape Fitness Evolved (UbiSoft).
Question: Tell us about your video game.
Answer: The video game is super cool because it’s called “Your Shape Fitness Evolved” and it gets you off the couch and you get to have a workout while you’re playing the video game. So I think it’s really cool.
Q: How long do you work out every day?
A: I usually work out about an hour and half sometimes two hours as many days as I can. Usually between four or five days a week.
Q: Who is your personal trainer?
A: My personal trainer, her name is Juliet Kaska and I’ve been with her for years; and I love having a personal trainer because even when I’m tired and I don’t feel like going to the gym, when I have an appointment I make sure I get there. So she keeps me going.
Q: What is your favorite exercise and what exercise do you hate the most?
A: Well my favorite exercise would probably be lunges and things for my legs. I think that there are days where I don’t really like to do cardio and still I have to do it.
Q: When did you know you wanted to become a fitness trainer?
A: I’m not a fitness trainer, but I always liked fitness and I feel like it’s something I’ve been doing since I was – whenever I was able to go to a gym, actually, I had a job at the front desk of a gym. That was one of my first jobs. So I just always liked it.
Q: How did you become interested in fitness?
A: I just think when I saw the results of what it did for my body and for me being healthy I think I got addicted to it.
Q: When did you retire from wrestling?
A: I retired maybe like 6 years ago.
Q: Did you ever get the Diva’s championship?
A: I didn’t.
Q: What WWE super star did you look up to as a child?
A: Wow I guess as a child I always liked Hulk Hogan, but when I was there, The Rock. He’s pretty special.
Q: What is your signature move and your finishing move?
A: My signature move was I used to put my leg up and choke girls at their neck. And like snap them and stuff like that. I guess kicks, things with my legs. They’re so long I could just kick them and take them down.
Q: How did you like the show “Dancing with the Stars” and dancing with Max?
A: Well I danced with Tony, my partner. And it was great. It was a really cool experience. It’s much harder than it looks.
Q: How was your favorite actor or actress to work with?
A: I don’t know because I like working with everybody that I worked with. I don’t really have a favorite.
Former New Orleans Hornets Honeybee, New Orleans VooDoo Doll, and good friend of the blog, Rachel Vicknair will be on "The Amanda" starting later this month.
GET ORGANIZED THIS NEW YEAR WITH THE STYLE NETWORK’S NEW DOCU-SERIES “THE AMANDAS” ON MONDAY, JANUARY 30 AT 8PM ET/PT
Hurricane Katrina Victim and Organizational Queen Amanda LeBlanc Transforms Lives One Cluttered Room at a Time
Start the New Year out right with organization tips from Amanda LeBlanc and her team in The Style Network’s new docu-series “The Amandas,” which airs Monday, January 30 at 8:00pm ET/PT. This extreme perfectionist and organizational specialist leads a team of young and fashionable organizers to create meticulously functional living spaces with a focus on style and aesthetics. Having lost it all in Hurricane Katrina, LeBlanc knows firsthand what it means to live and thrive with less and helps her clients to let go of the past in order to create elegant, efficient and stress-free environments.
A wife, mom and entrepreneur, Amanda’s desire for perfection has turned her obsession with organization into a lucrative business and growing empire. With her mini army of “Amandas” comprised of spirited Southern women – who don’t always share Amanda’s drive or common sense – and her right-hand man, Dustin Canez, Amanda works around the clock to create structure and exquisite design. Arguments are inevitable within this outspoken group, but Amanda manages to keep the peace and push people to achieve their best with her down-to-earth sense of humor and charm. Each episode, Amanda will meet with a new client to lend her expertise, whether it’s for a blue-blood socialite looking for someone to turn her walk-in closet into a peaceful sanctuary or a single mom whose hoarding has turned her house – and life – into ruins. From garage, to nursery, to attic and even food truck, no space is off-limits for “The Amandas.”
Meet the Cast:
Amanda LeBlanc – Amanda LeBlanc is the owner of “The Amandas”- a professional organizing company whose clients range from borderline hoarders, to overwhelmed soccer moms, to wealthy socialites, to high profile CEOs and celebrities. Amanda is an OCD, detail-obsessed, organizing guru and self-proclaimed “control freak” who combines intimidating sets of neurosis with a gentile charm to effectively manage her team. In 2005, Amanda and her family lost everything to Hurricane Katrina so she is acutely aware of the difference between what one needs and what one wants. After the tragedy, she picked herself up, opened her Birmingham, Alabama-based business while continuing to serve clients in New Orleans and Atlanta.
Dustin Canez – “The Amandas” team would not function without Amanda’s right-hand man and personal assistant, Dustin. Her eyes and ears and even her snitch, Dustin keeps the other five women on track while also managing Amanda’s stress level and work schedule.
Taylor Davis – Taylor is determined, outgoing, and independent and also happens to live with Aunt Amanda! She has inherited the organizing family gene and tries to live up to her aunt’s high expectations, but at 19, her teenage behavior sometimes causes friction with her disciplined aunt.
Savannah Cernosek – Priding herself as the spunky organizer with a great sense of style, Savannah’s go-getter attitude has put her steps above the rest of the team. Sarcastic and occasionally ruthless, she has been known to give attitude but always endeavors to stay professional… especially with Amanda!
Rachel Vicknair – Drop dead gorgeous, Rachel holds the beauty pageant titles of Ms. Louisiana State and Ms. New Orleans. She is strong, outgoing and determined to become Amanda’s number two. With all the qualities of an excellent organizer combined with killer looks, will Rachel reign supreme among the other ambitious girls?
Havilah Malone – As a former corporate manager, Havilah is outspoken, passionate and tenacious, which are all qualities that Amanda holds dear. Always one to speak her mind, she won’t put up with any nonsense as she climbs to the top of Amanda’s ladder.
Alicia Lewis – This brainy beauty, with three college degrees already under her belt, isn’t afraid to think out of the box and bring new ideas to the table. She is always ready to take up any challenge with the skills she has mastered by working with Amanda. However, don’t be fooled by her sweet and quiet disposition. She can always use her clever wits and know-how to outshine the bunch!
Dancer-actress Micaela Johnson of Omaha was called from the audience to “come on down” in Thursday’s airing of “The Price is Right.”
The show was taped in Los Angeles in October, and Micaela won a dishwasher, a stove, a refrigerator and other items worth about $6,300.
The 2003 Marian High graduate, who will graduate this spring from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has been auditioning and working in L.A. Her mother, X-ray technician Anna Johnson of Omaha, suggested they try to get on a show.
They waited in line for hours and were interviewed by the show’s producers, who started to move on to the next person. Then Anna added to what Micaela modestly hadn’t mentioned: “She’s also a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and a Miss Nebraska USA!”
When taping began, the audience was so loud that Micaela didn’t hear her name called — her mom excitedly pointed it out on a cue card.
The game was fun, especially with singer Chris Daughtry taking part, but “game show contestant” isn’t the line on her résumé she’s been hoping to add.
She has a team of agents and recently taped an episode of the popular TV comedy “Modern Family,” in which she plays a bride. Micaela, who turned 27 on Jan. 1, is single — and she chuckled at the irony of playing a bride in front of millions of viewers. This year in Omaha she will serve as a bridesmaid for, believe it or not, the 27th time.
She also has written a children’s book about a girl cooking with her parents, and has been hired to dance in a show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network.
Watch the episode (Micaela is the first contestant called) here.
Melanie Snare is hoping to fulfill her final NFL dream
ATLANTA (January 2, 2011) – Melanie Snare, was a cheerleader/dancer at UNC-Chapel Hill and then cheered in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons for 5 seasons, was a Captain on the team, traveled to Egypt to entertain the US military, cheered in the American Bowl in Tokyo and was even selected as the 2006 Pro Bowl Cheerleader ending her career on the sidelines in Hawaii. But there was one major NFL dream that never came true – the Super Bowl. Now that final dream could be within reach with the support of the dance & cheerleading world thanks to an online contest for the Super Bowl Bud Light special correspondent.
Bud Light is currently holding a Facebook contest to search for a special correspondent for Super Bowl XLVI and Melanie has entered. Candidates will be evaluated by the number of ‘Likes’ they receive on Facebook and a special judging panel. Melanie is hoping the cheerleading world rallies around her and helps send her to Indianapolis as the special correspondent to make this final dream come true. She works as a TV host based out of Atlanta covering entertainment, red carpets, sports and more so she is perfect for this correspondent position. She even hosted a TV show this NFL season covering the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders audition process and swimsuit calendar shoot in Bermuda called New South.
To help this NFL Cheerleader Alumni make it to the Super Bowl, please vote for her as the Super Bowl correspondent before January 20, 2012. Click here and follow the simple instructions below:
Click on “View Applications”
Find the video titled “Melanie Snare” and click on it. [currently it's on the first page, but you may have to browse through the pages]
Click “like” to the right of Melanie’s video under her name to “vote” for her.
It will prompt you to share your vote on your Facebook wall to let others know to vote for Melanie too.
For more information about Melanie, please visit www.MelanieSnare.com and please connect with her on Facebook (Click here) & Twitter (Click here). She loves connecting with cheerleaders from around the world!
Two amazing journeys started in the football season of 2001.
Melanie Snare is hoping to fulfill her final NFL dream
