Cheryl Makin
MyCentralJersey.com
Like many little girls, Sara Reynolds had a dream of tutus, plies and grand jetes when she grew up. Only unlike many, Reynolds turned that dream into a reality, both professionally and personally.
The co-owner of Across The Floor, a dance studio with locations in Woodbridge and New Providence, Reynolds spent two seasons dancing professionally as a Knicks City Dancer at Madison Square Garden. On Saturday, Reynolds again will take the court at halftime as the Knicks City Dancers celebrate their 20th anniversary.
“I am fortunate. I was able to make the little girl’s dream of doing dance come true,” said Reynolds, 41. “In fact, our very first recital was called ‘Dreams become Reality.’ ”
Reynolds juggled growing her business, which opened in 1996, with rehearsals two or three times per week and Knicks home-game performances two or three times per week.
“Practices would start before the season started, and then after the regular season, there were playoff games. Even after that, we would dance for the WNBA Liberty team during their season,” said Reynolds, who participated during the 1997-1998 and 1999-2000 seasons. “Being a Knicks City Dancer was an amazing experience. It’s where I got my feet wet. We were like mini celebrities. It was a fantastic experience where I got to work with all different choreographers and people in the industry.”
Reynolds, who now lives in Union, credits the support of her best friend and studio co-owner, Cheryl Corej, as a huge factor in realizing her dream.
“She let me go off and audition and dance professionally,” said Reynolds, who first met Corej as 4-year-olds in dance class. “She held it together here while I was out auditioning and out there dancing. I always wanted to have the studio and have a dance career. It is because of her I was able to do both.”
Reynolds and Corej started as toddlers at Miss Ruth’s School of Dance, a Woodbridge staple until it closed a year ago after 40 years.
“Cheryl is like my sister. We have always been together. We have been friends since we were 4 years old,” Reynolds said. “We grew up together in dance and built on that friendship and our love of dance. In college, we both taught at Miss Ruth’s. I became a nurse, which comes in handy when at a dance studio. Then we opened our school and got rid of other career jobs and made this our career.”
As a dancer, Reynolds said, her forte is ballet, which is the “foundation for all dance.”
“My professional career was not in ballet, though,” Reynolds said. “That was more jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance.”
On Saturday, Reynolds and about 29 other former Knicks City Dancers will perform a three-minute hip-hop dance routine to a mash-up of Rob Base’s “Joy and Pain” and “It Takes Two.” Only 30 of more than 110 Knicks City Dancers alumni have been chosen to perform at the anniversary celebration game, which also features the Knicks hosting the Detroit Pistons.
“I am really very excited. I’m pumped about it,” Reynolds said. “It’s been really great. The dancer who teaches us the routine was my captain when I was on the team. It’s so interesting to come back and see where everybody is in life — all the different places. We started rehearsals, and it went very well. I have to say I don’t see much difference between us and the current Knicks City Dancers.”
This is not Reynolds’ first time back on court to dance. Last week, she was asked to perform a salsa routine during a Knicks halftime show.
“That was my first time back in about 12 years,” Reynolds said. “It was exciting. I was curious to see all the slight changes in the arena. And the experience was very different because I was performing a different kind of dance.”
Keeping dance in the family, Reynolds’ mother, Soledad Reynolds, recently auditioned for and made the senior dance team for the WNBA Liberty.
“We are very happy for her. She auditioned for the Liberty Timeless Torches, which is a dance team for women 40 and over,” Reynolds said. “We just found out she made it a couple days ago. I guess it runs in the family.”
The next generation already is putting on ballet slippers. Reynolds’ daughter, Leilani Wiggins, 4, is at home on the dance floor.
“She is always here,” Reynolds said with a laugh. “What choice does she have? She is in four ballet, one tap and two gymnastics classes and will be in about nine routines at the recital.
“Dancing keeps you young,” added Reynolds, who no longer dances professionally. “I’ll always dance.”
Kings Vision was on hand for the 11-12 Ice Crew calendar photo shoot! Check out this profile featuring the Ms. August, Cassie.
[Cassie at the LA Kings Website]
The Glamour Girls of the NRL, named Australia's Best Cheerleaders by Channel 7 Morning Show
Thanks to Director Monique Carroll for sending us the 2012 Team Photo of her squad The Manly Seabirds. The Seabirds are the cheerleaders for the Manly Sea Eagles, a National Rugby League team in Sydney, Australia. Our US readers may recall that Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Angela Rena is a former Seabird.
[Complete Audition Information]
Congrats to the Ice Angels
The Angels were selected by CHL players, coaches and operational staff from all 14 CHL teams.
Our good friend and former Wizard Girl Nina is on the far right.
With Director Stephanie DiBiase-Wheat and Terell Owens
Also congratulations the the Missouri Mavericks Filly Spirit Squad for placing second and the third place Tulsa Oilers Ice Girls.
[Missouri Mavericks Filly Spirit Squad]
Blair Malazdrewich
Global News
On March 18, 2012 The Queen City Kinsmen Gymnastics Club hosted try-outs for anyone wanting to show off their skills. All in the hopes of donning the green-and-white as part of the 2012 Saskatchewan Roughriders Cheerleaders.
Five year Riders cheer coach, Nicole Bidwell says there are three major areas, “Dancing: they are doing to have to learn a quick dance from us. Gymnastic assessment: to see what level of tumbling expertise that they have, and then the stunting aspect of it.”
The most difficult maneuvers are called stunting which involves someone being held high or even, thrown into the air.
Coach Bidwell says just because you made the roster last year doesn’t mean you will this year, ”Everybody does have to try out again so there is no secured spots, even if you have been on the team with me for the whole 5 years, your still trying out again. It allows and fresh slate for every body.
Katelyn Perry, hopes her background helps her claim a spot. “I danced at Martin School of Dance in Regina for 13 years. I cheerleaded for the Huskies in Saskatoon with the U of S for two years, and then I was with Riders last year and hopefully…this year.”
Katelyn knows what “Rider Pride” is all about. “Love for the team. I love cheerleading and I love to support Saskatchewan through my cheerleading, so it is just great to be a part of a CFL team. Also loving your province, just kind of goes hand in hand.”
Just like the players they are cheering on, these athletes will also be leaving it all on the field but Coach Bidwell knows cheerleading makes a difference in the athletes futures, ”Lots of great skills such as teamwork and leadership that they translate into their careers and into their personal lives.”
Central Coast native, now NFL Cheerleader, helps spread joy
Righetti alumni Courtney Moore, center right, has been helping the troops overseas by working with an entertainment group that visits US military personnel all over the world.
Courtney Moore’s dance skills has taken the Righetti grad to places few are ever lucky enough to experience.
Since graduating from Righetti in 2003 Moore has built a wonderful life in Seattle, Washington.
Making a living as a concierge and dance choreographer, Moore has also spent the last four seasons as a member of the Sea Gals, the dance squad that appears at all home Seattle Seahawk football games.
The daughter of longtime former baseball and tennis coach and retired teacher at Righetti, Doak Moore, Courtney was a cheerleader at the school and has been involved in dancing since she was just four years old.
Adding even more substance to the glitz and glamour of her life as a cheerleader, is her education. Moore also earned a degree in history from UCSB.
She was voted the Sea Gal of the Year in 2009 and has performed all over the world promoting the Seahawks organization.
In the last two offseasons, Moore has done something as a member of the Sea Gals that has given her a better understanding of the armed services.
Earlier this year, Moore and seven other Sea Gals, along with fourth-year Seahawks cornerback Roy Lewis and comedian Brian Ricci, went on a 10-day tour of three bases to entertain the troops as part of the Armed Forces Entertainment Organization.
According to its website, Armed Forces Entertainment is an official Department of Defense agency which provides entertainment to U.S. military personnel overseas, supporting soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors by bringing them a little taste of home while abroad.
Entertainment has long been one of the biggest morale boosters for all the United States. military personnel serving overseas. Just ask the USO.
“We had 13 flights in 13 days,” Moore explained recently in a phone conversation. “But it was well worth it.”
Last year, Moore and her group performed at some bases in Europe, but this time, the trek took them to Kosovo, Bahrain and Djibouti on the continent of Africa.
“We spent three days at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo,” Moore said. “It was five degrees and we arrived under blizzard conditions.
“The barracks that we stayed in were basically storage units and the morale was pretty low.”
But Moore and her troupe proved they were troopers too. The show went on and the soldiers couldn’t have been more thankful to have the entertainment.
“Visiting with all the soldiers really makes you feel proud to be an American,” Moore said. “I will never take for granted the luxuries we have here in the States and it’s all because of the sacrifices of our military people who perform a selfless act defending our country while being away from their families.
“It was nice to be able to bring a little bit of home to them and help boost morale.”
Kings Vision was on hand for the 11-12 Ice Crew calendar photo shoot! Check out this profile featuring Ms. July, Becky.
[Becky at the LA Kings Website]
[Vikings Cheerleaders Auditions]
The Redskins Blog has a post on one our good friends, Talmesha:
Society has a nasty habit of assuming that people with a pretty face don’t have to work hard, and therefore don’t have much to offer outside of their shallow appearance.
Redskins Cheerleader Talmesha is out to blow that theory out of the water, as she has two bachelor’s degrees (Mathematics and Chemical Engineering), and is pursuing her Ph.D in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
She recently sat down with ScienceCheerleader.com–and yes, there is such a site–to talk about how her path towards saving the world runs through the sidelines at FedExField:
Her education, in her own words:
I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2004 with a B.S. Chemical Engineering and a B.S. Mathematics. I am currently writing my dissertation on Polyamine Analogues as Novel Anti-HER Family Agents in Human Breast Cancer.
Truthfully, I don’t understand the name of what she’s studying, but it’s a fitting area of study, given the Redskins’ tradition in fighting Breast Cancer, as well as honoring those battling.
This past season, her fourth with the team, Talmesha served as a co-captain for the Redskins squad. In addition to her duties on gameday, she also did a number of events in the community and military tours to troops stationed overseas:
My best cheerleading experiences involve boosting the morale of troops both locally and abroad. As a Washington Redskins Cheerleader I have participated in multiple military appreciation tours. It is truly humbling to spend time with the troops and see firsthand the sacrifices they make to keep us safe every day.
Exceptional brain power and coordinated dance moves aside, Talmesha’s most admirable quality is her perseverance and standard of quality. When others have made the mistake of selling her short, she’s only used it as motivation to prove them wrong:
I believe stereotypes have helped my professional experiences and made more resolved to chart my own path. You will always come across people who don’t necessarily agree with how you live your life and you cannot live your life for others.
Whether on the sidelines of chemistry lab, this perspective has served her well. As a matter of fact, no matter what you do, this approach certainly applies. The very best of luck to Talmesha to reach all of her personal and professional goals.
