A Long Island Lizards Dancer
First Row L-R: Heather, Nicole, Laura, Lele
Second Row L-R: Kelsey, Cara, Laura, Taylor, Kelsey
Third Row L-R: Kelly, Leana, Karrisa, Brittany, Tiffany, Ines, Danielle
*Not Pictured: Moriah, Tamara, Lauren, Ashley
[Cannons Dance Team on Facebook]
By Gina, New York Jets Flight Crew Cheerleader
NewYorkJets.com
December 2nd was the day the Jets beat the Arizona Cardinals, 7-6. To any Flight Crew Cheerleader, a Jets win is always a great day! To top my gameday experience off, my daughter was able to watch her mommy in action!!! Secret of mine — I always imagine her with me when I dance. It calms me before every performance.
My parents brought her to MetLife Stadium and the moment she walked off that train she was screaming, “Mommy’s Jets!” Almost every day of the week she would see me dressing up in some form of green and white attire. It had to blow her mind for her to finally see the Mecca of any Jets fan!
Right before the game started, they brought her to the Verizon stage, where she was able to watch me perform for Show Group! Seeing my daughter empowered me through every moment of the game! I couldn’t stop smiling towards her seat that day! Amongst 80,000 Jets fans there was one little fan that made me dance on a cloud, My Angelina!
Being a mother through the last two years on the Flight Crew made it a memory I will be able to share with her for the rest of my life! I was not only blessed to be a member of the 2007 Flight Crew Cheerleaders but I was able to come back in 2011 only 7 months after I gave birth to Angelina! She motivated me through long auditions, hard-core practices and intense performances, and Skyped me during calendar shoots. She was there for it all!
My favorite: Every day she had to sit at my vanity with me when I would get ready! (Mind you she would steal my makeup and knot rollers in my hair — memories!) I would be lying if I said the last two years of my life was a breeze, being a mother, a wife, a homeowner, a dance teacher/competition coach and an NFL Cheerleader! Yes, the jobs are demanding, but it’s not easy being a grownup!
Combining all those titles brings the largest sense of pride that one woman can carry! Hearing “Go Mommy, Go Mommy” when I dance, letting her brush my hair before I leave for work, and her knowing how to spell Jets before she turned 2 years old (thanks to our helpful Jets chant!) always kept me motivated through the seasons!
Anyone out there — fight to be the role model for your children, and any moment you can show them how amazing you can be, go for it! Don’t be scared to dream, believe and achieve as a parent! Don’t we always tell children, “You can do anything you set your mind to and when you have your heart in it, you’re unstoppable”? Remember, being a parent is such an achievement in itself!
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” — Arnold H. Glasgow
J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS!
—Gina
A member of the New York Jets Flight Crew
By Cynthia Cheng
Santa Clara Weekly
Back in February, many football fans enjoyed the Super Bowl from their homes as they watched the San Francisco 49ers battle against the Baltimore Ravens. Jessa, a local college student living in Santa Clara, got a close-up view of the game as a cheerleader on the San Francisco 49ers’ Gold Rush team.
Jessa has fond memories of attending the Super Bowl and seeing New Orleans.
“New Orleans was amazing; it has such an electric vibe and the people are so welcoming,” she says. “When we landed at the airport, there were so many 49er fans. Although we wore regular clothes throughout the week, people would still ask us if we were cheerleaders.”
Jessa and her fellow Gold Rush cheerleaders stayed busy dancing and cheering throughout the Super Bowl. Seeing all the 49er fans in the bleachers made Jessa feel as if she was back in Candlestick Park. When a power outage hit, Jessa and the Gold Rush cheerleaders used their magic to turn lemons into lemonade.
“We didn’t have music to dance to for a little bit so we tried to lead the 49er fans in a cheer during that time,” Jessa says. “At some point during the power outage, the whole stadium was doing the wave.”
Last March, Jessa went through a rigorous auditioning process to be a 2012 Gold Rush cheerleader.
“I’ve always wanted to be a professional cheerleader, specifically for the 49ers,” she says. “They held an audition where over 500 girls came. It was pretty intense. Every year, you have to retry out for the squad and there are 32 [spots for] cheerleaders. It’s nerve-wracking because there are so many beautiful, talented women in the room. But you really just have to stay in your own body and work on what you’re doing, and not compare yourself to other girls.
“You get there in the early morning around 8 o’clock,” Jessa continues, recalling the first day of audition. “All the girls warm up together. After warm ups, we’re taught a portion of a dance, and that all happens in 20 minutes. Then, they line us up in numerical order, and we each get a number. Thirty girls at a time have to do the dance for the panel of judges. After the girls go through the first portion of the dance, the judges go into a room to decide who keeps going, and who gets eliminated. Right after they call those numbers out, we’re taught the rest of the dance, and then the girls dance again for the judges, and more people get cut.”
According to Jessa, about 80 finalists remained after the first day of auditions. These finalists plowed through a series of further assessments, including a workshop emulating an actual practice session, an interview, and a final audition.
“The day the [selections were announced], I had to go on a website and find out if I got in,” Jessa says. “When I saw my name, I started crying. I was so excited. My parents were there and we were all so happy. My dad is a huge 49er fan, and he was just as excited as I was.”
Many people know Jessa as a former titleholder of Miss Santa Clara’s Outstanding Teen, Miss Mission City’s Outstanding Teen, and Miss California’s Outstanding Teen. Now they can know Jessa as a talented and hard-working cheerleader representing the Gold Rush.
“I am preparing for auditions in April to be part of the team again; I hope to be on the team again this following year,” Jessa says. “I would like to thank my family and friends for being so extremely supportive of me. [I also want to thank] the Gold Rush. We are also extremely supportive of each other. It’s a great sisterhood.”
Philadelphia Soulmates Diana and Morgan
Our good friend, and former Dancer/Cheerleader with the Jets, Devils and Sixers (among others) Doris Cano is teaching classes this month in NYC and on Long Island
COME TAKE CLASS WITH A FORMER NBA-NFL-NHL DANCER!
FUN CLASS WITH A MIX OF HIP HOP, GIRLY, SASSY, FUNKY FEEL!!
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE EMAIL DANCINGWITHDORIS@LIVE.COM
NEW YORK CITY CLASSES (THURS)
March 7th 8:30-10:00pm
March 21st 7:00-8:30pm
(Location)
Pearl Studios
500 Eighth Avenue NY, NY
LONG ISLAND NY CLASSES (MONDAYS)
March11th 8:30-10:00pm
March 25th 8:30-10:00pm
(Location)
Bet You Can Dance Studio
3032 Jericho Turnpike, East Northport, NY
$14/Class – Cash
When pre-registering, please subject title which location you are attending ex. SUBJECT TITLE: NEW YORK CITY CLASS and include in the body all the dates you can attend! Once you pre-register I will give you some more info!
YOU MUST PRE REGISTER IN ORDER TO ATTEND!
Mad Dog, the Wings mascot, invited many of his mascot friends including the Phillie Phanatic to celebrate his birthday.
Wings Angels sport a new look for their end of the 3rd quarter hip hop performance.
Melanie
Kacey loosening up
Cary and April
Nadia and Kristina
Voting for the 2013 Angela King Sports Model started yesterday and runs thru Friday. Our Facebook has been overwhelmed by many of our good friends who are competing. Good luck to all!
[Angela King Sports Model Search]
An Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader
