By Vanessa Bolano
WGNO.com
The Saints may not be playing in the Super Bowl, but their dance team – the Saintsations – will definitely be on the field at halftime. They’re getting ready to strut their stuff for football fans around the world, and WGNO’s Vanessa Bolano reports, all of New Orleans will be cheering them on.
Meet the 2012-2013 Saintsations. While the season may be over for the boys in black & gold, that’s not the case for these ladies.
The Saintsations will play host as all eyes are on new orleans for Super Bowl XLVII. These women, 32 in all, hail from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas.
They practice twice a week, learning 30 dances a season. And for the super bowl they’re learning additional 10, but don’t worry! Most of these girls started dancing before they could walk!
“I’ve danced my whole life since I was two,” says Chastity Sorrels.
“I’ve been dancing for a very long time since i was like three,” Baton Rouge native Heidi Walker tells us.
As we inch closer to the big game these girls are going to be busy going from one event to the next. And then for the big game, Super Bowl Sunday, they’ll be performing around the ‘Dome, and they’ll be at the halftime show with Beyonce!
“I can’t imagine how it could get much louder in there,” says Walker. “I think the Saints have the loudest fans, so I’m wondering if they can top it when we have different fans in there.”
Being a Saintsation is basically a full time job that takes courage, determination and major skills.
“I knew that I always wanted to do that and after I graduated from college I was looking for a job and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life and I figured that that was the perfect time to make my dreams come true,” Sorrels says.
Rookie Nicole Wall says, “Going on the field in the Superdome the first time was just an eye-opening experience to see how big and how great the whole ‘dome was. Just everything about it is great.”
Another rookie, Kolbie Lawrence tells us, “It was a really good year, my first year. I was featured in the calendar. I thought that was pretty cool, but meeting all these new girls, they’re like sisters.”
“I have had a pretty good ride as a Saintsation,” says veteran Danielle Daray. “My first year being the Super Bowl, and the next year I was able to travel to Iraq to visit some of the troops, and then last year I was picked as the Pro Bowl cheerleader, and now Super Bowl in New Orleans. I don’t think that anybody could have had a better 4 years as a Saintsation.”
For many of these women, being a Saintsation is the opportunity of a lifetime: week after week cheering on the Saints, and now hosting the Super Bowl on their home turf.
Also see Saintsations Director Has Seen It All.
