2021 GENERAL INFORMATION
REQUIREMENTS: Applicant is at least 18 years of age as of June 1, 2021 and has received (or will receive) a high school diploma or its equivalent as of July 1, 2021.
WHAT TO WEAR: Applicants should audition in athletic leggings or capris and an athletic tank or half top. Sneakers or Jazz shoes.
2021 PRELIMINARY VIRTUAL ROUND – TIMELINE
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Wednesday April 21st at 5:00 PM EST! Please submit the audition application online as your intent to audition. Only candidates who submit an application will be eligible to receive the prelims choreography link. CLICK HERE TO APPLY NOW.
PRELIMS AUDITITION MATERIAL
On Friday April 23rd at NOON EST, applicants that filled our an application will receive an email link with choreography, music and instructions on how to submit their audition material for the preliminary virtual round.
PRELIMS AUDITION SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Saturday April 24th by 3:00 PM EST! All candidates must submit the prelims choreography video to the designated site. All videos will be evaluated by a panel of judges for accuracy of choreography, technical skills, and performance.
RESULTS
Finalists will be announced on Wednesday April 28th!
| Date | Brief Description | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 5/10 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Tues 5/11 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Wed 5/12 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Thurs 5/13 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Sun 5/16 – Time TBD | Final Showcase Audition | Hilbert Circle Theatre |
| Tues 5/18 – Afternoon | Finalist Business Interviews | TBD |
| Tues 5/18 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Wed 5/19 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Thurs 5/20 – Afternoon | Finalist Business Interviews | TBD |
| Thurs 5/20 at 6:00 PM | Finalist Workshop | Grand Park |
| Sun 5/23 – Time TBD | Final Showcase and Team Announcement | Hilbert Circle Theatre |
Do you need pictures for auditions? Or for your own professional, pageant or personal use? If so, join us for Sideline Photo Shoot!!
Join us at our next shoot on Sunday, March 28th.
Whether you are auditions for a pro or semi-pro cheer/dance team OR just need a professional headshot or full body picture for your own personal use, Sideline Photo Shoot is a great way to get quality, professional pictures at a FRACTION of the price.
There are a few spots left for the Photo Shoot this weekend… but only a few days left to register!
Your application picture sets the ton for your audition. This is a GREAT way to make a wonderful first impression… or of course, the picture you submit could work against you too. So get your picture taken by a professional!
Just as an FYI, our Celebrity Photographer again this year is Drew Xeron – who also happens to be the photographer for the First Ladies of Football and Washington Wizards Dancers! So he obviously knows how to make our PRO-tentials(TM) look their BEST!!
WHAT’S INCLUDED??
For your 1.5 Hour Photo Session, you receive:
- Make up application
- Posing assistance
- Outfit selection advice
- Modeling session with DREW XERON!!!
- Two (2) retouched pictures to submit with your application
- Ability to order more pictures
NOTE: Block off the entire day, just in case. After registration is closed, you will receive your time slot the week prior to the photo shoot.
As always, let me know if you have any questions.
We look forward to helping you create your best you via your application photo!
Cheers!
GeNienne
P.S – As another reminder, you can also attend this photo shoot if you just want pictures for your own personal use or for a professional profile or bio or for a pageant. Take advantage of this DISCOUNTED price with Drew!
P.P.S – Here is an example of a collage that Drew can make for you! Click HERE to register.
GeNienne Samuels
CEO & President, Sideline Prep
In-Game Host & Co-Host The WOW! Podcast, NFL Washington Football Team
11-year Professional Cheerleader/Dancer for the NFL/NBA
8-year Washington Redskins Cheerleader – 4-year Captain, Pro Bowl Cheerleader, 2-time Swimsuit Cover Model, 3-time Director’s Choice Award Recipient, 2-time Outstanding Leadership & Choreography Award Recipient, Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
3-year Washington Wizard Girl, 2-year Captain, 2-time Most Valuable Wizard Girl Recipient, Wizard Girl Community Star
Former In-Arena Host, Washington Wizards – NBA, Washington Mystics – WNBA & AFL Baltimore Brigade
(703) 582-8772
info@sidelineprep.com
Preliminaries
2021 VIRTUAL Preliminary Audition dates have been set!
Wednesday, March 24: Last day for interested applicants to submit the Audition Application, Photograph, and Release (see directions below).
Friday, March 26: Email of Prelim Audition Material to all registered applicants sent (detailed instructions/tips for submissions included at that time).
Sunday, March 28 12pm MST: Due date of virtual audition submissions via link to be provided.
Saturday, April 10 10am-12pm MST: Qualified applicants will be invited back to a VIRTUAL Semi-Final round. (Exact numbers based on submissions.)
Saturday, April 17th: Finalists announced via email.
Finals
All 2021 Finalists will be required to appear in person for a traditional finals week (Monday through Saturday). We will share dates as soon as we feel confident the current health situation will allow for this timing.
DOCUMENTS NEEDED BY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24
*Scholarship funds are available for prep classes based on need. 100% of requests will be granted to ensure finances are not a factor for anyone excited to prepare for auditions.
Please click here for more information or to register.
2021 Audition Training Workshops
“Virtual” Prep Classes will be offered in the month of March. Classes will be taught via a Zoom Class by members of the 2020 Chiefs Cheerleaders, the Director of Chiefs Cheer and our Alumni Chiefs Cheer. These classes are a great way to help candidates better prepare for our 2021 Chiefs Cheer Auditions. Each workshop will include learning different choreography as well as focusing on areas to prepare you for the 2021 Auditions. Take 1 or take all 3, we would love to have you join us!
- Saturday, March 6th – 1:00 – 4:00pm
- Saturday, March 13th – 1:00 – 4:00pm
- Sunday, March 21st – 1:00 – 4:00pm
An informational email will be sent to those registered the day before each workshop with details on attire, zoom links, etc.
Note: All registrations are final. No refunds will be issued.
Please click on the link below to register for the workshops:
2021 Auditions (3 phases)
Preliminaries & Semifinals
In order to audition for the 2021 Chiefs Cheerleaders, you must register to audition per the link below:
Preliminaries and Semifinals will be “virtual” this year which will include video submissions from each candidate. Details will be sent to those candidates who have registered for the 2021 Auditions. Auditions will include learning & performing choreography via a video submission as well as submitting a 1-minute dance solo of the candidate’s choice.
- Audition Material will be sent out on Friday, March 26th to those candidates that have registered for the 2021 Auditions.
- Note: All paperwork must be completed in order to receive your audition material.
- Keep in mind that material and details will be sent once registrations are received starting on March 26th. So the later you register, the less time you will have to learn the choreography and submit your video submissions.
- All preliminary submissions will be due no later than Friday, April 9th, 6:00pm CST.
- Absolutely no late videos will be allowed.
- All candidates must be 18 years or older by April 9th, 2021.
- Semifinalists will be announced the week of April 12th.
- Finalists will be announced the week of April 19th.
Finals
Finals will be in-person, pending City & State COVID guidelines & protocols on Saturday, April 24th & Sunday, April 25th.
- Finalists will arrive in small groups during an assigned time to complete all of their Finalist Material and then will be dismissed.
- Finalist’s times will be assigned immediately following the Finalist Announcement the week of April 19th.
- Finalists will only come for one assigned time slot either Saturday, April 24th or Sunday, April 25th.
- The 2021 Team will be announced the week of April 26th.
For questions, please contact Samantha Angel at sangel@chiefs.nfl.com.
From USA Today.
Washington will not have cheerleaders for the first time since the NFL’s longest-running cheerleading team was founded in 1962, with a coed dance team taking its place.
The move is part of the organization’s rebranding effort and not related to a confidential settlement reached with members of the 2008 and 2010 cheerleading teams. Lawyers for the team and those cheerleaders told The Associated Press last month that “the matter has been resolved” but would not say when the settlement was reached.
Former Laker Girl manager Petra Pope was hired Wednesday as an adviser to use her three-plus decades of NBA experience to revamp the group.
“I’ve been asked to create a more modern entertainment team that is inclusive and diverse,” Pope said in a phone interview. “We just want to follow that mode of being more modern and a more modern franchise. Change is difficult, but I do feel that the fans will love what we bring to the table.”
The “First Ladies of Football” program was put on pause after last season unrelated to allegations of team employees making inappropriate videos from calendar photo shoots of previous members in prior years. Washington on Monday made Joey Colby-Begovich vice president of gameday experience, and Pope will be in charge of forming and naming the new dance team.
The contracts of previous members of the cheerleading team expired, Pope confirmed, though she said they’re able to try out for the 2021 group “as long as they have that athletic skillset. I have no idea who the former dancers were, so I don’t know them, so everyone’s welcome to audition.”
Pope said she’s convinced owner Dan Snyder and wife Tanya “are committed to bringing this team to a more modern level.” Snyder vowed last summer to change the culture of the team in light of allegations of workplace sexual harassment made by former employees, which prompted an independent investigation that the NFL took over.
In his comments at the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “The Washington football club has made a lot of changes already.” That included the hiring of Jason Wright as team president.
This is another change, which Pope said is expected to be in place for next season. Wright has said he expects “Washington Football Team” to continue for 2021 with a new, permanent name to be ready in 2022.
Pope, who worked 14 years for the NBA’s New York Knicks in addition to her Los Angeles Lakers experience, said she’s the “new kid on the block” in the big picture of the name change and will concentrate on the dancer element of the rebrand.
“My focus is really just reinventing this team,” she said. “My goal is to create this team, reinvent this team and make it more modern.”
Editor’s note: Sideline Prep, a long time sponsor of this blog, has announced their Operation Pro Cheer Challenge, a personalized game plan for those planning to audition for a professional cheerleading/dance team. Check them out.
Grab your 5 Day Game Plan to Go Pro!
Have you heard?! The countdown to Sideline Prep’s FREE OPERATION PRO CHEER CHALLENGE is on!
We kick off on Monday March 22nd @ 8pm EST!!
Wondering if you should join us?
Well… If you’re READY to…
• GO PRO
• Dance on the sidelines, the field or the court
• Sign autographs
• Be a role model and/or
• Travel around the world to perform for our military…
Then HECK YEAH… you should join us.
We’re hosting our OPERATION Pro Cheer Challenge to help you create your own, personalized game plan for your next audition in only 5 days! We want to help you become prepared, polished and confident for this upcoming audition season! And did we mention its FREE!
During Our “OPERATION Pro Cheer Challenge”, You’ll take micro commitments to…
– Get in touch with your “WHY” and create an action you can start implementing RIGHT NOW!
– Improve your MINDSET, gain the KNOWLEDGE, achieve the PRO CHEER LOOK and enhance you DANCE ABILITY to set you up for SUCCESS at your next audition
– Connect with a COMMUNITY of like minded individuals with the same goals, aspiration & desires as you! We are family!
– CAPTURE a UNIQUE ADVANTAGE over your competition because you will know WHAT to do, HOW to do it, and HOW to do it the RIGHT WAY!
– BECOME P-Cubed: Properly PREPARED, POLISHED & POSITIVE walk into auditions with CONFIDENCE!
…. Plus, you’ll hear from our Pro Cheer Coaches/Experts AND Sideline Prep Lovelies that are now Pro Cheerleaders!!
VISIT IT THE LINK BELOW AND REGISTER FOR FREE!
https://zj167.isrefer.com/go/OPERATIONProCheerCha/UltimateCheerleaders/
This video was produced by Studio 10, an Australian morning talk show on Network 10, and features a nice interview with Monique Carroll, the director of the Parramatta Eels and the Manly Seabirds Cheerleaders.
Editor’s note: More bad news for professional cheerleading. The NRL has been eliminating professional cheerleading squads recently in the name of political correctness. Unfortunately, NRL cheerleading has lost at least five squads and others have been rebranded to reflect current social norms.
From The Daily Telegraph
More than 50 years of tradition has been scrapped with the Parramatta Eels the latest NRL club to ditch cheerleaders as part of their game day entertainment.
The Parramatta Eels have scrapped 50 years of tradition by dumping their NRL cheerleaders.
The club has based its decision on their “game-day entertainment priorities” in a move that has left the cheergirls shattered on the eve of the season.
Parramatta’s cheerleaders are among the longest serving in rugby league, starting back in the 1970s when they were known as the Cumberland Cowgirls.
“We’re all devastated,” says Monique Carroll, wife of Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll, who is a dance teacher and choreographer who heads up the Eels’ cheerleaders.
Cheerleaders from the Parramatta Eels NRL side pictured after learning they will no longer be employed moving into season 2021. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
“We accept the decision and we understand that many have been affected by COVID and reduced budgets but it’s really upsetting for the girls.
“They were really invested in the club. The fans will be devastated too. We receive so much support.”
The Eels had a squad of 30 girls who have now lost their weekend work.
A Parramatta spokesman issued a statement on Saturday. “Upon review of our game day and fan engagement initiatives, the Eels have made the decision not to have a formalised Cheerleader program,” it said.
“The Club has made this decision based on its game day entertainment priorities and the uncertainty regarding on-field entertainment protocols in the current COVID environment.
“We want to thank all our cheerleader participants for their contribution to the Club.”
To improve pre-game entertainment and value for fans, the NRL is looking at reintroducing three grades of football on game days this season.
But the colour and spectacle cheerleaders provide has been a part of rugby league tradition since the mid-70s.
Five clubs have now ditched the girls in recent years — the Eels, Rabbitohs, Warriors, Titans and Raiders.
Hollywood star Russell Crowe caused a storm back in 2009 when he sacked the cheer leaders when he bought the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
“The focus on game day should be a positive experience for the crowd,” Crowe said at the time.
“We feel they (cheerleaders) made a lot of people uncomfortable. We’ve talked to a lot of people and everyone sees it as being progressive.”
The Cumberland Cowgirls were the original cheer squad for the Parramatta Eels
From ProFootballTalk
on February 8, 2021, 11:06 PM EST
Getty Images
The Washington Football Team has halted its cheerleading program and will rebrand the group under a new director, according to Darren Haynes and Nick Boykin of WUSA9.
The operation has been heavily scrutinized with a group of former cheerleaders filing a lawsuit against the team for unauthorized videos filmed by the team. Additionally, a 2013 photo shoot in Costa Rica allegedly had male sponsors of the team invited to attend as cheerleaders had their pictures taken in various levels of undress.
The Washington Football Team has dismissed director Jamilla Keene from her position running the unit.
“The time is right to reimagine our entire gameday experience to reinvent it in a way that reflects our modern identity and aligns with what today’s fan seeks. Coach Rivera has done an incredible job on the field. We will elevate our off-the-field product to match,” team president Jason Wright said in a statement on Monday.
The team has hired Code and Theory to help with their rebranding efforts.
The NFL is nearing the completion of an investigation of sexual harassment allegations into the team that led to the dismissal of three member of the front office, Alex Santos, Richard Mann III and play-by-play voice Larry Michael last summer.
Whatever happened to the NBA All Star Dancers? They used to be a featured part of the NBA All Star Game and for fans of professional cheerleading, it was something to look forward to in addition to seeing all the NBA stars on the court in the same place. But lately, it seems like the NBA All Star Dancers have been relegated to the shadows.
Does the NBA or professional sports care about professional cheerleading anymore? I hope so.
