The 2011-12 Lady Cats Swimsuit Calendar presented by Vemma is on sale now! The behind-the-scenes TV show will debut on November 3 at 9 pm on FOX Sports Carolinas. Make sure to head out to Mez from 6-7:30 pm and Whisky River from 8:30-11 pm that evening for the official Lady Cats calendar release events.
The Omaha Beef announce Carmen Butler, a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, Dallas Mavericks Dancer, and Dance Team Manager and Choreographer for the Oklahoma City Thunder Girls, as the new Director for the Omaha Beef Prime Dancers.
Carmen, a Nebraska native, graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Education Degree. In addition to her dancing career, Butler has worked as a special education teacher in Nebraska, Texas, and Maryland.
Butler began her professional dance career in 2000 with the Omaha Beef, where she danced for five years, earning the leadership role of co-captain. In 2005, she realized her dream of becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. “I always wanted to become a Cowboys Cheerleader. They represent the gold standard of pro sports entertainment, the very best. I am looking forward to bringing that same level of professionalism and prestige to the Omaha Beef Prime Dancers,” Butler said. During her three years as a Cowboys Cheerleader, she was selected as a group leader, named veteran of the year, and facilitated cheerleading camps and other community events. From 2008-2009, Butler was a dancer for the Dallas Mavericks where she was selected best in appearances. During the 2010-2011 NBA season, Carmen was the Dance Team Manager and Choreographer for the Oklahoma City Thunder Girls and the junior dance team, The Raindrops.
Butler states, “It’s a great honor to be back with the Omaha Beef where my professional dance career began. I’m excited about the opportunity to continue to develop the Prime Dancers’ profile within games and in the Omaha community. I am looking forward to working with this talented group of women.” Josh Roehr, General Manager for the Omaha Beef stated, “We are lucky to have Carmen on board with us. She brings a great deal of experience and professionalism and we are excited to have her.”
Butler will oversee the 2012 Prime Dancers audition process. Open auditions will be held at 24 Hour Fitness (2718 N. 118th Circle), beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 19th. The final round, including interviews, will be held on Sunday, November 20th, at 11:30 a.m.
According to Butler, “we are looking for talented, poised, charismatic, professional woman who are committed to entertaining our fans and representing the Omaha Beef through the community. I encourage any women with a passion and energy for entertaining to come try out. Don’t prejudge yourself. You never know what we might be looking for and you might be a perfect fit!”
The New Orleans VooDoo Dolls will hold tryouts for the 2012 VooDoo Doll Dance Team on Saturday, November 19 at Mardi Gras World. The tryout preliminary audition begins promptly at 10 a.m.
“We had a very talented team last season that was regarded as one of best in the AFL, and I’m looking to build on that this year. New Orleans is hosting ArenaBowl this year, and we look to showcase New Orleans’ best and most-beautiful dancers to the nation,” said Tamica Lee-Smith, VooDoo Doll Director.
The registration fee is $40, and all those participating are asked to bring a lunch or a snack, along with water or sports drink.
All performers must wear a black, solid two-piece outfit (trunks or shorts only, no skirts or pants), flesh colored tights and dance shoes. All performers will be evaluated on dance technique, and their ability to perform a dance routine taught that day.
From Seahawks.com
What is it like to be a mother of two children, ages 4 and 6, and a member of the Sea Gals squad?
Sea Gal Mhkeeba
What is it like to be a mother of two children, ages 4 and 6, and a member of the Sea Gals squad? Let’s just say it involves a great deal of juggling as well as dancing, but it is totally worth it! I I’ve auditioned in the past to make the squad and although I made it to the finals, I really wanted to show my children how perseverance and hard work can pay off. I made a vision board in the spring as an art project with my kids and included becoming a Sea Gal as one of my goals. From that moment, I wanted my kids to understand how to set a goal high, truly believe that you can achieve it, and work hard to make your dream come true.
My children watched as I practiced for the auditions and with each round in the audition process, they began to understand how my hard work was helping me get closer to reaching my goal. Making the squad really has been a dream come true and has been a great life lesson to share with my children. Once reality began to settle in, my next challenge was to figure out how to balance the dedication and commitment needed to be a member of this amazing group of women with my most important job of all of being a wonderful mother to my children.
It was not an easy task and at times, I felt completely overwhelmed and in over my head. It was in those moments though that I remembered how hard I worked to get here and the reason that I wanted this dream so badly in the first place – my passion for dance. I started to take my kids with me to the gym when I needed to practice so we could still spend time together. They love the Kids Klub at Gold’s Gym so they are always excited to come along when I work out. When I am ready to perform the dances, my kids will sit on the couch and be my audience as I turn our living room into Century Link Field. They even have their favorite routines and sometimes pick up certain moves and dance with me. My family has been a tremendous support system by spending time with the kids during practices and games.
Hopefully I have taught my children a few good lessons with this experience of a lifetime as a Sea Gal. I also hope that they will understand that they played a part in making my dream a reality by sharing their time with mama. Most importantly my hope is that when they become parents one day, if there is any goal in their lives that they have not yet been able to achieve – whether it be because of sacrifices they had to make along the way or other life events that took priority – that they never give up on their passion and work hard to make their dreams a reality!
- Cheerleaders from the Miami Dolphins demonstrate how to wear a lifejacket while aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin at Base Miami Beach, Fla., Oct. 14, 2011. The cutter Dolphin’s sponsor is Mary Anne Shula, wife of former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Ameen.
Cheerleaders from the Miami Dolphins take a ride aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin's smallboat near Base Miami Beach, Fla., Oct. 14, 2011. The cutter Dolphin's sponsor is Mary Anne Shula, wife of former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Ameen.
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin stands alongside cheerleaders from the Miami Dolphins at Base Miami Beach Oct. 14, 2011. The cheerleaders took a tour of the cutter, learned about Coast Guard operations and took a ride on the cutter's smallboat. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Ameen.
Hometown: New Orleans.
Year as a Honeybee: First.
Previous dance experience:
I have been dancing since I was 2 years old. I mainly studied and excelled in ballet for a majority of my dance career and competed with my ballet studio for many years. I quickly picked up jazz and hip-hop once I became part of my high school dance team, Mount Carmel Academy’s Rhythm Dance Team. There, I progressed and grew a deeper love for dance and became captain my senior year. In college, I was a member of the nationally ranked Southeastern Louisiana University Lionette Dance Team for four years and was captain my senior year. Now I have fulfilled my lifelong dream of becoming part of NBA’s best dance team, the Honeybees. All I can say is…dreams really do come true!
What I love about being a Honeybee:
The one thing I truly love about being part of the Honeybees is that we all share the same passion for not only dance, but for New Orleans. At finals I never felt so secure dancing next to girls that I barely knew and it was because we were all there for the same reason. Going to practice is such a joy and even though I am only a first-year member I have already had the time of my life and I know this is just the beginning. I am part of the hardest-working, strongest and most beautiful group of girls who find that performing for our New Orleans Hornets fans just might be one of the most rewarding experiences of our dance career.
What I love about dancing:
“There are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one of them.” This quote has been with me for years and it is what I live by. It doesn’t matter what kind of dance or what song is playing I will dance! When I’m dancing…I’m happy. To me, dancing is something that I just can’t live without.
What I love about New Orleans:
New Orleans is my home. It is where I was born, where I grew up, and where I plan on raising a family. What I love about New Orleans is quite simple…its spirit. It lives inside each of us, through the good and the bad times we all stick together and that is my definition of family. There was a reason why my family and I came back after Hurricane Katrina…we knew that the people of New Orleans were brave and powerful before the storm…we knew we would be even stronger after the storm, and it is so liberating to be part of such a great city. New Orleans is always busy doing something, whether it’s a party on Bourbon or a barbeque in your neighbor’s back yard for a game. We know how to have a good time! I could travel the world and see everything it has to offer but nothing comes close to this beautiful city!
What I love to do when I’m not performing with the Honeybees:
When I’m not dancing with the Honeybees I am busy working and as a matter of fact…it is another love that I have. I am a dance teacher, choreographer and coach. I am a fitness enthusiast, personal trainer, and fitness instructor. I love every minute of what I do and thank God every day. I also love hanging out with friends, running, shopping and doing anything spontaneous!
Two students spend time outside the classroom at M&T Bank Stadium
By Lauren Slavin
The Towerlight
Like many of Towson University’s commuters, Courtney wakes up at 7 a.m. to prepare for an hour drive, drives in circles around a packed parking garage, and goes to her 9 a.m. class.
Sweatpants are the norm, and dabbing on mascara is an effort. If it weren’t for her Ravens bag, lanyard, shoes and accessories, it would be difficult to remember she doesn’t spend her Sundays in Cook Library, but cheering at M&T Bank Stadium.
“They think we wake up looking like this. I try to keep it on the DL at school, because if people know I’m a cheerleader, at class I feel like I can’t just roll out of bed and wear sweatpants to class,” Courtney said.
Courtney L. is among several Ravens cheerleaders who have spent time off the field in classrooms at Towson University, but is one of only two current students on the squad.
Courtney
Courtney, a senior, has been a Ravens cheerleader as long as she’s been a Towson student. Junior Brittany W. is only starting her rookie season after attending an open tryout in March.
The women could not give their full last names for privacy reasons stipulated in their Ravens contracts.
Both girls balance full-time class schedules, part-time jobs and weekly appearances at home games with the Baltimore Ravens.
“It’s all about prioritizing,” Brittany said. “It’s difficult. At times it can be stressful. It’s like having 10 jobs when you have five classes.”
But this job is one Brittany has dreamed about since she was 10 years old.
She started cheerleading at age five, and at 10, one year after the Ravens won their first and only Super Bowl, Brittany participated in the Lil’ Ravens cheer program.
She continued cheering through high school, eventually becoming the captain of her varsity squad.
Courtney, on the other hand, had never cheered before she tried out for the Ravens. She came from a dance background and originally applied to Towson University for their dance program.
But an unsuccessful attempt at making Towson’s 13-straight national championship winning dance team left a hole in her extra-curricular activities.
“My nerves got the best of me, so I messed up really bad,” Courtney said. “I think that prepared me, because two months later, I found out about the tryouts for Ravens.”
Courtney’s experiences as a Ravens’ veteran cheerleader have helped Brittany through the Ravens rigorous practices, according to Ravens dance team coach Karen Kreitzer, a Towson University alumna.
“Our veterans really help guide our rookies, so it’s great to have Courtney, who’s a great dancer, great leader, help guide Brittany, just help navigate her first year with the program,” she said.
The 21 women who make up the dance team portion of the squad, which has 41 females and 20 males in all, have the challenge of learning 14 mini-routines performed during time outs or short breaks and two minute-and-a-half routines the cheerleaders do between the first and second quarters of the game and the third and fourth quarters of the game.
The dances are precision based, and during practices they learn a few steps of complex choreography at a time until each cheerleader can perform in synch.
“It pushes you, because at the end of the day, you’re studying for exams, school’s stressful, and this is just an awesome way to have fun, get your workout in, and forget about school for three hours,” Kreitzer said.
And the practice pays off when the cheerleaders accompany the team through the stadium tunnel and onto the field.
“Running out of the tunnel before every game is definitely exciting: to hear the crowd getting pumped up, especially the first Steelers game. I think I teared up a little bit running out of that tunnel,” Brittany said.
But Courtney and Brittany agreed the best part about being a Ravens cheerleader isn’t the performing or celebrity status.
“Forget about the bar appearances. I love the charity stuff,” Courtney said. “It’s an amazing feeling to be a role model for little girls like that. You don’t realize how much of a role model you are for them and they look up to you so much. You just want to give the best impression you can for them and be like, ‘Well, look, I’m in school, too and this is what I want to be after cheerleading’ so they don’t think this is what I’m going to be the rest of my life.”
Since starting at Towson, Courtney has changed her major to business administration with a concentration in marketing. Brittany is also a business major, but with a concentration in management. Working with the Ravens has provided a major networking opportunity for both women.
“I’ve picked up so many business cards,” Courtney said. “I can’t imagine my life without the Ravens. It helped me mature, it helped me become who I am today, it
helped me with my communication skills, my business skills … just things you would experience in the real world having a real job out of college I’ve experienced early on.”But before they can get a job with the Ravens or any other business, Courtney and Brittany have to graduate, which could be difficult in a town with loyalties as fierce as Baltimore’s.
“I have a Steelers [fan] teacher this year. She announced the first day she was from Pittsburgh and I was like, ‘Please don’t let this affect my grade,” Courtney said.
[Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders]
Once again thanks to Reader Mike for these photos of the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders at a reacent away game party:
Danae and Sarah with former Eagles Cheerleader Vittoria
Danae
Danae and Sarah
[Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders]
Our good friend Sandy Charboneau sent us the poster for one of her upcoming Military Tours. ProTour Productions is taking the Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans, and Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders to Okinawa for the Courtney Christmas Festival and Army/Navy Football Game. NBA Mascots Benny the Bull and Rocky from Rocky from the Denver Nuggets are also coming to perform for the troops.
[ProTour Productions on Facebook]
The Richmond Raiders Professional Football front office has announced plans to release a Lady Raiders Swimsuit Calendar for 2012. Photography has been completed for the 12-month calendar featuring all 24 members of the respected dance and cheer team. According to Raiders’ marketing director, Steve Martin, this will provide an excellent promotional vehicle for prospective sponsors wishing to highlight particular dates throughout the coming year. Interested parties should contact him at shmartin@shmartin.com.
The ladies spent hours preparing for and shooting the calendar in the midst of actively touring Richmond. In the coming weeks, the Lady Raiders will be seen at heavily populated events including high school football Games of the Week, University of Richmond Homecoming football game, Innsbrook Pumpkin Palooza, Richmond Holiday Parade, and Coats for Kids. The Richmond Raiders arena football season will kickoff on March 10, 2012 and play six home games at the Richmond Coliseum.
“This is an amazing opportunity for our performers,” said dance team coordinator and choreographer Laura Eilers. “Our goal is to playfully show off the beauty of these women, who volunteer their time to support the Raiders and the city of Richmond. The work is tastefully captured by award-winning photographer Guy Crittenden. Sales from the swimsuit calendar will support new uniforms for the 2012 season.”
Eilers herself has appeared in five calendars, having cheered six years in the NFL for the Chiefs and the Rams. She is the reigning 2011 Ms. United States and travels around the world involved in fitness, dance and cheerleading projects.
Bringing even further expertise to the production is Richmond Raiders team owner and former runway model Elizabeth Fraizer. Hair is styled Blair Warren of Carytown Instyle Salon and Richmond’s Black Beauty Expo Stylist of the Year Jessica Penn of Styles of Grandeur. Makeup is provided by DeShay Dillard of Styles of Grandeur.
Projected to go on sale by early December 2011, the calendar will be available at www.richmondraidersprofootball.com, all home Raiders games and at local calendar signing appearances. Retailers that would like information on how to stock their shelves with the Lady Raiders Swimsuit Calendar or to schedule a signing appearance, contact ladyraidersdanceteam@gmail.com.
