The P-R-O Convention is the premier professional cheerleading and dance convention. Held annually in Atlanta, Georgia, P-R-O features instructors from NFL, NBA, MLS, and the WPFL. Professional cheerleading squads and dance teams came from all over the country to attend the two day event.
The staff of All-Pro3 gave James and I complete access to the convention’s events. In the second part of my article, we continue our coverage of P-R-O with a report on Sunday’s events.
There’s a reason why its called Hotlanta and its not because of the weather. Last weekend, more than 200 professional cheerleaders and dancers from across the country gathered in Atlanta for All Pro3’s 7th annual P-R-O convention, or as I call it Cheerleader Heaven. Hot weather, hot cheerleaders and hot dance routines.
The P-R-O Convention is the premier professional dance convention and the instructors represent the very best in professional cheerleading and dance. This year’s instructors included:
Sandy Charbonneau – Armed Forces Entertainment
Raquel Torres-Garcia – San Antonio Spurs (NBA) and Silver Stars (WNBA)
Denise Garvey – NY Jets (NFL)
Alto Gary – Houston Texans (NFL)
Tamara Jenkins – FC Dallas (MLS)
Stephanie Jojokian Washinton Redskins
Heather Karberg – Arizona Cardinals (NFL)
Stacie Kinder – Tennessee Titans (NFL)
Shannon Kingsley – Seattle Seahawks (NFL)
Tami Krause – Minnesota Vikings (NFL) and Minnesota Swarm (NLL)
Brandii McCoy – Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) and Charlotte Checkmates (AHL)
Tracey Rutledge – All-Pro3 and former Atlanta Hawks
Michelle Stover – Washington Wizards (NBA)
Derric Whitfield – Houston Energy (WPFL)
The organizers of P-R-O gave James and I complete access to the convention’s events and in this article, I will provide our readers with a first hand look into the premier professional dance convention. We have a lot to cover so, let’s begin with Saturday’s report.
4200 miles. 200+ Cheerleaders. 7600+ images. Coverage of the 2010 P-R-O Convention begins on Friday…technical issues notwithstanding!
The Inland Empire 66ers are a minor league baseball team that plays in the California League. They are the Single A affiliate of Los Angeles Dodgers and play their home games in San Bernardino, California. The origins of the organization date back to 1941, but for the last several years the Inland Empire 66ers have fielded a dance team.
Dance teams are a somewhat new innovation to baseball and in California the concept hasn’t quite caught on with our Major League Baseball Teams. Sure, there are squads that do in game promotions and community service, but there are only a few, real dance teams in all of baseball and we are lucky to have one in our backyard here in sunny Southern California.
One of the great things about minor league baseball is that they go the extra mile to create a fun and entertaining environment for the fans. Perhaps it’s the nature of minor league sports, but there are more fun and quirky promotions than in the big leagues. And on this night, the Inland Empire 66ers Spirit Girls turned back the clock to give the crowd that 50’s feel.
The UCLA Dance Team has a long and distinguished legacy. In the early eighties, the squad garnered notice at the NCAA Basketball Tournament with their California girl good looks and sexy NBA style dance uniforms. So noteworthy were the UCLA Song Girls, as they were called then, that Sports Illustrated featured them in an article entitled, “Eight Beauties and a Beat”. That squad featured a future Miss USA and a bevy of “10”s.
More recently, the UCLA Dance Team has rekindled that fire over the last few years when the squad became the subject of many rival teams’ message boards, in particular one Kansas Jayhawk message board. And perhaps more importantly, the UCLA Dance Team has begun to outshine even the more heralded USC Song Girl squad, which has been beset by a series of embarrassing controversies over the past few years.
So, it was no coincidence that this past Sunday I found myself over in Pauley Pavilion with camera in hand to cover the 2010 UCLA Dance Team Auditions for UltimateCheerleaders.com. In what is a rare event for west coast cheerleading squads, the auditions were open to the public. Transparency in any organization, even one as beloved as the UCLA Dance Team has become, is a welcome sight.
I was seated midway up the middle level of the arena, seemingly far away from the performance area at floor level. With an open audition, friends and family were present and I would presume we were kept at this distance to prevent the enthusiastic fans from influencing the judges’ decisions. I was seated next to the family of one of the hopefuls (#220) and in front of a group of blonde sorority girls from Delta Gamma, one of whom would have made an excellent dance team member (assuming she could dance). They were there to cheer on a few of their friends…loudly.
There were over 50 candidates who showed up for auditions this evening. At 5:00 p.m. sharp, the candidates were introduced to the judges and then performed the Fight Song, Drum Cadence and Performance Routine. Candidates are not evaluated at this time. This was an opportunity for the dancers to warm up and hear the music in the room, as well as for the judges to become familiar with the material. Candidates then exited the performance area and the auditions began in earnest.
Author’s note: I was given unprecedented access to the 2010 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader auditions and in this article, I will document the process from the preliminary auditions through the first and second round cuts. For those people who have never been to an audition, I hope to give you a glimpse into the journey from candidate to cheerleader.
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FRIDAY
Friday, April 16th. 6:10 p.m. It was hot, very hot. It was 93 degrees as I pulled into the parking lot of the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe. I must have been late because the registration table was of devoid of people. As I walk on to the practice field, I realized two things: 1) there are more than 200 beautiful and physically fit girls on the field and 2) I am the only guy in sight. I quickly focused my attention on the job at hand, after all I came here to work.
I was invited to attend Friday’s festivities by Heather Karberg, the Director of the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders, because in a deviation from last year, cuts would be made this night. No judges, only Heather and her staff would decide.
I attended last year’s auditions and I must say that generally speaking this year’s group of aspirants appeared to be more physically fit and attractive. It looks like its going to be a more competitive process this time round. That’s a good thing.
A few weeks ago, I attended a UCLA basketball game and was fortunate enough to take a few snapshots of the incomparable UCLA Dance Team. Last Saturday, I made a return visit to Pauley Pavilion and thanks to StubHub.com, I was able to snap up a lower level seat for the game against the last place Oregon Ducks. This year, there’s not a whole lot separating the last place team from the first place team. Some pundits say that the PAC-10 is down, but I think it’s more accurate to say that there is parity in the league.
In truth, it’s a down year for UCLA basketball, no doubt. UCLA has lost Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday and Russell Westbrook to the NBA. All three of them would be starters on this team if they had not left school early. But that’s all water under the bridge. This team lacks star power and is very young, which means it is prone to turning the ball over at inopportune times…like in the last minute, with the score tied and a chance to take the lead. Alas, two turnovers in that last minute doomed the Bruins. The hot shooting Ducks torched the Bruins early before beating off a furious comeback by the Boys from Westwood. Final score, Nike U. – 70, UCLA – 68.
And speaking of star power, the UCLA Dance Team is definitely not lacking in this area. See for yourself.
Over the past few years, the UCLA Dance Team has made a name for itself, winning a national dance competition in 2007, impressing many March Madness attendees over the years, and becoming the subject of many blogs (all positive coverage, unlike that other school’s squad across town). All of this notoriety and renown is well deserved. Even venerable sportscaster Dick Enberg has taken notice.
As Dick Enberg would say, "Oh my!"
Of course, Dick Enberg is well aware of UCLA, having been the school’s basketball broadcaster in the 1970’s before moving on to bigger assignments.
To continue reading this article, please click here to go to my blog, The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL.
Here at UltimateCheerleaders.com, we tend to focus our efforts on the professional squads. I fear we do not cover colleges and universities as much as we would like. In truth, I believe I am the only one here that does. I suppose that’s because I occasionally catch a college game or two. In this case, college basketball and the squad, the UCLA Dance Team.
Last Saturday, I was able to score a lower level ticket at cost (no small feat) to UCLA’s game against the Cal Bears. As a UCLA alumnus, I was rooting for the Southern Branch of the University of California against our cousins from the North, but on this day the basketball gods did not favor the 11 time National Champions. The hot shooting Bears beat the Bruins, 72-58.
Well, the day was not a total loss. I was able to snap a few photographs of the renown UCLA Dance Team.
The UCLA Spirit Squad is under the direction of Mollie Vehling and the Dance Team coach is Nicole Cohen, a former Boston Celtic Dancer and current member of the Clipper Spirit Dance Team. Both Mollie and Nicole were former UCLA Dance Team members…well after my time at the University, when I was Second Vice Chairman of Rally Committee.
They do a fine job along with the other Spirit Squad coaches, Brian Yi and Greg Calvert. But with limited funding, maintaining this level of excellence is difficult. So, if anyone is interested in donating to the UCLA Spirit Squad, you can make a contribution here.
A few years ago, the UCLA Dance Team caught the eye of many in attendance at the Pacific 10 Conference Basketball Tournament with their good looks and inspired dance routines, no small feat when you consider the more famous squad across town.
I used to shoot for a weekly newspaper, so cheerleaders are not the only thing I am capable of shooting. And with these prime lower level seats, I took a few snaps of the UCLA basketball team.
Here, Freshman Reeves Nelson demonstrates the wrong way to shoot a basketball.
UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland lovingly offers some words of encouragement to his young student athletes.
Well, that’s all for now. Until next time.
The Laker Girls are one of the premier dance teams in all of professional sports and if you get a chance to see them in person, you should. This weekend the Laker Girls were making a public appearance at the Asian American Expo, a celebration of Asian culture and cuisine. My Charger Girl duties are over for this year, so I decided to make my way over to the Fairplex in Pomona to cover the Laker Girls. It is a rare opportunity to photograph a Laker Girl performance because at Staples Center, it’s dark and there are all sorts of restrictions on the camera equipment that you can bring in. Unless you are Sasha or James and can wrangle a media credential from the NBA, a rare feat indeed, this is about good as it gets. And this is what I got.
Not to digress, but I wondered what those sparkly accents on their uniforms were. Perhaps, they were little NBA championship trophy emblems to celebrate the Lakers 2009 NBA title. Cool. But, that would be a little too immodest. Nope, they were three little crystals. Nice, but I like the NBA championship trophy idea better.
The entertainment schedule was tight, so the Laker Girls performed two dance routines and then signed autographs for the fans. All to brief, if you ask me. But then again, they would be performing again on Sunday. So, if you are near the Fairplex in Pomona, California, come and see the Laker Girls perform tomorrow at 1:00 PM in Expo Hall 4.
I stumbled across this photo of the Charger Girls from Bolt Talk, a Chargers fan site message board. It shows the Charger Girls (or whatever they were called back then) in the early years of old Jack Murphy stadium, circa 1970.
Love the white gloves. Thanks to PB Bolt for bringing this gem to our attention.
Photo credit unknown.
