[Complete Audition Information]
I was finally caught up with photos, and then I went to Virginia on vacation for a week. On the Friday before Memorial Day, I caught up with the Philadelphia Soulmates at the Wells Fargo Center as the Soul defeated the visiting New Orleans VooDoo 70-49.
2011 Soulmates
Pre-game Performance
National Anthem
Soul Squad practicing in the tunnel
(more…)
Alise Cayen is currently an award-winning English Teacher, Dance teacher and Police Academy Magnet Coordinator at Reseda High School in Southern California.
This multi-faceted, multi-talented woman is also a former model, pageant queen, and a former professional cheerleader for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders. In addition to teaching, Alise is an established television producer. Her first book, entitled Patty Pom-Poms, was released in the summer of 2009, and recently won a 5-star rating by the Readers’ Favorite Awards.
[Patty Pom-Poms at Readers Favorites]
Cynthia Trinidad, former pro-cheerleader and current Director of the San Antonio Roses and MPFL San Antonio Warrior Cheerleaders, is the current Mrs. Petite Texas United America 2011. She stands a mere 5’-0” but that has never stopped her! She was always at the end of the dance kick line or on top of the cheer pyramid.
She started her cheer and dance career in middle school as a cheerleader and continued through high school on the Thomas A. Edison Golden Girls Dance/Kick Line in San Antonio, Texas.
With aspirations of being a member of the famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, she auditioned and became a member of many local squads in San Antonio including the AFA San Antonio Charros Football Cheerleaders, San Antonio AAA Dodgers Baseball – Dodgers Dollies, NBA Spurs Quicksilver Dancers, and USFL San Antonio Gunslinger Football Cheerleaders. All the while she was trying out for the DCC. At one point she was told by a doctor that she would never kick again because of a back injury.
It took her four auditions but, with determination, her lifelong dream came true when she was honored by being selected for the 1989 NFL Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Squad! Cynthia was also chosen as Miss February in the DCC 1991 Calendar.
She has been a philanthropist since 1999 in San Antonio by helping many ladies move on to many professional dance/cheer squads by providing them the experience of being on local minor professional squads while helping many local charities. She held the title of Mrs. San Antonio 2009 and made 2nd runner-up for Mrs. Texas United America. She did win talent with a Jazz dance routine. She was determined to go for a Texas title but realized how petite she was compared with other contestants. She eventually found out there were pageants for petite ladies height 5’-6” and under and is now honored to represent her great state of Texas as Mrs. Petite Texas United America 2011!
Her platform is “Standing up against Bullying”. Being a bullying victim herself in middle school, she learned how to defend herself and is now a 5th Dan Black Belt Martial Arts Instructor and holds a Master’s Degree in Tae Kwon Do.
Cynthia will be vying for the National Petite Title this October 2011 in Austin, Texas.
From our good friend Donald Wells:
I am loving my life working with the Navy in MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) at NSA Washington. I just wanted to share my big event I have coming at the end of the month. We contracted ProTour Productions that is owned and operated by Sandy Charboneau to bring the first ever Cheerleader tour to Naval District Washington and Marine Barracks Washington. She has gotten 8 Cheerleaders from the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins and the Wizard Girls to come spend 3 days of touring with us. These Cheerleaders will be doing shows (yes, performing together) teaching youth dance/cheer camps, visiting military members at work and signing autographs to 6 different bases! Never before has several NFL teams and an NBA team joined forces to lift the morale of our military members and families and this is going to be a huge hit. Now that I work with MWR, I understand more than ever the impact that bringing more than one squad out will have to our armed forces. ProTour Productions understands what is needed and is already becoming known as the go to company for producing top quality entertainment for our military.
[ProTour Productions on Facebook]
Kate promoting the King of Beers at the 2011 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship
I ran into former Sixers Dancer Kate Beaver at PPL Park on Saturday. The always charming Kate, co-creator of PhillyIn.com, filled me in on her latest doings.
She’s working on a pilot for a new fitness show tentatively called “Fitadelphia”, and there’s a potential book project called “Thirty Days without a Cellphone” where she documents her busy life as actress/model with no mobile communication.
Next week she’s headed of to Vegas to support fellow Sixers Dancer alum and Miss Pennsylvania USA Amber-Joi Watkins at the Miss USA Pageant.
The first is with a Chicago-based producer and screenwriter, who has a first look development agreement with a noted production company that is a prolific content provider to numerous television networks. The proposed show, featuring a pair of ex-Professional Cheerleaders as mentors and coaches, is under consideration at a handful of networks that the production company has agreements with. If the production company agrees to pick up the show, the compensation plan is to pay the talent comparable to AFTRA minimum cable TV rates. The show is currently being produced in Chicago.
Here’s what they need: An ex-NFL or ex-NBA Cheerleader (Unfortunately, No Arena Football, College or Minor League Cheerleaders), 28-38, Open Ethnicity, with at least two years of cheering experience, based in the Midwest (preferably Chicago, Milwaukee, or Indianapolis), with a STRONG personality. No previous acting experience is necessary, but candidates must provide verifiable proof of professional cheerleading experience.
They would like to get talent on tape by and selected by Friday, June 17th, so any interested parties would need to respond before Saturday, June 11th.
Due to the confidentiality of this project, candidates will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
The second opportunity is with a documentary film production company based in New York. (You don’t have to live in NYC, anywhere in the US is fine.) They are currently working on a film about the American health care system, and are looking for someone who works as a pharmaceutical sales representative for a section of the film devoted to the history of the pharmaceutical business and where it stands now.
Ideally, they are looking for a current or former cheerleader who is passionate about her profession, who can give a vivid representation of what the job is like. Financial compensation for an interview will be provided.
Email me (james@procheerleaderblog.com) for contact details.
The Wilhelmina 40+ Model Search is a nationwide model search that celebrates women ages 40 and over who are confident, beautiful and inspirational. Our good friend Angie, who made the Mavericks Dancers at age 35 and also danced for the Dallas Stars for two seasons, tell us:
“I entered an open casting a month ago and I was just notified that I made it to the top 30 semi-finalists for the 40+ Wilhelmina Model Search out of tens of thousands! If you can vote for me today or tomorrow, I would appreciate it so much! The competition is fierce and I don’t know how far I will make it but it is an amazing journey! Thank you so much!
Balloting ends Wednesday. Vote for Angie here.
A Decatur woman will soon inspire the spirit of hundreds of thousands of Indianapolis Colts fans.
Kaley Collier is one of the newest members of the Colts Cheerleaders.
She stopped by First News Sunday to talk about her past experiences, the process of trying out for the Colts Cheerleading Squad and what she is looking forward to this football season.
[Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders]
From the Dallas Morning News
In the fist-pumping, nail-biting world of the NBA Finals, there’s still room for sex appeal and beer belly buffoonery.
When the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat play Game 3 of the championship series today at American Airlines Center, the players will share center stage with the petite Mavs Dancers and their flabby male counterparts, the ManiAACs.
Together, the dance teams are a study in opposites. There are the Mavericks Dancers, the beautiful, perfectly tanned queens of the hard court. Then there’s the ManiAACs. What can you say about the ManiAACs? They’re big. You’ve heard of the Chippendales dancers. The ManiAACs are the Clydesdales.
“The crowd always loves them more than us. I don’t know why,” said Paige Jones, 22, a three-year veteran of the Mavs Dancers.
It’s probably because to many people, a fat man isn’t supposed to dance in a half T-shirt that reveals his hairy gut.
“We keep them wanting more,” said Samuel Procell, a 57-year-old nightclub owner whose stage name is Rock Star. “You don’t see heavyset guys doing a choreographed dance routine.”
The two troupes perform during timeouts during the Mavericks’ games and never perform the same dance twice in the same game. Each squad holds yearly tryouts, but only a few dancers are selected to perform throughout the year. Despite their opposites in appearance, they share common bonds: a passion to entertain and the enjoyment of being full-time Mavs fans.
The 20-member Mavs Dancers have as many dance moves as the basketball team has plays. They juggle practice, games, school and work. Oh, and they’re dancing in the NBA Finals, the pinnacle event in their line of work.
“What I always tell the girls is they should be very humble,” said Mallory Mills, the squad’s director and a former Mavs Dancer. “You can’t be cocky and big-headed because you’re dancing in the NBA Finals.”
For the ManiAACs, there’s more to the group than just jiggling a 300-pound frame at center court. The 18 members range in age from 23 to 57 and are fathers, bankers and teachers. In addition to game performances, they average one rehearsal a week and 100 public appearances.
They’ve performed on the America’s Got Talent television show and danced in front of 108,000 at the NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium. But they’ve also appeared at bar mitzvahs and bachelorette parties.
“They want to see us bust those bellies out,” team captain “Big Rob” Maiden said. “We’re going to take taco breaks, cheeseburger breaks. We’re not trying to promote being unhealthy; we just want you to smile.”
He said the ManiAACs want to keep the crowd energized for the players during the Finals.
“It’s the Super Bowl of the NBA, and we want to put on an NBA Finals performance,” said Maiden, an accountant for the Dallas Cowboys.
As for the Mavs Dancers, “they’re on cloud nine right now,” Mills said.
“You have to realize it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” she said. “You have to cherish the moment.”
