By John Przybys
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Jan. 6, 2012

Q: You’ve been dancing since you were a kid. What’s the appeal?

A: I just definitely liked to be on stage and perform. It was just a passion that I had, and it’s something that I’m very happy has stayed with me. I’ve had great teachers and met amazing people and earned opportunities that have really enriched my life.

Q: Did you always want to make dancing your career?

A: In, like, sixth grade, I wanted to be an astronaut, actually. I was really into math at that time and I built Skylab for a science fair project. But as math continued, it was, like, “Ohhh, this is a lot of school.” So I got more into my dance and my cheer(leading) and all these fun things, and I thought, “Wow, this is fun. Know what? I’m gonna make a career of this.”

Q: And you became a dancer at Studio 54 (at the MGM Grand).

A: I started there in ’99 (as a dancer) … Then, they had an acrobat couple who were doing a few different things, and decided to do “The Stars of 54.” They created this (aerial) act which was three stars — three different points in the club, so it would be a trio act.

Q: How high up are we talking?

A: It’s, like, 20 feet? It’s definitely a nice, comfortable height for me.

Q: You’ve also been a cheerleader for three Las Vegas pro football teams (the XFL Outlaws, the AFL Gladiators and the UFL Locomotives). Who’s crazier: Drunken football fans or drunken nightclub guys?

A: It’s a different spectrum. The comments you hear from football fans and the comments you hear from club fans are different. But they all have a good time … We’ve often thought of keeping a book of all the pickup lines we’ve been asked.

Q: What’s the weirdest line you’ve ever heard?

A: Last night, actually, I had somebody who wrote down their name and room number, and then put “flexible” underneath it. I was, like, flexible like “I don’t care if you’re married or single” or “flexible if you want to bring someone else,” or flexible as in “You can just do an act yourself.” You just never know.

Q: Studio 54 is set to close on Feb. 4. What’s the home stretch like for you?

A: There are no words. It’s not just the place you go to five days a week. … So it’s definitely something close to my heart and I’m sad to see it go. I met my husband there and spent a lot of my life there. It’ll be a change, but, you know, everything comes to an end.

By John Przybys
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Mar. 9, 2012

Q: Before moving here (last March), you were a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. How long were you with the Cowboys?

A: Six years with the Cowboys.

Before that, I was with the Dallas Mavericks (dance team). I did three years with them.

Q: When did you start dancing?

A: My mom put me in it when I was in kindergarten. I was so shy. Like, if you tried to talk to me, I’d dig my face into my mom’s leg. That’s probably why I never did any extracurricular activities, because I would not socialize with the other kids. But my mom knew I was extremely athletic, naturally, and had an ability to dance, but I just would never do it.

Q: When did cheerleading enter the picture?

A: After my first year of college, my mom, because I never did cheerleading or anything like that, she saw an advertisement for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. She said, “You should do it.” At the time, that was the furthest thing of being a reality for me. … I was, like, “They’re probably looking for tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed, big-boobed girls, and that’s not me.” She said: “Why don’t you try out and let the judges tell you no?”

Q: So you decided to go for it.

A: I spent three weeks doing all the studying and the research I could. And the first time I tried out, I was actually only one of the semifinalists. After that, for some reason, I was super encouraged and thought, “What’s next?” It turned out they had the Mavericks auditions in a couple of months. So I took six hours of dance a day and I ended up, at 19, making the Mavericks.

Q: And, three years later, you were chosen for the most iconic cheerleading squad in the world.

A: I was floored. And I was so motivated. … With (the Cowboys), it’s, like, rookie of the year, veteran of the year, you can be captain, you can be in the calendar, you can go to the Pro Bowl. There’s so much to strive for, and I’m, like, “I’m going to write a checklist, and I will accomplish this,” and by the end of my six years, I did all of them.

Q: And you’re on a Fathead (life-sized wall decal)!

A: I know! That’s super cool, too.

Q: Did they give you one?

A: I had to buy it. That’s another thing: I wanted to make show group, and I made show group my rookie year, and we did USO tours around the world. I’d watch them pass out my Fathead as the grand prize, and I’m, like, “You can’t give me one?” (Laughs)

Q: Has your cheerleading experience helped you transition to dancing into a Las Vegas show?

A: It helped, but it’s definitely a lot different. … When I was cheering, I was at the point of every formation every time, and you have to be bigger than life. … But, onstage, this style of dancing is not as big.

Q: Any idea what you might like to do when you’re finished performing?

A: I’m really starting to have a new passion for acting. … Just like being a model or an athlete is a short-lived career, I feel there is a lot of longevity in acting, and I could see that as another outlet for me to express myself.

Aloha High School teacher and former Blazers dancer says Aloha High crowd was better than any Blazers game

By Casey Parks
The Oregonian

For about 10 years, Aloha High School health teacher Marlene Kanehailua pulled double-duty as a dancer for the Portland Trailblazers. In 2000, her worlds collided when the Blazer Dancers performed at the first Aloha High School Jam the Gym. In her “Aloha Story,” she talks about how much better the Aloha crowd was than a typical basketball fan crowd.

“The crowd went crazy,” she said. “For me, it was like wow.”

Listen to Marlene’s story or download the mp3 here.

Ford has selected four teams to compete for the last spot in Escape Routes – and their fate is in your hands! Cast your vote for the team you want to see in this ultimate interactive reality series. America’s Choice will join five other teams as they go head to head in fierce challenges across the country in the all-new Ford Escape.

One of the teams is former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleader Tiffany and her fiancé Devin.

Vote once each day. Voting ends March 4!

[Vote Here!]

If you were a frequent visitor to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders website during the 2010-11 NFL season, you probably read all of Brooke Sorenson’s blogs about her upcoming wedding. Well, Brooke married her Prince Charming Laynce Nix (an outfielder for the Phillies) last November. The two got hitched in Bahamas and the wedding party included a whole gang of current and former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Stephanie Heymann, Kandi Harris, Kelsi Reich, Jordan Chanley, Tobie Percival, Tia Williams, Michelle Keys, and Crystal and Trisha Trevino.

The wedding photographer has posted a few photos from Brooke’s big day on her website. Click here to check it out!

Former Sea Gal and Sonics Dancer Ali Dee makes her case:

Hi its me, Ali Dee, a singer/songwriter from Texas and CMT’s Texas Women I am ready to share my new music with the world!!! Only one little teensy weensy problem… I need your help to raise to moola to make it happen!! Record labels can spend upwards of $80,000-$500,000 smackers to get their artists albums made, I am asking for a tiny portion of that because I have folks that believe in me and are willing to knock off some change here and there to make it happen. I’ve got some of the best people lined up to make incredible music, I just want to be able to pay them what they deserve to help me make my dreams come true…

HERE IS WHERE YOU COME IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have the best fans in the entire universe and if you look to your right you will see lots of cool REWARDS I have set up to give away in order to collect the dollars to make this thing a go. Browse, pick, and then donate whatever you can and know you are a part of helping this gal get to where she wants to be, the top of the charts!!

A few quick notes: We only have 30 short days to meet our goal of $15,000 so PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!!! NONE of the funding goes through unless we raise the entire $15,000. If each of my facebook (16,000+) fans donate a small amount we can do this in no time! Any money raised over the $15,000 will go directly to the cost of printing/touring/marketing the record.

So DEE TEAM: Dig into your pocketbooks (or man purses) and LET’S DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

Ali Dee

[Ali Dee on Kickstarter]

Stacy Keibler with George Clooney at last night’s Oscars. Keibler was Ravens Cheerleader in 1997.

Dancer Paige Annette, another MPS success story
Geraud Blanks
JS Online
February 24, 2012

Dancer Paige Annette has devoted a large portion of her life to dance. She’s spent countless hours honing her craft and learning steps and routines in order to be ready to perform at a moment’s notice. So when she got a call from her agent last month to audition for R&B star Tyrese’s upcoming tour, she was ready,

Nearly 100 women were invited to the LA auditions; Tyrese handpicking the dancers. The fact that Annette had been chosen to audition was a victory in itself, and when her agent informed her that she was invited back for a 2nd call, she was honored and determined.

“I was confident but also very nervous,” said Annette. “I knew what a big opportunity this would be and I also knew how amazing it was to be called back out of so many dancers.”

But nothing, not all of those years of sweat and agonizing hard work had prepared her for what would happen next.

“When he told me I did not believe him,” said Annette about her reaction after Tyrese announced his final decision. “He said congratulations ladies, you’ll be going on tour with me.”

Milwaukee’s Own

One of only two dancers chosen to accompany Tyrese on tour, Annette was fulfilling a lifelong dream that started in grade school but flourished at local performing arts school, Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA). An athletic child, Annette has always been into physical activity but there was something that drew her to dancing over everything else.

“My mom put me in dance when I was little, I had a lot of energy,” she said. “What she put me in stuck with me for the rest of my life. Even if I was involved in sports dancing always came first.”

Annette says she began dancing professionally her freshman year of High School as a part of Signature Contemporary Dance Company, where she was a principal dancer.

“After school I would rehearse with the company,” she recalls. There were shows out of town; you could say I got a small taste of the life of a touring dancer at this time.”

Annette credits the discipline she learned and intense training she received while a student at MHSA—aside from her mother and her own ambition—as the driving force in her success.

“High School of the Arts prepared me in many ways for my career,” she said. “In school, we had a different technique class every day, so even though you might prefer a specific style of dance, learning different styles trains you to become a versatile dancer.”

“If you’re lucky enough, you will find a mentor who will help you know what kind of dancer you want to be. I was definitely fortunate to have found a mentor in Sandra Jordan, who helped me to find my dance direction by my senior year.”

Only the beginning

After graduating from MHSA in 2002, Annette attended Columbia College of Chicago to further pursue her passion. She later transferred to University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she graduated from in 2006 with a BFA in Dance.

While in Philadelphia, Annette was a Cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. “What an amazing job, this is one of my favorite places dance has taken me,” she said.

Now a resident of Las Vegas, Annette has lived in Sin City for four years working as a full time dancer, making the trek to LA whenever there is an audition or an opportunity to be had. But her last audition was a month ago, these days she’s busy catching flights and getting ready for the next gig.

Annette’s first stop as a part of Tyrese’s show was on February 10, in Dallas. She says she rehearsed with the singer/film actor for four or five days before taking the stage for their first performance.

Annette will accompany Tyrese for spot dates in Houston, Memphis, New York and Las Vegas before picking up yet-to-be-confirmed tour dates throughout March and April.

“One of my dreams has been to dance in a show like this,” says Annette. “I’m excited beyond belief about this opportunity to work with Tyrese, I know that this is only the beginning, but this has truly been an amazing experience”

MPS gets it right

It was only a few years ago that the MHSA was rumored to be in desperate need of funding in order to keep its doors open. A debt of nearly $1 million threatened to make MHSA yet another casualty of our school systems fiscal reality. Luckily, this was one situation where the community decided enough was enough.

The destruction of an institution that graduates highly motivated, skilled young men and women—the kind of young men and women that win Grammy awards or tour with Tyrese—was unacceptable. Parents and alumni coalesced around a common goal of raising awareness about the plight of MHSA and School administrators worked with the state to rework MHSA’s budget, which is higher than the typical public school due to its arts programs.

While the school was saved, there are still many Milwaukeeans they have yet to realize truly how phenomenal this institutuion is. It is without a doubt a shining example of the potential of Milwaukee’s public school system.