Unveiling 25 new styles for cheer/dance. Amazing. Having them modeled by Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Priceless!

At the recent NFL Cheerleader Director’s Convention at Cowboys Stadium, the fashion show included 25 new styles from Satin Stitches hitting the runway with the DCC as models. With no worries of labor strife hindering the next NFL season, 22 teams’ directors attended this convention, more than the past few years.

Deborah Nelson, Head Designer/President of Satin Stitches, reports that, “After a shortened season last year, when most cheer teams simply ‘made do’ with what they already had, with minimal, quick new orders, we are hopeful that most teams will have a budget for new uniforms this season.” As far as the latest trends in NFL cheerleading designs, Deborah reports, “Besides the ever popular low-rise shorts and skirts, the latest high-rise styling may start a resurgence, along with one-piece uniforms. Rhinestones remain a very important trim for most uniforms, and I expect even more to be used, this coming season. Retro looks could become more popular, as well as themed costumes for various team events. Branding will remain very important, with most every uniform piece displaying the team’s name or logo.”

And the Satin Stitches designs that Deborah heard the most comments about included, “Our military two-piece received the most notice of all of our looks. Our attention to detail and use of Swarovski rhinestones was commented upon. We have just partnered with Swarovski Elements as a design company that showcases their brand of ‘glitz.’ We were able to give out a gift from Swarovski, in addition to our gift of a custom-designed make-up bag to each director.”

In addition, Deborah and her customer service representative Melissa, a former Vikings Cheerleader, had the opportunity to see the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ locker room, with a locker that featured the iconic DCC uniform. As a designer, what does Deborah think had made that DCC uniform “iconic” for 40 years? “The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders have been very smart in keeping their ‘iconic’ look, with only slight updates from year to year, to keep it ‘current’ and ‘fresh,'” Deborah says. “Someone did a marvelous job with the original design, and insisting that it remain ‘the look’ for the cheer team, every year! It is their ‘brand,’ and branding is so important. It has become a classic!”

Here are some more photos of style show and the DCC wearing brand-new Satin Stitches designs:

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Wynne Lacey (Chicago’s Blackhawks and Sluaghter) informs us that there is a unique dance opportunity that her company is part of:

“Wynning Teams is teaming up with Intensi-T (www.intensit.tv), a Las Vegas-based show that performed at Planet Hollywood this past year. It is now coming to Chicago and we are looking for attractive, female dancers to perform for a new dance-music review. We are having auditions on March 4th from 3-7pm in Chicago. It will be a sexy, hip-hop style. The last hour will be dedicated to allowing people to showcase their choreography (most people know I prefer the dancers to help create the show because they are usually better than me!). Rehearsals (date and time to be determined with dancers’ schedules) would start right away for the show to be ready in late April. All performances will be paid starting at $250 and all costuming costs will be covered. Interested ladies can contact me ASAP!”

Wynne Lacey
wynne@wynningteams.com
630.881.3052

This upcoming Tuesday, the NFL Cheerleader Director’s Convention will be at Cowboy Stadium, and the designers at Satin Stitches are ready to show their styles! The event’s highlight is a fashion show by the costume/uniform vendors, and Satin Stitches will be showing 25 new styles, modeled by Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders!

And Satin Stitches Head Designer and President Deborah Nelson and her customer service representative Melissa Feidt (a former Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader) will be available for consultations on Monday afternoon/evening prior to the event (providing no snow storm issues in getting there on their Monday morning flight; come on weather, be nice, it is almost spring!).

For all the talk of whether or not there would be cheerleaders at the recent Super Bowl in Indianapolis, for anyone who visited the city’s Super Bowl Village or watched “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” there was no doubt. No matter which teams had made the final two, there were definitely cheerleaders playing a big role in the Super Bowl festivities. Between extended autograph sessions at the convention center’s NFL Experience, singing and dancing at the three stages within Super Bowl Village, appearing on two of Jimmy Fallon’s shows at Indy’s Hilbert Circle Theatre, or countless other appearances, such as dancing in the sand at the Celebrity Beach Bowl football game, the Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders made sure that there was no question that pro cheerleaders are an essential part of NFL entertainment.

Colts Cheerleaders Coordinator Theresa Pottratz and her talented squad worked tirelessly prior to and during Super Bowl week to entertain the million plus visitors who enjoyed Super Bowl Village and the myriad of nearby events. A couple days after the Super Bowl, Theresa took a way beyond-well deserved vacation to Costa Rica, and upon her return to Indy, graciously answered our questions about a memorable week for her, the Colts Cheerleaders, and all of Indianapolis.

UC.com – Theresa, did you get advice from other cheer squad directors regarding what Super Bowl week is like for the host city cheerleaders? Do you think the Colts Cheerleaders were more visible and in demand than usual because of the unique nature of downtown Indy’s popular Super Bowl Village?

Theresa – I did actually talk to other cheer directors about the Super Bowl in their cities and so I had a little bit of an idea of what to expect, but what made our city so unique was the Super Bowl Village. We performed multiple times every day for ten days in the Super Bowl Village, which required a lot of rehearsal time before hand. I don’t believe all the other cities had anything quite like our fabulous Super Bowl Village.

UC.com – Compare and contrast, running a cheer squad that is on the sidelines for the Super Bowl, versus being host city’s cheerleaders? Is one more or less crazy?

Theresa – I would say being the host city is a lot crazier! When we were in the Super Bowl, I had to worry about certain things like transportation and per diems for food, but most things were taken care of. Most of the appearances are on the Friday and Saturday before the game. Being the host city, I worked 127 hours in ten days. All 41 of my girls were booked most days from January 27th through February 5th, and because we had so many different performances with a variety of routines, we had a lot of practicing to do. We don’t just do normal sideline routines. We had a wide variety of dance numbers including lyrical and tap and five fabulous singers! We like to be a little different! I don’t know how we would have made it if we had been both the host team and in the Super Bowl, but I would have liked to try!

UC.com – When did Jimmy Fallon’s show contact you, and what are some fun memories?

Theresa – I think the first contact was in December because they originally wanted to tape a segment on January 8th, but that fell through. Then on January 19th, I received another phone call saying they wanted girls for two different shows. I had to do some rearranging of the schedule to get all the girls they wanted, but we made it work. The staff and crew of the Jimmy Fallon show are wonderful. We had so much fun working with them. The girls even rhinestoned a pair of underpants for Captain Underpants, aka Seth Herzog, and Jimmy had to apologize to me for accidentally hitting one of my cheerleaders!

UC.com – For the Jimmy Fallon show, was it difficult to select which Cheerleaders would be part of it (see clips here)? Also, was the choreography during the final show provided by squad or the show?

Theresa – Since we didn’t get the call until a week before our Super Bowl events started, it wasn’t that hard, because it was more of who was available at the times they needed us to be there. I did try to spread out what I called the “premier” events so that as many girls as possible got to be involved with those extra special appearances. The choreography was provided by their wonderful choreographer Danielle Flora.

UC.com – What were some of the logistical challenges during Super Bowl week, dealing with traffic, having uniforms ready every day, et cetera?

Theresa – The logistics were a nightmare! My interns and I spent hours and hours trying to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be with the right uniform and the proper credentials. Because our normal transportation company was charging so much during Super Bowl week, we decided to use Colts vehicles with interns chauffeuring. We were fortunate to have some parking spaces available through the NFL and the Super Bowl committee, so it worked fairly well. Our biggest issue on game day was that our security company did not get properly credentialed to be in the perimeter, so we were a little short handed that day.

UC.com – What are your feelings about how Indianapolis served as Super Bowl hosts?

Theresa – I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of Indianapolis and the Super Bowl Committee. I think they did an amazing job. Everyone was so easy to work with it. I talked to so many people from the NFL and the media who kept telling me this was the best Super Bowl they have ever been to. I was really impressed with the Village and how many people were always there.

UC.com – What were some of the comments that you heard from the Cheerleaders about their experiences? It was a mild weather week, but for a squad that performs under a roof a lot of the time, how was performing in a variety of weather conditions, performing on sand at Victory Field’s Beach Bowl, and singing in front of throngs on Georgia Street?

Theresa – The words I kept hearing from the girls were, “This is the most amazing experience of my life.” The weather was a little bad the first weekend because the wind was so strong and it was hard to do some of the dance moves, but not only did the Colts Cheerleaders do a great job but our Junior Cheerleaders were out there as well. The sand for the Beach Bowl was a little rough but they made it through. It really helped to have girls who have traveled with tour shows before, because they are used to being flexible because you never know what conditions you might be performing in. I was very proud of how my girls handled themselves.

UC.com – This year’s squad had to endure an unusual, for the Colts lately, 2-14 season. How did you feel about this particular squad being able to be part of the excitement Super Bowl week?

Theresa – It really was a different season for us so it was nice to have the Super Bowl here, but even without that, we had a great year. We are very blessed to have a lot of unique opportunities for the girls to participate in.

UC.com – During the seasons when the Colts made the Super Bowl, what is it like to be on the field for a Super Bowl? Where were you during this past Super Bowl?

Theresa – There is nothing like being on the field during the opening moments of the Super Bowl. Everyone in the entire stadium is so excited! Once the game gets going though, it’s not that much different than a regular game, until the end of course. For Super Bowl XLVI, we were in the stadium for “NFL on Location” in the Exhibit Halls all afternoon, but we had to leave shortly after kick-off to get to our next appearance. It was a little sad when we had to leave the stadium after the game started though. We wanted to be on the sidelines. Fortunately, my next appearance was going to the Hilbert Theater to watch the game with some of the Jimmy Fallon staff!

UC.com – Was part of your responsibilities to serve as “host” to the Patriots squad during their time in Indy or to the Saintsations during their NFL Experience appearance?

Theresa – As soon as I heard the Patriots were coming, I sent an email to their director, Tracy Sormanti. She’s a great lady and I would have loved to spend some time with her and her girls. We tried to arrange for the girls to get together but unfortunately, our schedules just didn’t work out. They came to town on Thursday that week and our schedules were completely booked from that point on.

We did get together with the Saintsations though. Lesslee Fitzmorris and I had gotten the girls together back when we were both in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV. The girls had a great time. This year some of the girls went out together on Friday, January 27th, and then we worked together for the cheer clinic on January 29th. Of course Lesslee and I were able to squeeze in a lunch and a breakfast during those few days she was here.

UC.com – What advice would you give a cheer director of an NFL squad that hosts a Super Bowl? Who do you want to give a shout out to anyone who made things run smoothly during the week?

Theresa – My advice would be to go with the flow! No matter how carefully you plan, something will change last minute. The other thing that I would recommend is to have a large squad. We went from 32 girls to 42 girls for the 2011 squad because of Super Bowl. I would never have been able to fill all our appearances if I didn’t have extra girls. I would love for us to host the Super Bowl again. I feel like I would know what to expect and could plan accordingly, but overall, I was happy with the way everything went.

I want to give a shout out to my interns, Alicia and Heather, for all their hard work, to marketing interns Kelsey and Ashley for helping with the driving, to my son Christopher who worked with us the whole week, and a special shout out to my Junior Cheer helpers, because without them, the Junior Cheerleaders would not have had the opportunity to perform three different times.

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For those spending time in Indy’s Super Bowl Village, visitors saw a glimpse of the totality of the Colts Cheerleaders’ Herculean efforts and their ability to be present whenever and wherever needed, just like real-life super heroes, during Super Bowl week. We thank Theresa for her indefatigable efforts during Super Bowl week and for taking time out to participate in this interview. In the days after the Super Bowl, the skies darkened, cold winds visited, and the downtown’s Super Bowl ornamentation removed, but the city retains wonderful memories of a special week, during which Theresa and the Colts Cheerleaders rocked, and did the city and pro cheerleading proud.

With the Carolina TopCats’ recent Super Bowl trip to Japan’s Camp Zama to entertain and teach youth clinics (read more about their trip here) now complete, it is already time to think about the 2012 TopCats season!

Cheerleader/mascot manager Tina Becker and coordinator/choreographer Richelle Grant are pleased to announce that off-season dance classes are a back, starting on March 8th. Then, before you know it, the audition clinic is at the end of April. This is your chance to be part of a superb group of women!

More information on the dance classes is available by clicking here and audition information is right here.

Three cheers! The good news from this weekend’s NFL action…unlike last year, there WILL be cheerleaders in the Super Bowl this season! The four remaining AFC teams all have cheerleaders now that the Steelers have “Tebowed out” of the playoffs. On the NFC side, the Packers and Giants will battle it out for the “Yeah, yeah, we get the tradition thing, but your sidelines are boring” Trophy whereas the Niners and Saints will play for the “Best NFC Team with sidelines worth watching” Trophy.

One AFC team team on its way up, but not in the playoffs quite yet, is the Carolina Panthers. Their rookie Cam Newton has burst onto the scene, but he’s not the only super rookie in Charlotte’s NFL stadium. The TopCats also had a great rookie class this season, including Laura B, a college student. Laura shines on the sidelines, so we are happy to feature some photos of the energetic, lovely rookie from last October 30th’s game versus the Vikings.

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Based on her devotion to her Tennessee Titans organization, I’ll bet Director of Cheerleading Stacie Kinder was hanging on every play throughout last Sunday afternoon, as her Titans teetered on the verge of the playoffs. The Titans did what they had to do, winning in Houston, but lost what seemed like a game of Twister with the Bengals, Jets, Broncos, and Raiders for the last wild card spot. The Titans’ season was at an end, but certainly it exceeded expectations. Stacie’s Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders also had a superb season, as they are always undefeated and untied to anyone who is fortunate enough to see them perform on the sidelines. During the past season, Stacie shared with UltimateCheerleaders her experiences of starting her pro cheer career in the AFL, then leading the Titans Cheerleaders, and her love of Nashville, her team, and her family.

Stacie just completed her eighth season with the Titans organization. Originally from the Virginia/Washington D.C. area, Stacie began dancing at age three, and went on to become dance team captain in high school, in addition to comprehensive dance training such as studying at the Washington School of Ballet. Stacie has a wide breadth of experiences in both the performing and management sides of entertainment, from being a dance team captain at her college alma mater, to a member of the dance staff for the National Cheerleaders Association’s dance division, to working on the Aloha Bowl and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, to working as the fitness expert for Shop At Home television, to producing the Music City Bowl’s halftime show for six years. Being on the management side is quite natural since Stacie graduated with degrees in finance and marketing, with a minor in French, when she attended the University of Virginia.

As fitness is an essential ingredient to her life, Stacie also competed in Fitness America, finishing second at Fitness Atlanta, and ranked in the Top 25 at the national competition in Redondo Beach. Gosh, sounds like you would have to be a world-class decathlete to be able to keep up with Stacie. No really, I seriously think you need to be one, because Stacie’s husband Gary won the 1988 US Olympic Trials for decathlon, with a score that puts him 106th of all-time best decathletes. So, for an event that determines “The World’s Greatest Athlete,” that puts Gary around the top one hundred greatest athletes of all-time. Gary’s score may be a little lower than Bruce Jenner’s, but the quality of Gary’s “reality” is probably several fold better than Mr. step-Kardashian’s.

Stacie says she met her future husband, “In 1993, in the weight room at the University of Virginia. He was by far the strongest person I’d ever seen. I was smitten immediately!”

So Stacie, what would be YOUR best of the ten event track and field competition? Stacie responds, “My best decathlon event would be the hurdles or the pole vault. As a gymnast and dancer, I’ve trained both of those events with my husband, and I think I did pretty well!”

If we were to schedule a crossover competition, who would do better, Stacie in the decathlon or her husband Gary on “Dancing with the Stars”? Stacie replies, “Gary would be better, by far, on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ than I would be at the decathlon! He’s an excellent dancer; we’ve taken several ballroom classes together, and he’s an incredibly quick study.”

When Stacie moved to Nashville in 1996, she auditioned for the inaugural AFL Nashville Kats Dance Team. Not only did she make the squad, but soon Stacie was captain in 1997. Then during the 1999 season, Stacie cheered, served as the dance team’s director, and was in charge of sponsorship marketing for the Kats.

Asked what prompted her to try out for the Nashville Kats the first time, Stacie answers, “When I moved to Nashville in 1996, we had no NFL team. Coming from the Washington, D.C. area, I was very disappointed. But when the Kats inaugural season was announced, I knew it would be a great opportunity to dance and get involved in the Nashville professional sports scene. I had grown up dancing in the studio, and then dancing for my high school and college. I had aspirations of becoming a Washington Redskins Cheerleader (at that time, ‘The Redskinettes’). I’ve always loved sports, and professional cheerleading is the best way to combine my passion for dance and sports together!”

After four years away from pro cheer to start a family, Stacie jumped back in full force taking the Director of Cheerleading job for the NFL’s Titans squad. Rather being part of a new squad like the Kats, Stacie was taking over a pre-existing team, with its own “routine”, veterans, and style. About stepping into leadership of the TTC, Stacie says, “The challenges of taking over any business from another person are all very similar, whether it is NFL Cheerleading or an investment bank on Wall Street. You walk into an existing culture-some which may be good, and parts may be bad, and the employees, in this case, the cheerleaders, are all skeptical. I worked hard to allow the team members that I took over to tell me what they really liked about the existing culture and business and what they would like to see changed. I also listened to their suggestions of how to change certain areas. My advice to someone new to a team would be to be sure that the current team members don’t feel like they are getting a dictator, and instead, are invigorated with the opportunity to offer their own opinions and suggestions, and therefore, become a part of the transition process itself.”

When asked about the unique stamps she has applied placed upon the Titans Cheerleaders since she took over, Stacie replies, “The Titans Cheerleaders were an excellent organization before I began in 2004, but I’m proud of redesigning the game day uniform and giving it more of a ‘Titans brand.’ Also, we’d only had two swimsuit calendars prior to 2004, and now we sell one annually, traveling to shoot it in a beach location. The calendars are always beautiful and sell very well to our fans. I’m extremely happy to have created this product; it combines a great experience for the team as well as a great product for our brand.”

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CHICAGO – The 2012 Adrenaline Rush Dance Team was announced in December at Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, Ill. The team was trimmed from 36 finalists to the top 18 dancers who will represent the team throughout the 2012 season.

Rush fans will recognize numerous faces on the 2012 team as 11 veterans will be returning from the 2011 season. Most notably, Adrenaline Rush Dance Team Captain Mekial will be entering her seventh season with the squad.

“There was a tremendous amount of talent in this year’s group of dancers,” said Adrenaline Rush Dance Team Coordinator Gloria Esposito. “I am thrilled with our selections for our 2012 team. We are so eager to welcome back 11 veterans who will be sure to lead the talented rookies we have added for this year.”

Below is a list of the ladies who made the final cut, and will be representing the Chicago Rush in the upcoming season:

Mekial (7 Years), Michelle (2 Years), Nicole B. (Rookie), Andrea (Rookie), Ashley C. (2 Years), Daniella (Rookie), Nicole C. (2 Years), Caitlin (2 Years), Corina (2 Years), Christy L. (Rookie), Ashley F. (4 Years), Chrissy M. (Rookie), Brittanie (3 Years), Lauren (Rookie), Emily (2 Years), Jenna (Rookie), Racquel (3 Years), Courtnie (4 Years)

During the pre-Christmas Colts Thursday night game against the Texans, entertainment by Colts Cheerleaders present, future, and past was so abundant, it was sort of like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Christmas Colts Cheerleaders Present? The current squad donning their holiday apparel, of course, from signing autographs during pre-game to cheering on the sidelines to routines to seemingly every Holiday song imaginable. Christmas Colts Cheerleaders Future? The Colts Junior Cheerleaders, with their annual holiday game performance at halftime. Christmas Colts Cheerleaders Past? Why, it was Alison, a former Colts Cheerleader who is so devoted to the Colts, that she married mascot Blue. Alison was back on the sidelines assisting hubby, horsey Blue in routines as a ballerina and as a Santa Blue helper (click here to see some pics of them when Alison was a Colts Cheerleader at the holiday game two years ago).

As the gates opened, Colts Cheerleaders Julia, Anna, Kristine, and Stefanie were the first group signing autographs on their individual cards and the ICC team photo.

Soon, it was time to get to our seats, and after the Colts Cheerleaders’ excellent pre-game routine, mascot Blue hit the field for some holiday levity. Former ICC Alison joined Blue to try to class up his act, decked out in a holiday flair-fest of a tutu for a little ballet. Well, surely Blue will appreciate Alison’s classical contribution…

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During the season’s eighth home game, the Colts gave their fans, a last minute drive to win the game….

And if you don’t think pro cheerleaders are fans, as in fanatical, of their teams, watch Colts Cheerleader Erin C during the last minute of the Colts game last Thursday night against Houston. The Texans were expected to win easily as the Colts had only won one game all season, their previous home game against Tennessee. The Colts were hanging around all game, but they could not cross the goal line, settling for four field goals. As the Texans hit a field goal with 1:56 to go to take a 16-12 lead, certainly Houston fans could feel confident, as the Colts would need a two-minute drive that actually reached the end zone to win.

So let’s watch Erin, a rookie Colts Cheerleader in her last minute of her last game of her first season, react to the drama as the game reached its zenith.

A key play was the Colts had the ball on their own 46, and Colts QB Dan Orlovsky hit Reggie Wayne for a 34 yard pass play. Colts on the Houston 20!

The Colts were closing in on the goal line, but the clock was ticking and they were out of time outs. Erin smiles as the pressure builds…

Pass interference on the Texans put the ball on the one yard line. Orlovsky in the shotgun, looks left, throws to the end zone, with 19 seconds to go, Reggie Wayne comes down with the ball, TOUCHDOWN!

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