DVR Alert: Falcons Cheerleader Competes on Minute to Win It This Wednesday

From AtlantaFalcons.com

natalieAtlanta Falcons Cheerleader Natalie Strong apparently has a talent when it comes to turning everyday household items into interesting games.

Strong, a four-year Falcons cheerleader, taped an episode as a contestant on NBC’s popular game show Minute to Win It. Her episode is set to air at 8 pm EDT Wednesday.

“Having the opportunity to appear on Minute to Win It would never have been possible without the love and encouragement of the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders, our amazing coaches and the world class Falcons organization,” Strong said. “I am so very blessed to be a part of such a supportive and giving organization.

“I know that each and every Falcons fan will want to tune in to NBC Wednesday night at 8 p.m. to see me take my chance in the 60-second circle. We have the best fans in the league, and I am so honored to have been able to represent my squad, the Falcons organization and our amazing fans on national TV.”

Minute to Win It features games using regular household items that need to be completed or won in less than 60 seconds. The show consists of 10 different games, and contestants have a chance to win up to $1 million. As the money value goes up, so does the difficulty level of each game. The show is hosted by Guy Fieri of Food Network fame.

Some of the possible games include stacking seven Ding Dongs on a contestant’s forehead and removing all the tissues from a tissue box with one hand.

Portland (Maine) Pirates Ice Girls Auditions Announced

piratesThe Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League will be holding auditions to identify candidates for the Pirates 2010-11 Sun Tan City Ice Girls Team as well as individuals to perform as Crackers or Salty Pete, the Pirates team mascots, during games and community appearances.

Auditions will be held on Sunday, September 5th at 9 a.m. at the Portland Ice Arena, located at 225 Park Avenue.

Candidates for the Sun Tan City Ice Girls Team must be prepared to commit to volunteering their time for a 40-game schedule from October-April as well as several non-game night appearances. The ability to skate is preferred, as is previous dancing, cheerleading and/or theater experience. Ideal candidates must be energetic, willing to interact with fans and be comfortable hosting and/or assisting with in-game presentations on camera and microphone in front of large crowds. Candidates must dress in comfortable workout clothes and provide their own skates for the audition.

Auditions will also be held to perform as one of the Pirates two mascots during the 2010-11 season. Candidates must be able to skate comfortably in the mascot costume, must be energetic, in good physical condition and willing to interact with fans and large crowds during the course of a 40-game home schedule in addition to several non-game night appearances.

To register to audition please visit portlandpirates.com and fill out the on-line form. For additional information contact Ron Gaita at the Portland Pirates at 828-4665 ext. 327 or via email at rgaita@portlandpirates.com.

Dancing as a Cheerleader for the First Time

kristin-wassellKristin Wassell has danced all her life. Now she brings her moves to the Hartford Colonials, a new professional football team.
By Bill Bittar
Monroe Patch
August 29, 2010

Cheerleaders wearing blue and gold will strut their stuff during the Hartford Colonials’ home opener on Rentshler Field Sept. 18, kicking off the 2010 United Football League season.

Kristin Wassell, 22, will not only be shaking pom poms as a cheerleader for the first time, she’ll also lead the dance routines as one of the team’s three captains.

Though the Class of 2005 Masuk High School graduate had never tried out for cheerleading, she has been dancing all her life.

“Since I was two, that was all I really ever knew,” Wassell said during a recent interview at Starbucks, 525 Main St. “In high school I had no life. I went to dance classes at night.”

Her mother Dona is a dance instructor and owner of Studio D Center for Performing Arts, 380 Monroe Turnpike. She enrolled her daughter in dance classes at the YMCA at an early age.

Wassell’s being named a captain of the Colonials cheerleading squad should come as no surprise to those who followed her dancing career.

Wassell was eight when her mother was director of the Trumbull YMCA’s dance program, and helped her teach when she was 10.

“I worked with her from eight to noon every Saturday and I had a class in the afternoon,” she said.

By age 14, Wassell taught her own class under her mother’s supervision.

“In high school, I always had a solo and was in a group number,” Wassell said of her Masuk days, adding she enjoyed dancing to jazz the most.

“A close friend danced with me,” she said. “We did a duet before college.”

There are no solo routines in college, only team competitions, according to Wassell.

She went on to perform on Eastern Connecticut University’s dance team for five years — the extra year was because she changed her major. The last two years, she filled the void when her team had no coach.

“At Eastern we had a small dance team,” Wassell said. “We were like a family.”

Eastern is a Division III school. Wassells’ team was ranked ninth in its division in her sophomore year.

“In my last year, we ranked seventh in the nation among schools in our division,” she said.

Dancing in Daytona

Competitions include routines in different categories including tap, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop; and teams compete against other ones with the same average age.

Wassell said schools submit a video to compete in the preliminary competition, from which judges pick half of the squads to go to the National Dance Alliance Championships in Daytona, Fla.

“The competition was huge,” Wassell recalled. “There were teams from Japan there. Everywhere you looked, you would see people in cheerleading and dance uniforms.”

Once a team makes it, Wassell said a choreographer must be hired to come up with a routine the women can practice until it can be done in exactly two hours and 15 seconds.

She said routines include 30 seconds of pop, with cheerleading-like arm movements; 30 seconds of hip-hop and 30 seconds of jazz.

Aside from timing, judges closely watch dancers’ movements to ensure they are technically sound: Are the feet pointed? Are the knees straight on leg kicks?

Even facial expressions are scrutinized.

“We had to smile at all times,” Wassell said. “You try to fight through a yawn to keep smiling.”

Even after hours and hours of hard work, just one misstep can make it all for naught. Wassell remembers when a teammate did a “leg up turn, turn, turn and turn” and fell out of it.

“We’re not crazy like grrr,” she said of teammates’ reaction to the mistake. “She was upset. She was crying.”

The Hartford Colonials

After graduating from college in May, Wassell was waiting tables at Presto Pizza in Stratford and teaching at her mother’s studio.

She recently accepted a part-time job as an assistant dance instructor at Fairfield University.

It was a hip-hop class she had taken at Eastern Connecticut that got her the cheerleading tryout.

The instructor, Beth Girard, it turns out, is now the coach and director of the Colonials new cheerleading team. While starting up the squad from scratch, she remembered Wassell.

“She told me about it,” Wassell said, “and a couple friends from my dance team tried out and they all made it — so we’re dancing together again.”

Of the 33 women on Hartford’s cheerleading team, Wassell said four are from her team at Eastern.

hartford-colonials-2010

Wassell went to the tryouts in June. She is by no means lacking in the looks department, but it takes a lot more than a pretty face to make a professional cheerleading squad.

“It was nerve wracking,” Wassell recalled. “There was a lot of talent at the audition.”

Each dancer had to think quickly on her feet.

“It’s not only about showing what your ability is,” Wassell said, “but how fast you can pick up the choreography.”

The cheerleaders also have to know the basics of football.

“I like baseball and football,” Wassell said. “I do have to say the Colonials are my favorite team, but I like the Yankees for baseball.”

As a cheerleader, Wassell has taken part in promotional events.

“We had a promotion at Riverfest in East Hartford,” she said. “There was a tent set up and food. We got the word out about the new football season and tickets could be purchased there. It’s all about promoting.

“When people see the football team and cheerleaders, they know it’s real. You really can’t care about approaching people. You can’t take it personally if they don’t want to hear about it.”

The Colonials’ cheerleaders will only perform at home games this season, but Wassell hopes they can travel with the team next season.

Her mother and father, Bud, and brother, Jack, should be in the stands to watch Wassell cheerleading. Though, she’ll always be a dancer at heart.

“It’s a release for me,” she said of dancing. “It just makes me happy. I like to do it. It’s almost therapeutic. If I had a bad day, I want to go to dance practice.”

Syracuse Crunch to Hold Auditions for Mirabito Ice Girls

crunchThe Syracuse Crunch announced today they will be holding auditions for the Mirabito Ice Girls team on Saturday, September 11 in the convention center of the Syracuse Crowne Plaza Hotel, located at 701 E Genesee St. Auditions are open to the public and registration begins promptly at 10:30 a.m.

The Crunch seek energetic, outgoing and physically fit people who have a passion for Syracuse Crunch hockey. The Mirabito Ice Girls team plays a key role in enhancing the Crunch game experience by greeting fans, assisting with on-ice and in-game promotions and helping to ensure Crunch fans have an outstanding game experience.

Candidates will sit with judges for a brief interview to showcase their personality and be taught a short dance routine which they will be asked to perform. All performers must wear form-fitting clothing, in good taste, and sneakers or dance shoes. Make-up and hair must be performance ready.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age to audition. For more information regarding auditions, please visit http://syracusecrunch.com/Team/IceGirls or contact Karen Simbari in the Crunch office by phone at (315) 473-4444 ext. 20, or by email at ksimbari@syracusecrunch.com.

Survivor: Nicaragua: Meet Brenda

Former Miami Dolphins Cheerleader and Paddleboard company owner Brenda Lowe reckons that having her own business will help her on Survivor: Nicaragua. The 27-year-old from Miami, FL describes herself as a “natural winner” and insists that nothing will get in her way when she gets an idea in her head.

Survivor: Nicaragua premieres Wednesday, September 15 at 8/7c on CBS.