New Jersey Thunder are holding their first annual dance auditions this Sunday May 15th. Email NJSkyDancers@yhoo.com for full details.
LOOKING FOR AN EDGE AT THIS SUMMER’S NETS DANCER AUDITIONS?
Sign up now for one of our three-hour Audition Workshops, or get the ultimate NETS Dancer experience at our five-day NETS Dancer Boot Camp. For the first time, all Boot Camp participants will receive an automatic pass through the first round of auditions!
NETS DANCER AUDITION WORKSHOPS
Wednesday, May 18, 6:30-9:30 p.m. at NETS Basketball Headquarters, East Rutherford, NJ
Tuesday, June 7, 6:30-9:30 p.m. at City Center Studios, New York, NY
– Each workshop will feature two pieces of actual NETS Dancer choreography.
– Different routines will be taught at each session.
– Receive audition tips from team captains & audition judges.
– Receive a gift bag that includes an exclusive NETS t-shirt & a NETS Dancer poster.
– Open to trained dancers ages 14 & older.
– $50 per session if pre-paid; $55 at the door; $90 for two-session package.
NETS DANCER BOOT CAMP
Monday, June 13 through Friday, June 17, 6:30-9:30pm at NETS Basketball Headquarters
Get the ultimate NETS Dancer experience!
– Spend five days training with the NETS Dancers.
– Learn two complete NETS Dancer routines straight from the court.
– Receive one-on-one feedback & personalized tips from audition judges.
– Get an automatic pass through the first round of auditions!
– Receive a gift bag that includes an exclusive NETS t-shirt & a NETS Dancer poster.
– Open to trained dancers ages 14 & older.
– $200 for the five-session package. Space is limited.
CALL 201-635-3147 TO SIGN UP TODAY!
NETS Dancer Audition dates will be announced soon. Follow us at www.facebook.com/NetsDancers to be the first to know! For more information on the Nets Dancers, visit http://www.netsdancers.com
The Buffalo Bandettes finished out their 2011 season this past weekend as the Bandits hosted the NLL East Finals.
All the news and photos at the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog.
After Panthers officials sent out congratulatory emails Tuesday morning, 25 women took a moment to celebrate the individual accomplishment of being named a TopCats cheerleader for 2011.
From here on out, though, it’s all about the team.
“Talent is important, but we’re not out there dancing by ourselves,” said Charlotte native Laura Ruble, who was selected to the squad for the third consecutive year. “We’re a family.”
While Ruble already was a member of the family, Lindsey Yoder is among those just joining it. Yoder didn’t make the squad a year ago when she tried out for the first time, but Tuesday she learned she had been selected when she received an email at work.
“I screamed, and all these heads popped up,” Yoder said. “I was so excited. I’m still on Cloud Nine.
“The girls that tried out were all top-notch. I certainly wouldn’t want to have been a judge.”
The task of deciding who received an invitation and who will have to wait until next year was a difficult one that fell largely on former TopCats cheerleaders Tina Becker and Richelle Grant. Becker – the Panthers’ cheerleader manager – and Grant, cheerleader choreographer, oversaw a process that started nearly a month ago with 150 hopefuls.
“It’s a very difficult process,” Becker said. “We’ve been through it before, so we understand the anxiety and nerves involved. We also understand the excitement.”
Grant got a quick look at how the new squad will work together during tryouts, but being able to dance and being able to do it in a group setting aren’t the only qualities the TopCats consider.
“In addition to great dancers, we’re looking for women who can serve as role models in our community,” Grant said.
Ruble and Yoder certainly seem to qualify.
Ruble, who teaches biology at her high school alma mater, is commuting about two-and-a-half hours twice a week to pursue her Masters degree at Duke University. Yoder, an engineer in Durham, N.C., will drive two hours weekly for TopCats practice.
The TopCats already are hard at work, taking requests for appearances around the Carolinas.
Following are the 25 ladies who made the squad.
2011 TOPCATS
Marissa Acker
Courtney Aldredge
Myra Aznar
Jenny Baker
Ashley Beasley
Laura Bebo
Katie Birkbichler
Erin Donovan
Megan Eager
Cynthia English
Jessica Fife
Kiswuana Green
Katie Guthrie
Candis Halligan
Rachel Hinson
Kristy Palmer
Shannon Phillips
Jocelyn Roper
Laura Ruble
Stacey Sanderson
LeAnne Thornburg
Samantha Vonsiatsky
Shelby Williams
Eiesha Williamson
Lindsey Yoder
18 finalists chosen at second round of auditions Saturday at the State Armory
The process of selecting the 2011 Hartford Colonials cheerleading team is down to the final round, and the competition and dancing will heat up as a group of talented and glamorous women compete for a spot on this year’s squad.
The second round of preliminary auditions, held Saturday at the State Armory in Hartford, saw 18 ladies advance to the finals May 21 at Black Bear Saloon in downtown Hartford from 4-7 p.m. They will be joined by 19 finalists from the first round and the 2010 cheerleading captains, who were exempt from auditions.
“These women are going to come back looking great and all glammed-up for the finals. It’s going to be a wonderful show,” Colonials cheerleading director Brittany Bonchuk said. “We hope people will come down to the Black Bear Saloon on May 21 to support these ladies as they compete for a spot on the 2011 Colonials cheerleading team.”
The finalists will perform two dances. The first performance will be the choreographed routine they performed in pairs at the auditions. The second will be a solo performance. The finalists will be evaluated on physical appearance, dance performance and ability, and overall appeal in front of Bonchuk and a panel of judges that will include Hartford Courant Java columnist and blogger MaryEllen Fillo, the popular “About Town” writer.
The judges at Saturday’s audition were New England Patriots cheerleader alums Sandra Smyly and Alyssa Tosoni, and professional dance instructor Jenna Martire.
“I love that we had so many girls with big smiles on their faces and were really eager to learn the dance,” Smyly said. “I think the final product is going to be a great team with a lot of really nice girls who also love to dance and will love supporting the UFL.
“It’s hard to learn a dance on the spot. Even when they might have had a little blooper in their dance, they got past it and put a little smile on their face, maybe a cute wink or something to show they can pick it right back up again. It’s a lot about showmanship, as well as your dance ability, and being able to move on from a small mistake. It’s just as good as doing the dance perfectly with no smile on your face.”
There will be some familiar faces at the finals. About a dozen of the finalists were on the 2010 Colonials cheerleading team.
“It was very energizing, not stressful at all. I had a lot of fun,” said Carissa, a member of the 2010 squad who qualified for the finals at Saturday’s audition. “I think there’s going to be a great group of girls this year and I’m very excited.”
The cheerleading squad will perform at Colonials home games and serve as ambassadors for the team by making community appearances throughout the year.
“Once again we’d like to give a big thank you to the Connecticut National Guard for providing us with this space for the second round of auditions,” Bonchuk said. “The State Armory was a great big venue and we were really able to utilize it well.”
The Washington Wizards are changing colors and getting new uniforms. And so are the Wizard Girls. Check out their new look in red here.
[Complete Audition Information]
A Wayzata woman was an easy convert to Pilates when she found that it relieved her back pain. She shares her experience.
By Sheila Mulrooney Eldred
The Star Tribune
Pamela Hasselbring, 50, owner and Pilates educator, Pilates MN, Wayzata
A ZIG-ZAG ALONG THE WAY: I have been a Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleader, skier, water skier, swimmer … always active outside. One of my callings was to work in fitness. But when I was in college, there wasn’t any kind of a fitness degree. I majored in fashion merchandising — something completely other than what I wanted to do.
A TEACHER AT HEART: I taught fitness for my Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at the University of Missouri in the basement. I knew I wanted to find something in health and did not find it there so never graduated. My parents weren’t real happy with that decision. [Instead] I opened a small gym in a soccer dome. Since then, I’ve taught every class under the moon.
DANCING THROUGH PAIN: I fell out of a tree trying to get a dead branch out when I was 24. I fell 15 feet and broke my back. I was in a brace all summer. My ex-husband worked with the Timberwolves’ front office, and I started dancing for the Timberwolves when we moved here, when I was about 27. But my back started flaring up when I was dancing and I wasn’t sure I could keep going, but I did. I had chronic back pain until I got into Pilates.
ZIP IT UP: In 2002, I found Polestar Pilates. I learned to elongate and stabilize and stretch in the right places. I was an instructor at the St. Louis Park Northwest Athletic Club, and I started Pilates classes there. Three years ago, [my husband and I] opened Pilates MN in Wayzata. The time was right: There weren’t enough Pilates studios in the Twin Cities, particularly in the western suburbs, and I already had a base of 30 people who had been taking classes out of my home.
HOOKED: I do Pilates three times a week, and I have a StairMaster and spinning bike at home. Pilates is a method of exercise that once people start doing it and understanding it, they can’t leave it. They know they won’t feel as good if they do.
TRIED AND TRUE TEAM: Some husbands and wives would kill each other running a business together. We are just the opposite. We complement each other and I couldn’t do this without Brent. And, he became addicted to the Pilates work! We pride ourselves on knowing the problems and issues of the people who come into our studio
2011-12 Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders (Click to enlarge)
Congratulations to the 2011-12 Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders. The new squad was selected Saturday afternoon after a long day of performances at the Aventura Mall. More photos coming soon.
