…or maybe more accurately, Alice steps upstairs with a mike. The Bloomington Edge Dance Team’s Alice is in her seventh season with the squad that performs at the Indoor Football League games, but 2012 has hardly been just another season for her. Since Alice was featured in UltimateCheerleaders last season, there have been some notable additions to her roles on and off the field. Off the field Alice is all done with school and is working at one of the local prominent health systems.

But Alice’s pro dance world is increasing its scope also. When the new owners puchased the former Bloomington Extreme, not only did they change the name to Edge, a Premier Basketball League team, the Central Illinois Drive, was added to the Bloomington sports scene. Before their season started, the Drive approached Edge Dance Team Coordinator Stacy Terry to create a dance squad for their in-game entertainment. So for Alice, adding another dance team? No problem! When Stacy approached the football dance team about joining the basketball version, Alice recalled their answer, “Of course we said, ‘Yep! We’ll do it!’” Compared to the Edge games, the Drive basketball Dance Team, Alice says, “We do more, I would say, pom and jazz than usual.”

Plus, for both the Drive and Edge, Alice is the announcer during in-game promotions. Going from the sidelines, Alice grabs a microphone and hits the stairs, heading up to the arena to be in the spotlight as she engages with lucky fans. “It’s exciting, I like doing it!” Alice says. And always immensely friendly and thoughtful to the fans, Alice even makes fans a priority when assessing her new role. About being in-game announcer, Alice comments, “I love it, I get to know the fans. In basketball, we don’t go (onto the court) after the games and interact with the fans, like we do with football, and so we really don’t get to know them. Now I get to go up there and meet some of them, I enjoy it a lot.”

Alice is devoted to dance in general, and loves having the opportunity to continue to perform with two Bloomington-based teams, and she has no plans to give it up. Alice smiles, “I am going to be here until they don’t take me or I can’t do it.” Asked if fans recognize her after seven seasons greeting and performing before, during, and after games, Alice says she hears, “‘You’re still here?’ Yep, still here. Hopefully that is a good thing.”

(more…)

Tonight in Nashville, finalists will audition to be part of the elite Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders. Like last season’s TTC, the new squad that emerges certainly will merit consideration for a title I would gladly bestow upon them. Of course, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are “America’s Sweethearts,” and both the Cowboys and Packers lay claim to “America’s Team,” but, for your consideration, the Titans Cheerleaders justly seem to be, “America’s Cheerleaders.” After all, how many of the entertainment centers of the US have NFL cheerleaders? LA, Vegas? Nope. And up in New York, the Jets’ Flight Crew is taking wing, but sidelines entertainment is still pretty new to NYC. Singers, musicians, and entertainers flock to Nashville from around the country looking for their chance to shine, and this is reflected in the talented squad that dances, cheers, and sometimes even sings at LP Field.

With the new squad on the horizon, as I reflect on last season’s Titans Cheerleaders, they represented the USA literally from coast to coast and a lot of the country in between. After a visit to Nashville last October, UltimateCheerleaders features included doctoral engineering student Jessica from Alabama, singer Angie from Bay City, Michigan, skater Molly from New Hampshire, and the singing “Danger Love Saint,” which includes Bri of Oregon and Jessi from Florida’s Atlantic coast. Even the TTC Director Stacie Kinder is from the Virginia/DC area, and Pro Bowler Brooke lives in Kentucky and commutes to games and practices.

There are so many notable women from across the US on last season’s squad, it is difficult to even choose a few. Let’s start with Anne P. Anne’s route to Nashville hit a few regional stops along the way, including one stop where she really enjoyed “The View.” Originally from Indianapolis, Anne then moved to New York, and then to Nashville to study at Belmont University. Then it was back to New York, where some interesting employers dotted her resume. “I worked for MTV and at ‘The View,’ I was actually personal assistant for Elizabeth Hasselbeck,” said Anne. “So it is fun having (Titans QB) Matt (Hasselbeck, Elizabeth’s brother-in-law) here now, or ‘Matthew’ as they call him.”

Anne ended up in television, but the music industry was her first interest, and this initially brought her to Nashville and Belmont. “I went to Belmont for Music Business, but then my sophomore year, the iPod was introduced, and already, everything was changing in the music industry,” explained Anne. “So almost from day one, I didn’t pursue a path in the music industry, I did television. I worked for MTV news documentaries. I left MTV 2007, and I was at The View until 2010.” Working in entertainment seemed Anne’s destiny, as she recalled, “I was the biggest fan of music, movies, and TV growing up. I knew I was going to work in the industry, because I was obsessed with that.”

So, I had to ask, did the hosts get ticked off at comedienne Kathy Griffin, who often like to, well, ‘discuss’ the show as part of her act? “No, they don’t,” Anne, who worked with all of the show’s hosts, said. “She is an entertainer, and that is what she does. People always ask me, ‘Was it drama behind the scenes?’ No, when they go on TV, they are there to entertain. And they come back and they are all normal like you and me.” But, nonetheless, it was a busy, challenging role, and Anne reflected, “It was a learning experience, I successfully managed five women of all different personalities, and now I feel like I could probably conquer anything because of that.” Anne still keeps in touch with her NYC friends, and Elizabeth helped in the design of Anne’s wedding dress. Anne said of Elizabeth, “She’s great, and there is another Hasselback, Nathaniel, who is Matt and Tim’s younger brother, that I am friends with. They’re excited that I am doing this because both my brother and sister are professional dancers, and I left that to go to Belmont.”

In fact, Anne’s brother is a classical ballet dancer, and her sister is a modern dancer who owns her own company in New York. Thus, with such a family of performers, there is no doubt Anne believes the arts are essential. “I am a big advocate of keeping the arts programs in schools,” Anne said. “(Indianapolis High School) North Central had an incredible performing arts program.” And in the small-world side of pro cheer, Anne said, “(Colts Cheerleader) Megan and I did show choir together, and we were summer camp counselors.”

After a few years in NYC, Anne knew it was time for a change when the lifestyle no longer struck the same chords as it once did. Anne said of her decision to move to Nashville, “I knew that once I started getting jaded by everything is when I needed to leave it. I left (‘The View’) to move here, and work in advertising at the Buntin Group. We do advertising for leisure, restaurants, vacuums, everything. So we are the largest in Tennessee. One of the largest in the South.” So how does it compare to television? “I like it,” Anne said. “It is a different world from TV.”

And Anne is happy to be in her ‘college town’ of Nashville. “It is great here,” said Anne, who went to college with fellow TTC Stephanie A. “It is different adjusting to this life, but I was ready to leave New York. Nashville is very much a melting pot, people don’t realize that. The whole entertainment industry brings a lot of people here; that is what brought me here. It’s a great town. Nashville is a great place to raise a family.” (more photos of Anne P at this link)

Another Midwesterner who followed an academic path to Nashville was Chocez, who was in her fifth year with the Titans Cheerleaders last season. Chocez’s hometown is Chicago, and she studied at Nashville’s Fisk University, where she received her Bachelor in Arts majoring in Dramatics, Speech, and Dance. After Fisk, Chocez stayed in Nashville and received her Master’s in Education, studying Curriculum and Instruction at Tennessee State University. After varied teaching positions, Chocez returned to Fisk as a Resident Director for the students that now attend her alma mater. Returning to help the students where she herself studied is a bit like 70’s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter.” However if Chocez was the show’s star, believe me, no one would have even noticed John Travolta. And I’d still be a loyal viewer.

(more…)

As a musical director at an elementary school, Rachel utilizes the “Orff Schulwerk” method, which combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons that are similar to a child’s world of play. Rachel not only teaches this unified view of arts and life, she lives life with an “Orff Schulwerk” approach! With a degree in voice, playing guitar and piano, and having lead roles in plays, Rachel has added dancing for the IFL Bloomington Edge and PBL Central Illinois Drive Dance Teams to complete her own life of music. Singing, dancing, acting, teaching, and being a wife and mom to a little boy seem like way enough, but luckily for Bloomington’s indoor football and basketball fans, Rachel also takes her talents to pro cheer/dance. Rachel shared with UltimateCheerleaders parts of her musical life’s journey, including how performing in a play staged next to a zoo can provide unexpected sensory experiences, and why you might want to give her a call if you are planning a wedding.

Rachel is an Illinois native, as she recalls, “I grew up out in the country about forty-five minutes from the Bloomington area, in a small town called Fairbury. We had livestock when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time out playing in the barn and with the animals.”

The animals probably heard some singing along the way, as music surrounded much of Rachel’s young life, as she remembers, “My mom plays the piano for church and my aunt sings with a small women’s group, as well as plays the piano. My mom worked Saturdays when I was growing up, so we used to go down to my grandma’s. She had a piano, so I would get out my mom’s and aunt’s old piano books and give little concerts in my grandma’s living room. I guess I was a self-inspired musician. The piano always interested me, the same with singing. I didn’t really go any further with singing until I was in Junior High. Then I joined chorus and did solo & ensemble. I think that was when my interest went more towards singing.”

While she was growing up, Rachel’s family dealt with the challenges of a caring for a loved one that required extensive attention. “I had one other sibling, Megan, who was born with a rare genetic disorder,” Rachel explains. “She was pretty much an infant her entire life. She could never walk or talk or do much on her own. In a sense, I was an only child, not that I didn’t have a sibling, but I never was able to do the things that most siblings get to do because her of disability. My parents spent much of their time taking care of my sister. My parents both loved me and I think that much of my independence as an adult comes from that experience as a child. She passed away when I was in eighth grade.”

But music provided Rachel an outlet for performance and creativity, and the life lessons to learn from mistakes, for instance in her first public singing performance. “In seventh grade I performed ‘Baby Mine’ from ‘Dumbo’ at Solo & Ensemble. I messed up the words and ended up getting a second place. I was really mad at myself for doing that. I don’t think I ever messed up any words after that.”

Rachel’s singing continued as she participated in various groups during high school in addition to her church choir. Rachel studied at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and sang with the University Singers, University Choir, and Women’s Glee Club, prior to graduating with a bachelor’s degree in vocal music education.

Rachel’s musical talents also include playing piano and guitar, and applying her singing talents to the stage. “I took piano lessons starting in second or third grade,” explains Rachel. “I am an adequate piano player, but I guess my real passion is for singing. I did five musicals when I was in school: ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat,’ a dancer in ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ Marty in ‘Grease,’ Sprintze in ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ and my senior year, I was the Evil Step Mother in ‘Cinderella.’ I never really had any major rolls until I was an adult.”

“After college I was Peter Pan in ‘Peter Pan,’ Maria in ‘West Side Story,’ and Mrs. MacAfee in ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’” Rachel continues. “The funny part about that is first I did ‘West Side Story’ in 2007, and my leading man was a senior in high school, and I was 24 at the time. The worst part of it was that his dad was the director. It was kind of awkward kissing him. The weird part of it is that when I did ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ the dad was my ‘husband,’ playing Mr. MacAfee.”

So Rachel, when playing Peter Pan, did you get to soar over the stage? “Ha,” laughs Rachel. “No, I actually wore ‘wheelies,’ the tennis shoes that have the wheels in the back of them. The theatre is basically a garage on a big cement platform, so there are very limited special effects. It was outdoors and by the zoo. It was very hot during our performances, and if the wind was just right, you got a great whiff of the animals at the zoo.”

(more…)

During one of the March Fort Wayne Mad Ants home games, there was twice the cheer! In addition to the Madame Ants, six Colts Cheerleaders arrived to help greet fans as they entered Allen County’s War Memoral Coliseum, then they served as the halftime entertainment, and lastly provided autographs for the scores of Colts (and Colts Cheerleaders) fans in attendance.

Most of the visiting Colts Cheerleaders had connections to northern Indiana, or even more north of that! Brittany B is from Jenison, Michigan, and was joined by Indiana’s Marissa S of Huntington, Lindsay F of Churubusco, Megan M of Auburn, and Lindsay H of Muncie. Sadee R represented the area south of Indy, from Mooresville. When the Colts Cheerleaders arrived in the concourse, there were lots of hugs and laughs with the Madame Ants.

And tonight (Tuesday) is a huge night for Colts Cheerleaders, as the 2012 squad will be selected! The event will consist of several dance routines, evening wear, and a swimsuit competition. Approximately sixty-five women will compete for the opportunity to be a member of the 2012 Colts Cheerleaders after a three week audition process. With any “Luck,” this year’s draft will be the beginning of a new era of Big Blue excellence.

Here are some more photos of their appearance in Fort Wayne, and click this link for more CC in FW photos.

(more…)

Dancing and cheering for two games on a Saturday is quite a feat, but throw in a previous Friday night game, and you have one dance-tastic marathon. So after dancing for THREE games in a just over a 24 hour period, the loved ones of the dancers for both indoor football’s Bloomington Edge and the Central Illinois Drive hoops team probably expected them to be more than a bit tired after the third game. And when the dancers arrived home and said that the halftime entertainment included monkeys riding dogs, their families probably thought some extended bed rest was in order. When the dancers completed the entire halftime description, “Monkeys riding dogs while herding sheep into a pen,” their loved ones must have considered reaching for the phone to determine the feasibility of hospitalization for exhaustion. But fear not; yes, the halftime of the evening’s Bloomington Edge IFL game was as described. Monkeys riding dogs that were herding sheep into a pen.

But the more miraculous feat was that six dancers performed for a Drive game on Friday night, another Drive game on Saturday afternoon, and then an Edge game Saturday night. Whew! Let’s take a look at this unique double-header of dance.

The double-header came about because there are some new sports team owners in Bloomington, Illinois. Jim Morris and Scott Henderson not only purchased Bloomington’s IFL franchise during the off-season, they started a franchise in the Premier Basketball League (that just won the league championship, by the way), the Central Illinois Drive. Both teams play at Bloomington’s US Cellular Coliseum. So, if you buy a football team with a superb dance team in place with Bloomington dance legend Stacy Terry running things as Dance Team Coordinator, what would you do for your new hoops team? Have Stacy create a dance team for basketball’s Drive, of course!

Adding a dance team to the Drive seemed natural, since one of the owners had his kids in dance at Stacy’s studio for years. But things had to happen fast to get it done. “We had a real short turn around,” Stacy recalled. “We only had two weeks to do an audition and start.” Was Stacy surprised that many of the dancers for football’s Edge would also want to be part of the basketball squad? Stacy smiles, “No, I knew they were going to.”

Prior to the afternoon basketball game, Amber and Jess explained why they wanted to be on the Drive dance team in addition to being veteran Edge dancers. Amber laughed, “Because we love it,” and Jess added, “And we love each other.” There is a lot of overlap of the two squads, but Caitlyn and Lauren are rookies and dance for the Edge football side only.

And if a pro dance double-header was not challenging enough, due to spring break schedules, some dancers were out of town. Therefore, the double-header dancers had to learn a lot of routines, but with changes as to who was where during the dances. This switching up of formations meant re-doing the same dances with different people, which Stacy said was the toughest part. Plus, this season, for both Drive and Edge games, the dancers are performing extended halftime routines, new from last season. Prior to the Saturday afternoon Drive game, Stacy said, “They might be a little slap happy by game time tonight.”

Rachel and Sarah were handing out Drive player collector cards prior to the game. Sarah is usually only on the Drive dance team, but was going to fill-in also during that night’s halftime performance at the Edge football game. Did it seem a lot to Rachel and Sarah to have two games in one day? Sarah replied, “Yes and no. It’s a lot of dances to keep sorted out, which one we are doing which time.” Rachel chimed in, “And which way we are doing it.” Sarah added, “But we have plenty of rehearsals, so we are ready.”

(more…)

During last year’s NFL season, UltimateCheerleaders had the wonderful opportunity to interview three Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders who comprised the country girl group, Danger Love Saint, and learned their path from an idea to musically deal with off-season performance antsiness to eventually become the Titans Cheerleaders performance band. During the time we were interviewing them for Part 1 and Part 2, they were literally in the studio and on location to prepare for their debut video “Drive.”

Well, the time has arrived to see the product of these efforts. Danger Love Saint released their debut music video last week, and you can watch the “Drive” music video on this link and download the song on iTunes. Next week, Danger Love Saint is booked to perform on Nashville’s famous Billy Block Show and at the Gift of Music Charity event, opening for Billy Currington, Ronny Milsap, and Phil Vassar. You can learn more about Danger Love Saint and their up coming concerts at www.DangerLoveSaintMusic.com or at www.Facebook.com/DangerLoveSaint.

Way to go DLS, it looks super!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaVAYwUcSw8&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Fort Wayne’s Madame Ants of the NBA-D League team are comprised of women that run the gamut across a range of experiences and dance studios. This is exemplified by Alicia and Emma, both with years and years of training, but both needed to learn new aspects of pro cheer/dance. For instance for Emma, dance started in high school after growing up in gymnastics. Emma explains, “It is completely different because we turn opposite ways in gymnastics. (Coach Melanie) says, ‘No, you have to turn the other way. And you have to do it on the other leg,” Ugh!” In contrast, at the age of three, Alicia started dance training with Madame Ants choreographer Tiffany Winling. So Alicia should have no trouble transitioning to the Madame Ants, right? “I was kind of scared at first,” Alicia explains. “I don’t do gymnastics, I don’t do cheerleading, I dance. For time outs, we have to go out and dance with poms; that’s not my thing. I like choreography. All of the free style? No. But it turned out more fun than I thought.” Being part of the Madame Ants has provided both Alicia and Emma the chance to experience new aspects of dance, make new friends, and look to the future for further expansion of their dance horizons.

Emma’s gymnastics training covered 18 years, and she only started dancing during her sophomore year of high school. Emma’s high school started a hip hop group, and Emma had always danced at the school dances, and people encouraged her to try out. At auditions, Emma recalls, “I was asked, ‘Where have you danced at?’ ‘Does my basement count?’ It kind of went from there; I ended up running the hip hop team for a couple of years.”

Emma is in her second season with the Madame Ants, and was encouraged to try-out by, “My old dance coach, she just thought it would be good for me,” Emma explains. “What really made me to come back (for season two) is it really is a fun thing to do. The crowd is always nice to talk to, especially the kids when we do the clinics. The main motivation is experience to move up dancing.”

Fort Wayne native Alicia also was encouraged to try-out, as Alicia laughs, “My dance studio owner that I have known since I was little is the choreographer, and she kind of made me. And I knew (Madame Ants coach) Mel beforehand.” And being part of the Madame Ants provided Alicia a chance to do something she had never done before, “This is the first time I have seen basketball,” Alicia says. “Game one.”

And not only are Madame Ants like Alicia and Emma at the game, but for most of it, the squad is sitting on the ends of the court, right near the action. Sometimes, too close to the action. Emma explains, “Last season, I was landed on a few times and sometimes the refs step on you as they run by. I almost had my head taken off with a basketball. I don’t know where the pass was supposed to go, but it wasn’t near a player. Down here, usually the closer to the basket you are, the more in danger you are.” This season, Emma is further from the basket, so less interactions with the action for her. As Madame Ants coach Melanie laughs, “We like to switch it up for accident prone opportunities,” and Melanie and Alicia are closer to the basket this season.

(more…)

There are some intriguing things about Pacemate Desiree. One is from her on-line bio, saying she “never took a dance class as a kid!” No dance classes (!), for an NBA dancer, who prior to the Pacers was a Colts Cheerleader? And come to think of it, why did Desiree go from cheering for the high flying Colts to, at that time, the more “middle of the pack” Pacers? In essence, the answers to these questions stem from the fact that sometimes going to games with your dad can change your life, and in Desiree’s case, take her from her small home town to cheering for two big league teams, including on the Super Bowl sidelines, and to countries across the globe. And in addition to all of this, no matter who is playing in the game, Desiree will be one of the best athletes on the court or field, whenever and wherever she performs.

Before she moved to Indianapolis after high school graduation, Desiree lived in Greens Fork, Indiana, population 423, about an hour’s drive east of Indianapolis. Desiree says, “I always knew I would get out of the small town, I had hoped to travel and live a lot of places, but Indy just feels like home. It’s a big city, but not big enough that it swallows you. It’s still close to home and it’s easy to navigate, so for the moment, I’m happy living here. Growing up, Indy was the ‘big city’ that we would come to go shopping, or to eat out at a nice restaurant. It always seemed so far away when I was little, but we always had fun when we got to go to Indy.”

Desiree is quite an athlete, and she started young. “I grew up playing all kinds of sports,” Desiree remembers. “I played softball from 2nd grade up until a few years after I graduated high school. In high school, it was volleyball in the fall, cheerleading in the winter, running track in the spring. I enjoyed sports because it kept me active.”

But while so many pro dancers are active in dance classes from as young as age three, this was not part of Desiree’s activities. “I guess it was a mix of my mom not knowing when I was that young, if it was something I would like and simply be able to afford it,” Desiree explains. “The nearest dance studio would have been a bit of a drive from where we lived out in the country, and I have a sister who is only 15 months younger, so my mom already had her hands full! I begged to get to do it, but it just wasn’t feasible for our family.”

But Desiree gained inspiration from watching talented people in action. “I would watch the Olympics and ice skating competitions on TV every time they were on, and during the commercial breaks, I would jump around the room and mimic what I saw,” recalls Desiree. “When gymnastics were on, I would literally stretch out an Ace bandage on the floor for my balance beam, and do cart wheels and hand stands. I would just start trying what the athletes were doing until I learned how to do it right.”

And Desiree also learned the ‘agony of defeat’ through her living room adventures. “Once I even put the couch cushions on the floor and decided I was going to do a back flip,” Desiree remembers. “That was the first time I gave myself a bloody nose.”

But these home performances also lead to Desiree’s first on-court dances. “My sister and I would make up dances and perform them for my mom,” explains Desiree. “Somehow, we ended up performing at halftime of a basketball game when we were about 11 or 12! Just the two of us out there doing our dance. Guess that’s when it all got started.”

And performances continued for Desiree on the court, as she details, “There were all kinds of clinics that we would do and get to perform at our older brother’s basketball games, and I started cheerleading in 5th grade. I was faced with the decision of trying out for the basketball team or the cheerleading squad, it was hard, but I went with cheerleading. I really liked performing and dancing, and it came somewhat naturally despite having no training, and I knew it was something that I wanted to continue past high school.”

And the Desiree’s dance goals beyond high school were defined by seeing a certain dance squad that she saw on trips with her dad to see NBA games. “Our trips to Indy would normally consist of shopping and going to the Pacers game,” recalls Desiree. “My dad had great 8th row seats and we always loved seeing the big players so close.”

But actually seeing the Pacemates was a bit challenging for young Desiree, as she explains, “It seems like the Pacemates always would dance during a break or a time when people would be standing up or moving around, so my sister and I would literally be jumping trying to see what they were doing. We tried to go down close to the court once, just so we could watch them, and the ushers would make us go back to our seats! We tried to dance and get on the big screen and to get (mascot) Boomer to come over and see us. We always had fun, but I was so intrigued with the Pacemates and music that I was so bummed that I couldn’t really see them. It is crazy now because I see how much we do get involved with the fans, and every chance I get to talk to a little girl or to bring one down to where we sit to take a picture. I really love doing that and it makes me so happy. If that would have happened to me when I was their age, I would have considered it the best day of my life! Every time I get to do things like that, I imagine myself at the age, and it just really makes me appreciate the position I’m in, and how ironic it really all is.”
(more…)

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League have added a couple of very notable coaches this season. On the hoops side, March Madness legend Christian Laettner came to town as an assistant coach. But for the dance team, the Madame Ants did not have to look far to find the youngest dance coach in the NBA D-League. Madame Ant Melanie is coaching, performing, and generally leading the league in enthusiasm, all while being the league’s youngest dance coach at the age of 21. Melanie is in her fourth season with the Madame Ants, which are in their fifth season dancing for home games at Allen County’s War Memorial Coliseum. Melanie’s journey to her leadership role was facilitated by extraordinary role models, a lifelong love of dance and desire to teach others, academic training in Communications, and her devotion to and appreciation of two key attributes: Determination and passion. These traits triggered a journey in which Melanie went from having little interest in trying out for the Madame Ants to coaching the squad in four short years.

Melanie was born and raised in Indiana, though her family has East coast roots. Melanie recalls, “My mom is actually from the Bronx, and my dad is from Nutley, New Jersey, so my oldest sister is from out East, then they moved here to be near family. I am the first Hoosier in the house.”

Melanie’s personal dance journey began at age three. A self-described “typical studio kid,” Melanie started taking classes at the local Northeast School of Dance. But Melanie’s dance life took new directions as a student at Bishop Dwenger High School, dancing on a state champion hip hop team coached by Haley Heath-Wood, one of her key mentors. “Once I started learning from Haley,” Melanie explains, “She opened the world to me. At Dwanger, they are specifically hip hop, and I had more jazz and ballet over at Northeast. Completely changed my world. It changed how I performed, it changed how I wanted to look as a dancer, it changed how I wanted to convey a message through dance, and that was all because of Haley. And I think she knows that, but I don’t think she knows how MUCH I depend on her.”

Being part of her high school team provided Melanie the first chance to spend time at another studio that she always wanted to be part of, Tiffany Winling’s Tiffany and Co. Studio of Dance, which would years later also serve as a conduit to connect Melanie to the Madame Ants coaching position. Melanie had always desired dancing at Tiffany’s studio, saying, “I always wanted to go there, (and I’d tell my mom), ‘They are SO good! I want that, I want them to make me perfect. I want it!’ My mom would say, ‘No, we are not a competitive family. We are just doing it for fun.’ (I’d say), ‘Mom! Come on!’”

After high school, Melanie’s mom encouraged her to try-out for the Madame Ants after seeing their try-out information, but this time it was Melanie who resisted. “After I graduated high school,” Melanie recalls, “My mom said, ‘Why don’t you try out for this?’ At first, I was kind of iffy about it, I thought, ‘No, they are not good.’ But I had never seen them. I was 18, I was naïve, didn’t know anything. And while I was on the Bishop Dwanger dance team, we won state in the highest division possible, so I thought, ‘You can’t get any higher than this. You just can’t.’ But I had never been to a Mad Ants game, never once saw the Madame Ants dance, never ever. So my mom was like, just go do it.” Upon looking at the flyer, they realized that Melanie was two-weeks shy of the 18-year age requirement, but Melanie’s mom talked to the Mad Ants office and explained the two-week differential and Melanie’s experience, and the Mad Ants encouraged Melanie to try-out.

In their second NBA-D season at the time, the Madame Ants coach at the time was former Indiana Pacemate Sheenah Johnson, and even before Melanie was 18, her leadership potential was noticed. Melanie remembers, “I tried out, and while all the other girls were learning their routine, I think Sheenah saw something in me. So while the others were auditioning, (Sheenah had me) in the corner, kind of guiding the girls, to see if they forgot something. (I thought), ‘If I am doing this, did I make the team?’ I just wasn’t sure. But I did get a call back, and it was awesome. I liked it a lot; I really did, so that is how I got here. This is where it started, I grew up here, basically, because when you are 18, you don’t know anything, and I am 21 now, and I am still learning, and I want to keep learning.”

In her first seasons, in some ways Melanie’s young age fostered her development as a leader, because the older Madame Ants had more non-dance activities in their lives. “While Sheenah was coaching, she had her own dance studio, and I think she saw leadership in me. When she could not make it (to games), I would be the one leading the girls; I would be the one saying, ‘Okay, let’s go practice.’ Because I was younger, (my attitude was), ‘I just want to dance, let’s go!’ So Sheenah put that responsibility on me.”

Concurrent with Melanie’s four seasons as a Madame Ant, she has been a full time college student studying Communications with a minor in Dance at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). Melanie is a senior but plans to continue for a second degree in media communications. Melanie has also had internships that cover the gamut of communications, including one at a radio station, a web design and promotional solutions company, and a local auto dealer doing their social media for their on-line audience.

So in the vast array of methods of communication, would Melanie rather than be the person with the microphone or the person at the social media keyboard? “A couple of years ago when we had our draft party, somehow I was named emcee for the night,” Melanie remembers. “So I had the microphone, and it is kind of intimidating because everyone is staring at you, and when you are at the computer, you don’t have people staring at you. But I like being in front of people, I like talking to people. It is something everyone has to do, this is my education coming out, everybody has to communicate, and I like figuring out how people like to communicate.”

(more…)

At approximately 1:44 of Brynn Marie’s CMT video, “Bandaid on a Bullet Hole,” Tennessee Titans fans might say, “Hey, those dancers look familiar!” Well, of course, if you need dancers to power your video in Nashville, you must enlist some Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders, and Brynn dances along with Bri, Tiffany, Stephanie B, and Molly. Brynn didn’t just put put a bandaid on her dance needs, she brought out the big guns! Great job ladies, and thanks Bri for the links!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jlcAVEA8NQ&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]