DANCE PREP CLASSES

Wednesday, June 13th: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Time Warner Cable Arena (5th street entrance)

Learn Lady Cats choreography similar to what will be taught at auditions
Opportunity to have all your questions answered
All prep classes are $20 (cash only) payable upon arrival
Prep Classes are closed to the public

BEAUTY + BUSINESS PREP CLASSES

Monday, June 4th: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Time Warner Cable Arena (5th street – executive entrance)

A fun class for you to learn helpful hints and tips on
how to prepare and what to expect at auditions
Get expert advice on how to prepare your look for auditions
$15 (cash only) payable upon arrival
Closed to public

REQUIREMENTS

Must be at least 18 years of age by June 16th, 2012 (must present valid ID)
Must have graduated from high school or received a G.E.D.
Must have proper audition attire and footwear
You must be available every night during the week of bootcamp (June 18th – 22nd)

AUDITION DAY TIPS

You MUST wear midriff top, dance shorts, flesh tone stockings and non-marking tennis or dance shoes
Bring a warm up suit or cover up. Restrooms will be available but there will be no formal changing area
Be prepared for a long day – concession stands will NOT be open, bring your own snacks and water
Auditions are closed to the public and no unauthorized video cameras will be allowed

[Lady Cat Registration]

[Soulmates Gallery]

[Dolphins Cheerleaders Finals Gallery]

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[Eagles Cheerleaders Finals Gallery]

[Online Registration]

From the Nets Dancers Blog:

Mandee’s Blog – May 20, 2012
Making New Friends

Hey Nets fans, it’s Mandee!

Sadly our time in Guangzhou is coming to an end. Today we had a final appearance for Lenovo at a local mall. We participated in interviews and performed dance routines for our fans who filled the four levels of the mall to cheer us on.

Meeting our fans and a local dance team were highlights of our visit. The mall was filled with tremendous energy, and it was a great way to end a successful trip!

After our performance we had time to go shopping at the Mouse Street Shopping Center, also know as “Women’s Street.” We were able to purchase locally produced items and experience the culture and different styles of China.

Our night ended with a team dinner at the hotel. We reminisced about our time in Guangzhou and how fortunate we were to have this opportunity to perform for our fans in China once again. We had a great time, and we hope to come back soon!

Mandee

Check out the rest of the posts from China and see some video of the Nets Dancers in Action.

[Nets Dancers Blog]

[Nets Dancers Auditions Are June 2nd]

The Westside Gazette
By Tamara G

One of South Florida’s very own is coming back home and in a BIG way! Actress Syndee Winters, who graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School and attended Miami Dade College, Kendall campus, is now called Nala (at least when she’s in the touring production of The Lion King, which is coming to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami May 15-June 10. That’s because she has the starring role as the adult Nala, the future wife of Simba, the big cat in the production.

It’s a role that Winters, 25, says she was born to play. “When The Lion King movie first came out, I knew then that I wanted to play Nala because I was born to sing the song ‘Shadowland’. When I moved to New York, my agent got me a tryout for the Broadway version of TLK back in 2007, but I never got a callback. I thought it wasn’t my time. Three years later, I got another call to tryout again and I’ve been on tour with TLK for two years now.”

Before moving to New York, she taught at several South Florida dance studios and also lent her talents to teaching dance to inner-city youth. She also was a background dancer in several Reggaeton videos that were shot here. Says Winters, “I started my formal dance training when I was 15, in high school, when it was still free and available in high school.” She laments the fact that schools are taking the arts out of the curriculum.

After her move up north, she became a Knicks City dancer for The New York Knicks, performing during halftime shows. Though dancing, singing and acting came naturally to her, Winters says after she didn’t get that first callback, she hired a vocal coach and took up more acting classes to hone her skills so that she would really be ready when the call came again—and it did.

And that brings us back to why she’s returned home to South Florida—her starring role in TLK. So has life changed for her and those around her in how they treat her now that she’s a Broadway star? Winters replies, “Friends from school find me on Facebook and congratulate me and that’s fantastic, but the folks who’ve known me for my entire life, like my best, best friend-she stays with a needle in her hand—ready to pop that bubble whenever my head gets too big.” She adds, “But when I come home, there are some people that I have to see, no matter what.”

So what’s in store for Winters after TLK finally wraps up after years of touring from city to city? She says, “You know how when you’re younger, you always say ‘I want to be a famous singer’ or ‘I want every-one to know me and I want to be rich.’ Now what I want is to do more TV and film work, another Broadway show, and continue working on my own solo music project…. I want to do whatever comes my way.”

From the IUPUI Newscenter:

Dedication and perseverance can well serve students seeking to become social workers so they can bring hope and aid to those they serve.

And as it turns out, those same assets that have helped Melissa as she nears completion of her Master of Social Work degree at the Indiana University School of Social Work at IUPUI also played a role in her four-year quest to become an Indianapolis Colts cheerleader. (The Colts ask that the last name of their cheerleaders not be published.)

Ever since she was an undergraduate student at Valparaiso University, where she majored in psychology with a minor in social work, Melissa has had to juggle working and studying. A job making home visits made her realize she wanted to be a social worker. “I just fell in love with it, and I knew that’s what I wanted to get my master’s degree in. I knew this is where I should be,” she said of the IU School of Social Work.

Melissa had been a cheerleader since she was in middle school and joined the cheerleading squad while at Valparaiso. The cheerleading squad was in high demand, cheering on men and women’s sports. Melissa said the cheerleading squad once provided the cheers at five events in a single day: at a football game, two basketball games and two volleyball games. Today, she credits being able to juggle her busy schedule to the time management skills she developed while studying, working and being a cheerleader at Valparaiso.

Then about four years ago, Melissa set a challenge for herself: to become a NFL cheerleader. “NFL cheerleading is professional cheerleading and is the highest form you can reach. It’s the Olympics of cheerleading.”

To reach her goal of being an NFL cheerleader, Melissa brought to bear the same determination, focus and commitment that have allowed her to thrive in graduate school. As a graduate student, she worked — sometimes as much as 40 hours a week — as well as taking classes. When her classes and studying were done, she switched her focus to becoming an NFL cheerleader and pushed herself to get into the best physical shape of her life. No matter how tired she might feel, Melissa was determined to exercise every day for at least two hours.

Unlike collegiate cheerleading, which revolves around gymnastics and tumbling, NFL cheerleading is all about dancing. She added private dance lessons to her aerobic and strength training sessions and lost more than 30 pounds in the process.

Last year she put her work to the test and tried out, only to be cut in the final round of the Colts cheerleading competition. While Melissa acknowledged stopping at Dairy Queen that night after the disappointing result, she then stepped up the intensity of her workouts over the past year.

Melissa returned to the Colts cheerleaders tryouts last month. This time, she was rewarded by hearing her name called, making her one of the 32 Colts cheerleaders for the 2012 season. She has already made two appearances as a Colts cheerleader, the first at the Colts’ draft party at Lucas Oil Stadium and the other at the Mutt Strut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Melissa knows the day soon will come when she stands on the Colts field and looks at a crowd measured in the tens of thousands, rather than by the hundreds of people she has performed before in the past.

Melissa, who has finished her classes and is completing the hours required for her practicum, hopes to land a job working with children either in an outpatient or residential setting. But one condition of accepting a job will be her ability to have certain Sundays off during the coming year.

[SidelineReady.com]