This is a very unique season for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders. For one thing, the Ticats are spending a season away from Hamilton, as Tim Horton’s Field is being built to replace their former home, Ivor Wynne Stadium. Therefore, the Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders are on the sidelines of their temporary home, Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph, about 30 minutes north of Hamilton.

On the personal side, it is a season of change for some of the Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders as well, as four of them have been recently engaged!

But amidst a season of transition, some things remain the same. Starting with Head Coach and Choreographer Lesley, in her 21st season of being part of CFL cheerleading! Talk about the Ultimate CFL Cheerleader! Lesley cheered for the Tiger-Cats for two seasons, then for the Toronto Argonauts for ten years, the last four as Head Coach and Choreographer. Then in 2005, Lesley returned to Hamilton to take on her current role.

Lesley loves her current squad, and in a season of stadium transition, the Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders had the highest number of returning members in the history of their team, with only four rookies on the team of 22 Cheerleaders.

The other constant is that even though the Ticats are away from Hamilton, their enthusiastic fans are rooting on their team in Guelph. During the games, the Cheerleaders help out Pigskin Pete as he leads the crowd in the tradition of the Oskee Wee Wee cheer. Besides their sidelines, the Ticats Cheerleaders perform a routine at the 55-yard line during each quarter, and an additional mid-field routine if they win. In addition, during the game, the Cheerleaders help out with promotions, including a unique card game on the big screen that is based on a unique Tiger-Cats Cheerleader product, a deck of playing cards featuring the squad!

The biographies of the 2013 squad are located at this link, and during this season, UltimateCheerleaders will feature interviews and photos of some of the Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders. We sincerely thank Lesley, Assistant Coach Lauren, all of the squad members, plus Maurice Grant and Mike Hardill of the Tiger-Cats for all of their assistance at the August 24th home game against Winnipeg. The Tiger-Cats won 37-14, so that meant a fifth mid-field Cheerleaders routine to celebrate the win! Click on Continue below to see more photos, and there are even more at this link.

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Amanda Brantley is the new Director and Manager of the Colorado Eagles Chicks, a professional dance team for Northern Colorado. Amanda danced with the Chicks for two seasons and has also spent the last five years coaching high school dance.

Amanda informs us that the Eagles Chicks are hosting auditions for their eleventh season on September 14th. Click on some of the images below to see their try-out and pre-audition workshop information, with more information at this link.

From last Saturday, Hamilton Tiger Cats Cheerleader Sara

“I think dance is not only a passion, but a way of life. If you can’t think of your life without it, you are a dancer.”

Kim Roudebush not only lives out her definition of a dancer but as Director for the Syrens Dance Team, she works to help other dancers move forward in their own dance journeys. The Syrens cheer on the GDFL’s Indianapolis Tornados minor league football team, and recently we featured some photos of the squad and an interview with Assistant Director/Syren Jess. Now, UltimateCheerleaders learns about Kim and her busy life on and off the field, and as a dance instructor, maybe she will nudge some of the guys into learning that dance can be beneficial to our lives as well.

An Indianapolis native, Kim’s dance life started early. “I have always loved performing, from a very young age,” Kim explains. “I think my very first performance was a group tap number in the middle of the mall at about age seven. After that, I danced most of my childhood and all through high school. I was the dance captain of our high school dance team, choreographed for our local middle school, as well as dances for my high school. I was also a part of the Hip Street Rhythm Company and our high school competition dance team choreographed by Dance Magic.”

After graduation, the love of dance took Kim to Columbia, Missouri. “After high school I auditioned for the dance program at Stephens College and became a dance major,” Kim recalls. “This consisted mainly of Ballet, Modern, Musical Theatre, Acting, Pilates, and ethnic dances such as West African and Flamenco.”

After college, Kim’s career path did not include dance, but she continued to include dance in her life, which connected her eventually to the Syrens. “After college I took modern, hip hop, ballet, and jazz,” Kim remembers. “I was dancing with a local modern dance group and a good friend of mine was a Syren at the time. She reached out to me and asked if I would like to be the Director. Although I had never been a cheerleader, I am always up for a challenge and to work on new types of dancing style. This was more like NBA meets NFL, and it is more dance than cheer. I had experience with choreography and directing in high school and college, so that came easy for me.”

“This is my third year as Director, and because this is a volunteer national league, we do provide a more flexible schedule to the dancers than NFL or NBA,” Kim continues. “However, we still have two nights of practice each week and we arrive three hours early to every game, for practice and preparation. I had thought about being either a Colts Cheerleader or Pacemate, but you need to be able to commit to their schedule and it is a lot more dedicated than ours. I give all pro cheerleaders a round of applause for their level of dedication.”

But Kim is very dedicated to the Syrens and puts considerable time and effort into the squad. Asked about her motivation to do so, Kim answers, “My first motivation comes from the love of dance. My second motivation comes from helping other dancers develop their skills. It is great to see someone start at level one and end up at level three by the end of the season. My goal is to prep them for the demands of pro level.”

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Kim, the Director of Bomb Squad Dance Team (http://bombsquaddancers.weebly.com/ , http://www.beltwaybombersbasketball.com/ ) informs us her tryouts are less than a month off!

August. Football. Indianapolis. Playoffs? Are we talking playoffs?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2R2sH2ScBM[/youtube]

Yes, Jim Mora, we are, and get on the bandwagon! Because not only are the GDFL’s Indianapolis Tornados in the playoffs, they won last Saturday night 12-3, to advance to the elite eight in Round 3. The Tornados were champions of the NAFL in 2008, and are looking to add a GDFL title ASAP.

As you’d expect, successful organizations at this level often have their sidelines entertainment up to high standards also. And the Syrens Dance Team adds some wow factor to the Tornados games, and is gaining visibility throughout Indy. And just like the Tornados have players with some Colts and Bears time, the Syrens also have some NFL experience, with former Colts Cheerleader Denae answering the Syrens’ call. Plus, we appreciate that Colette is a fan of UltimateCheerleaders, and her sister Colleen is the Syrens photographer, when she takes time out from her wedding photography.

So the Tornados continue to move forward in the playoffs, and the Syrens also will perform at the WNBA Indiana Fever game on September 13th and at the Indianapolis Heart Walk downtown on September 14th.

We will learn more about the Syrens next week in an interview with their Director Kim Roudebush, but for now, here are the other Syrens that performed during a June home game.

Click on the “Continue” link below to see more Syrens photos

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We all know how much pro dancers add to sidelines entertainment, but perhaps no dancer has ever been as essential as Jess was during an Indianapolis Tornados football game last year. Last season’s Tornados coach Jerry Selters suffered a heart attack and collapsed during a game in July 2012’s high heat, and physicians estimate he was clinically dead for four minutes. But Jess, on the sidelines on the Syrens Dance Team, is also a trained Emergency Medical Technician and firefighter, and administered CPR as the crowd fell silent. Soon joined by the team doctor and two medically trained fans, Jess and the others brought coach Selters back from the brink, and onto an ambulance to a local ER. Coach Selters survived, and he and the Gridiron Developmental Football League thanked Jess for her live saving measures.

Afterwards, Jess said she merely did what she was trained to do, and Jess added, “I do not consider myself a hero. I was in the right place at the right time. I’m just very grateful that I was there, and I’m humbled by everybody’s reaction.”

A season later, asked about her thoughts of that game and her actions, Jess responds, “Reflecting on a year ago at that game, I felt like the world stopped. It was just me with the knowledge and experience, I was calm and focused on my patient. The memory that sticks out the most was me yelling at my cheerleaders to bring me ice packs so I could actively cool my patient, as the heat index was 116 that day, and my patient was in cardiac arrest. With my training, I was proud of myself that I knew what to do. I’ve never had, what we call, a ‘witnessed cardiac arrest’ before and I am elated at the results! Like I said it seemed like the world stopped and time stood still. I couldn’t hear anyone yelling or screaming because I was focused on what I was doing. Players, team management, and my fellow Syrens thanked me and hugged me after the ambulance left.”

Now that was one “breath-giving” sidelines performance! In addition, Jess shared with UltimateCheerleaders her experiences as a competitive athlete throughout her childhood, how she became an EMT and fire-fighter, and some advice for cheerleaders as they perform during sweltering summer games.

Jess is a lifelong central Indiana resident. “I was born in Indianapolis and grew up on a farm in Noblesville, where I have lived most of my life,” Jess explains. “Some of my favorite memories growing up was living on the farm, riding go-carts, driving tractors, and taking family road trips for vacations. Most memorable is the music my dad would play during these road trips. His taste in music impacted me at a young age, so we share the same love of good music.”

Much of Jess’s childhood was occupied with the world of competitive rhythmic gymnastics, having opportunities to perform at Indianapolis Colts games, the Olympic Torch Lighting ceremony, and at 13, becoming one of the Indiana State Champions for Rhythmic Gymnastics. “I started out in jazz and tap as a child then moved into artistic gymnastics at the age of 6,” Jess recalls. “A few years later at the gym, I saw a lady with a ribbon and I was intrigued. That’s when I switched to rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 10.”

Asked what people should look for to indicate a potential talent for rhythmic gymnastics, Jess answered, “As far as certain talents to look for in a rhythmic gymnast, it’s basically coordination. I feel also that a child should have to want to do the sport as it is very difficult, demanding, and time consuming.”

Jess reflected on the years of effort and competition in rhythmic gymnastics, the benefits to her future personality. “My years of competition were the most fun!” Jess recalls. “I loved competing and traveling with my mom from state to state. I learned discipline and patience during my years as a rhythmic gymnast. My coach also inspired me with a strict schedule and shaped me into the person/teacher I am today. As a competitive gymnast, I was in the gym three to four times a week, three hours at a time. I did not mind this AT ALL! I loved rhythmics and enjoyed learning and improving myself as a gymnast. I never wanted to give up that sport. My goal was to be a Level 10 and make it to the Olympics, however a bilateral hamstring injury that I never recovered from ended my career as a Level 8.”

Cheerleading was another part of Jess’s time in school, as a cheerleader in junior high and high school, as well as being a high school dance team member. After high school, Jess continued taking dance classes and performing, including for semi-pro football’s former Indy team, the Circle City Soldiers. Jess is in her second season with the Syrens Dance Team that cheers on the GDFL’s Indianapolis Tornados semi-pro football team. Now the Syrens’ Assistant Dance Director, how did Jess become part of the squad and had she wanted to be part of pro dance before? “I had the opportunity to dance with some alumni of Colts Cheerleaders and Pacemates at a pre-game performance at a Pacer game in 2012,” Jess explains. “One of the ladies was also part of the Syrens and suggested I try out. I had already been a part of a semi-professional cheer team back in 2002, and, yes, I’ve always wanted to be a professional cheerleader for the Colts or Pacemates.”

But it was Jess’s career decision that gave her essential skills to be able to jump to the rescue on the sidelines last season. “My interest in becoming a Firefighter/EMT happened by chance,” Jess remembers. “I already knew at a young age that I wanted to be in the medical field and help people. I started out in college in nursing, then worked in an ER and became even more fascinated with the human body and how it worked. I took an EMT course, ended up riding out on an ambulance for the first time, and loved every minute of it. That’s when I knew what my calling was.” So did Jess watch COPS or Rescue 911 at an early age? “Yes, I did watch Rescue 911 with my mother when it was on,” Jess replies.

So let’s take advantage of Jess expertise as both a pro dancer and trained emergency worker, and ask her advice for cheerleaders hitting the field during the torrid summer heat. What would Jess recommend for cheerleaders to prepare for hot games, and after what symptoms should a cheerleader realize that she should take a break and rest? “During heat related months, everyone needs to be aware of how much fluid they are taking in, and I’m talking about fluid that hydrates you: water, Gatorade, Powerade, et cetera. As a cheerleader being outside in the heat, you must bring plenty of hydrating drinks and food. I would also suggest a wet washcloth to keep in a cooler and ice packs in case of an emergency, like the emergency last year. Be aware of how much you are perspiring and once you stop perspiring, that should indicate to you to stop what you’re doing and go inside to cool down. Also, if you become nauseated, feeling faint, dizzy, or start vomiting.”

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Whew, time flies! It seems like it was just smack dab in the heart of the NBA season. But it is time to think ahead to next year, already! If you go to the Orlando Magic Dancers website, you will see the clock ticking down until the start of auditions for next season’s team. The Magic’s basketball future appears bright with some good young talent, including the selection of Victor Oladipo with the number two pick in the NBA Draft. So, Magic Dancers got next, as they will soon select the veterans and rookies that will make-up a dance team marking 25 undefeated seasons of successfully entertaining Magic fans.

So for those of you a bit curious about trying out, the Magic Dancers are a close knit group of supportive teammates, with a wide range of interesting careers. In the middle of her rookie season last year, I asked Magic Dancer Elyse if she was enjoying the experience. “Absolutely!” Elyse replied. “Because all of the girls are so nice, the veterans have taken us all under their wing, and taught us the ropes. So it’s been a really good experience. Then again, I am a Magic fan because I am from Orlando, so it’s been nice to be able to watch the team up close. I would have been at the games anyway, I just get to dance now, which is always fun.”

Once upon a time, Elyse actually was a Junior Magic Dancer, and also taught dance and was part of the dance team when she attended Auburn, then transferred to Florida State where she received her degree in Sociology with minors in psychology and child development. After Florida State, Elyse enrolled in nursing school at the Florida Hospital College at Adventist University, with the goal to eventually work in pediatric oncology.

Elyse was one of seven Magic Dancers last season that was part of Darlene Cavalier’s Science Cheerleaders program. This group also includes high flying Ashley, who works as a contract specialist for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. “I manage engineering services,” Ashley explained. “I can see the launch pad from my office right across from the Vertical Assembly Building.”

Ashley said of NASA’s activities these days, “There are a bunch of different programs that are starting up, the commercial crew, they are redoing the VAB and the launch pad so they can adapt to all of the different rockets, the commercial companies are already launching. There are still rockets and satellites, just no manned flights at the moment.”

So would Ashley, who has flown through the air as a Magic Dunking Dancer, be interested in some space flight time if given the chance? “Yes, it would be so cool,” answered Ashley. “I would definitely. They have a bunch of simulators. I just need to get in with the right people so I can get into it,” Ashley laughs.

Ashley has been part of the prep classes leading up to this season’s OMD auditions, but not as a participant, but as one of the instructors. After I talked with Elyse and Ashley last December 23rd, Ashley became engaged, and after last year’s fifth season as Team Leader, she will not be trying out for the team this season. Last December, Ashley reflected on her fifth season, saying, “It has become part of life, I cannot imagine not doing it. I’ve grown up on this team since I was nineteen.”

Asked about her advice for rookies, Ashley said, “It sounds really cheesy, but cherish every moment because five years has flown by so fast. And it is so crazy how fast it goes by. (As far as advice), just to be involved and active in every opportunity and take advantage of it.”

During Ashley’s five seasons, she had seen a lot of changes on the Magic roster, but last season she liked how the fans responded to the young team. “It’s been great this season, despite the changes that have happened,” Ashley said. “The fans have been great, and have been very supportive, and it has actually been very high energy. The players are definitely hustling, the games are so much fun because you can tell they are fighting for it and they want it. So it’s good.”

And like the Magic, Ashley had to deal with some setbacks, tearing two ACLs, one during performance and one during a Dunking Dancers practice. But Ashley never let it get her down, as she said, “It hasn’t held me back from anything else, I came back as soon as I could.”

During the 2011-2012 season, Ashley was part of the compacted schedule of games due to the lock-out. “It was just constant, it was crazy,” recalled the Titusville native. “It was like a blur, kind of a whirlwind, because we went from nothing to full blast. And then we had the All-Star Game, so that was a whole new experience, a whole new set of challenges, and a whole new set of craziness. It was awesome!”

Reflecting on what it must have been like for that compacted year before she was on the squad, Elyse commented, “I already feel like we are so busy, I couldn’t even imagine, living and breathing basketball,” as Elyse pauses to rethink. “That must have been really fun!”

And 2013-2014 will be a really fun season for the Orlando Magic Dancers as they celebrate their 25th anniversary season. Also, Jeanine-Klem Thomas, the Orlando Magic Dancers Manager and Appearance Coordinator, also has the Dancing Dads (fathers of former and current Magic Dancers) that will be celebrating their tenth season, with her senior dancers, the Silver Stars, right behind on their way to season number nine.

So the young women that try-out Saturday at 9 am at the RDV Sportsplex Orlando Magic Gym will have a chance to be part of the silver anniversary team of the renowned Orlando Magic Dancers. Just as the Orlando Magic Dancers countdown to a new season like they do down the road at NASA for lift-offs, the young woman that make the team are in for an exciting ride!

Thanks to Ashley and Elyse for sharing the their insights with me last season, and of course to Jeanine Klem-Thomas for all of her invaluable assistance. And if you want to see some more photos of the Orlando Magic ancers from back in December click on this link.

New adventures and Tennessee Titans Cheerleader Jessi just seem to go together. Examples? Well, the Florida native was a “So You Think You Can Dance?” finalist; Jessi has danced for a US President; she was dance captain for the Los Angeles Pussycat Dolls; Jessi was the subject of a “World of Jenks” documentary on MTV about her life as an NFL cheerleader; she started the singing trio Danger Love Saint; Jessi has been to every continent except Antarctica; and on and on and on, ad infinitum. Some people have dance resumes, but Jessi lives a dance life that just jumps off a printed page with each opportunity seemingly topping the previous amazing adventure. This year, Jessi was planning to have her fifth and final season with the Titans, but the opportunity to tour the USA with new dance crew “Dance Y’all” arose. Jessi and the four other dancers of “Dance Y’all” are touring as part of Rascal Flatts’ “Live and Loud” tour, maintaining the show’s high energy while also teaching crowds totaling over 500,000 fans to make dance part of their concert experience. And Jessi gets to have a pro dance teammate along for the ride, with seven-year Nashville Predator Dancer Lakelyn the other female Dance Y’all crew member.

Jessi took time from her busy tour stop at Klipsch Music Center just north of Indianapolis to share with UltimateCheerleaders how she became part of the genesis of Dance Y’all, how she will be away from the LP Field sidelines this season but fans will still see her influence during Titans games, and how she recently had perhaps her biggest thrill in her extensive entertainment career.

First of all, what is Dance Y’all? Jessi and Lakelyn are two of the five members of the Dance Y’all crew. Dance Y’all is the brainchild of esteemed producers Jim Rink and RAC Clark (the son of music and television impresario Dick Clark), and is the first-ever dance crew in country music history to open for a major tour. Dance Y’all’s manifesto: “We believe in the Power of Fun. We believe in the Power of Hope. We believe in the Power of People. We believe in the Power of Excellence. Be the movement. Dance Y’all. Our dream for Dance Y’all is to start a movement that inspires millions to dance.”

And Jessi is a perfect person to lead the charge. For instance, during their Indiana appearance, Dance Y’all was there as tens of thousands of fans arrived at the venue, with Jessi and friends at the Farmers Insurance Fans Zone tailgate party. Jessi, Lakelyn, and the guys performed on stage, and Jessi took the microphone to entice the concertgoers to boot scoot on over and do some dancing themselves. Jessi explained the moves and then Dance Y’all joined the fans during some dances. Then Dance Y’all jumped on their scooters (Lakelyn said that she and Jessi have had a couple spills so far this tour) to get ready for their part of the show. With an Indiana crowd that was one the largest of the tour, Dance Y’all hit the stage after The Band Perry and before Rascal Flatts to keep the energy going and get the fans moving.

Jessi has been on a summer tour before, dancing with Marques Houston during The Scream Tour featuring Bow Wow and Omarion, and also travelled during her time on Princess Cruises (told you Jessi goes from one adventure to the next). “(The Scream Tour) was a very, very different experience because it was all hip hop,” Jessi explains, “and I did Princess Cruises, which is kind of the tour life, but this is definitely my first country related tour, and it’s Dance Y’all’s first tour.”

Jessi’s connection to the genesis of Dance Y’all was part of a series of dominos falling that began with her dancing in a Gloriana video. “I was chosen to do a video for Gloriana, and that was kind of a lucky thing I guess, I happened to be right for the part,” Jessi explains. “But the choreographer for that video, Robert Royston, is a four-time World Country Dance Champion. Well, he was part of putting together Dance Y’all, and when it came to cast dancers, he thought of me. And Lakelyn was actually in that video with me, and because we do a lot of lifts, the girls have to have a height limit. They thought, ‘One blonde, one brunette, they are both short, they are perfect, so let’s use them.’ (laughs) So it was kind of a lucky deal, and Lakelyn and I just kind of walked into it blindly, because we had no idea what it was. And it just worked out pretty well,” Jessi smiles.

During this tour, Jessi has noticed some cities are really quite willing to get up and dance. “When we were up in Boston last weekend, Boston was WILD!” Jessi exclaims. “They were ready to dance!” Even though one would not think of Boston as country music country, “They come out in the cowboy hats and the boots, and they know every word to every song,” Jessi recalls.

Unlike last summer’s midwestern drought, there has been no shortage of rain this year, including flash floods that cancelled their tour stop in Michigan. “It’s either been hot, or really windy, or rainy,” Jesse says. Can it make it challenging to dance? Jessi answers, “Yes, and actually, I’ve haven’t done many professional dance jobs outdoors other than being with the Titans. So it reminds me of that, because you constantly have to worry about the weather conditions, but it’s been really fun. I have been really lucky and it’s a really good time.”

“It’s different than a lot of other professional dance genres right now because this is meant to teach people as we’re doing it, which is a unique thing,” Jessi continues. “It’s not necessarily about our skill level and showing off, and dancers being the spectacle. We are trying to encourage people, saying, ‘Actually what we are doing is very simple and you can do it to. Here, we will show you.’ Which is a cool thing, and it’s really different. Most of the time, choreographers and directors are asking you to stand on your head, and all of this stuff, so this is actually really cool. You really get to reach out, and say, ‘Come on, you can dance too! You can do this.’”

Dance Y’all is not only about dancing, but they often are joined on stage by recording artist Laura Bell Bundy. Plus, Big Machine Records released “Dance Y’all: Volume One,” with the show’s featured music. “We have an EP,” Jessi explains. “All of the songs are country songs that have been remixed to make them more dance appropriate. So they are kind of mixed with techno, or electronic music. People can buy the EP on our website danceyall.com. And Laura Bell Bundy performs with us, her song is on the EP as well, which is really cool.”

So this summer, Jessi spends a lot of time on the road as Dance Y’all goes from concert to concert. “The travelling is really fun,” Jessi says. “We’re on a bus together, so we bus around with all of the other crew buses, so we have gotten to know and hang out with them, which is really cool. We are in tight quarters, but we watch a TON of movies and make the time pass by. I’ve been actually taking lots of notes and listening to music for when I go home and teach, so I try to get a jump start on that.”

Jessi started with Dance Y’all last year on smaller stages, but her decision regarding whether she would be part of the big 2013 summer tour coincided with her Titans try-outs. “Last year, Lakelyn and I did a small club tour with Dance Y’all, but we found out about (this summer tour) pretty much in February,” Jessi recalls. “They were talking about it, and as the summer grew near, it became more serious, and it became more serious. And I was actually in the process of trying out for Titans, and was very, very torn. I really thought this would be my last year for Titans and I did not want to give up all my hard work on Titans to go on tour, BUT, Dance Y’all is a really good opportunity. So I was really torn and it was really emotional decision, and then I talked to our coach (TTC Director of Cheerleading Stacie Kinder) and she was supportive, and the whole team was very, very supportive. They said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s awesome, yeah, go live your dream.’ So it was really cool.”

Does Jessi ever sit back and think that she is living a pretty amazing life? “Yeah, absolutely,” Jessi responds. “I am just crazy, crazy blessed, and so lucky that the Titans are in my life. I’m actually coming back this year as a choreographer which is something that I’ve been really excited about. I just set a quarter break on them this last week so I am going to go back and finish that, and then I’ll set another one later in the year. And I still go to practices whenever I can (laughs), I just can’t stay away! Stacie says, ‘You don’t need to be here,’ but I say, ‘I just want to be here!’ So I help warm them up and just stay involved as much as I can. Being on the team four years, you have such an emotional attachment to it, so it’s hard to give it up.”

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Denae of the Indianapolis Tornados Syrens is also a Colts Cheer Alumni