[Complete Audition Information]

Are you a current, former or prospective professional dancer or cheerleader? Does your team need hot choreography? Would you like to meet others in the industry or hear about audition opportunities? Get ready for one of these two upcoming events sponsored by Going Pro Entertainment.

2010 TOUR DATES
** East Coast Pro Dance Convention – Philadelphia – Saturday, November 6, 2010 www.eastcoastprodance.eventbrite.com
** Southeast Pro Dance Convention – Orlando – Saturday, December 4, 2010
www.southeastprodance.eventbrite.com
** For a complete 2010-2011 event listing visit www.procheerallstars.eventbrite.com

AGENDA
** Learn choreography from elite NFL, NBA and AFL alumni
** Get tips from the pros on fitness, nutrition, makeup, attire and more
** Network with other performers from the east coast (and beyond!)
** Receive giveaways from sponsors including attire and cosmetics
** Directors receive complimentary lunch

COSTS
** Morning (9:00am-12:00pm): $45
** Full day (9:00am-4:00pm): $79
** Discount: 15% off early bird registration
** Directors: Bring 3 or more squad members and receive complimentary admission. All directors receive complimentary lunch and director’s roundtable session.

CHOREOGRAPHERS
** Featuring top pro dance alumni of the NFL, NBA and other major sports leagues.
** Learn pro-style sidelines and routines!
** See event pages for an up to date listing of choreographers.

By Albert McKeon
Nashua Telegraph

A stadium packed with about 69,000 football fans didn’t make Brittney-Lynne Stanley nervous.

And the potentially unnerving fact that millions of people would watch the New England Patriots’ season opener on television also didn’t intimidate her.

What felt unusual was sharing a stage with fast-moving, over-sized professional athletes.

“I’m used to performing,” Stanley said. “Performing in front of all those people didn’t bother me. What was different was there were players on the field next to you. There was chaos all around. In a dance recital, it’s just an audience and it’s quiet.”

So the 19-year-old Nashua native had to focus on staying synchronized with her fellow Patriots cheerleaders, all the while wondering, “Am I going to get hit by a football?”

Stanley nonetheless danced and cheered without a hitch as the home-team Patriots started their season with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Sept. 12 game marked her first as a cheerleader. She has since performed at the team’s second home game of the season, a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 27.

She is the squad’s youngest member and the only one from New Hampshire.

“The camera crews are right next to you,” Stanley said. “You can hear the crashing of helmets on the field. It’s an amazing experience.”

It’s an experience Stanley had never considered until her mother suggested it earlier this year.

“My mom looked it up online,” Stanley said. “She said, ‘You know, that would be a great opportunity to put yourself out there.’ But I thought, ‘A cheerleader? I never did that before. That’s not me.’ ”

Stanley has danced most of her life. In fact, her life has consisted mostly of dance.

She performed last year in “Swing” with the Teen Actorsingers, and had previously choreographed “Once Upon a Mattress” with the Peacock Players.

But despite never having time or a curiosity for cheerleading at Nashua High School North, Stanley decided to give the Patriots a shot.

In February, she attended a workshop to get a sense of a cheerleader’s duties, and immediately recognized that it appealed to the dancer inside her.

“I just had a feel for what a Patriots cheerleader did,” she said. “It’s the moment I fell in love. It wasn’t cheering. It was dancing. I thought, ‘This is me.’ ”

So, Stanley embarked on a journey not too dissimilar from an undrafted athlete who never plays football in high school or college but who still tries to make an NFL roster.

She attended auditions in March, watching as about 400 women were cut on the first day. She made it to the last day, and had to pass muster in two practices.

Then, at the final audition, Stanley tried on a swimsuit and interviewed with the cheerleading coach.

But that wasn’t the final step. Stanley, as with other potential rookies, then spent two weeks with cheerleaders from the past season’s squad who were also trying out again. The test was to see how rookies interacted with veterans.

Cheerleading squad director Tracy Sormanti was impressed with the newcomer.

“Though the Patriots cheerleaders perform cheers and chants throughout the game, the majority of their repertoire is choreographed dance routines,” Sormanti said.

“As Brittney-Lynne has an extensive dance background, she did very well in the audition process. Some women who audition for the squad make it on their first attempt, but for others, the entire process is a learning experience and it may require more than one try.

“Brittney-Lynne did very well on her first audition, impressing the judges with her dance ability, showmanship, confidence, level of physical fitness and interview skills.”

Stanley learned she had made the squad in an e-mail.

“I was shocked,” she said.

She was almost as shocked when attending a promotional event before the season started.

There, a fan asked if she could autograph her picture in the Patriots cheerleaders 2011 calendar, the photos for which were shot in the Dominican Republic.

“That was so cool and humbling,” Stanley said. “How many girls can say, ‘This is me.’ It was the biggest reality hit that I was a cheerleader.”

Stanley has danced many styles, including ballet, ballroom, swing and musical theater. She particularly likes to dance in 3-inch heels. The Patriots gig allows her to dance in 3-inch heeled boots.

“It’s a lot of training and a lot of work,” she said.

The squad practices twice a week, and in the mornings before home games. Her game-day routine consists of three components.

First, there are the expected cheers, which are recycled each season so that fans can participate, Stanley said. These come during defensive stands or when the Patriots near the red zone.

Stanley and the her fellow cheerleaders also follow a planned routine: two dances every quarter.

The third component keeps them on their toes. It’s a filler routine in which a random song is played during a break in play.

A cheerleader moves forward and dances. The other cheerleaders then join.

“You don’t know what’s coming up,” Stanley said.

Stanley will balance games, practices and promotional events with college. She’s studying arts and entertainment management, with a concentration in dance, at Dean College in Franklin, Mass.

But it’s unlikely that a walk to class will surpass the excitement of walking onto the field at Gillette Stadium.

“You walk out for the first time, and all those fans are screaming,” Stanley said. “It’s the coolest feeling in the world. It took my breath away.”

[Brittany-Lynne at Patriots.com]

Location:

Steppin’ Out – The Studio
750 NW Main Street
Lee’s Summit, MO 64086

Prep Classes: (must attend one)

Sunday October 10 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Thursday October 14 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Semi Finals:

When: October 19, 2010
Time: Registration begins at 6:00 PM
Auditions begin at 6:30 – 9:30 PM

Requirements:

Must be 18 years of age by October 19, 2010
Must be able to attend all practices
Must be able to attend ALL home games and possible post-season games
Available for promotions/appearances
Complete a 2010-2011 Galaxy Girl Packet
Bring a 4×6 or 5×7 headshot (not to be returned) & proof of age (Driver’s License, Passport, etc.)
Tryout Fee ($25)
*** There are no height or weight requirements; however judges will be looking for candidates who are physically fit and proportionate in their height and weight.

Attire:
Half Top/Sports Bra (red, blue, black or
white)
Briefs/Hot Shorts (red, blue, black or white)
Sheer Tights/Hose
Dance Shoes (sneakers or jazz)
Performance Ready Hair & Makeup
No Jewelry or Visible Tattoos

[Galaxy Girl Audition Info]

A pair of rookies at the Bud Light Friday Party at the Stadium in Bensalem:

On Saturday Eagles Cheerleaders were at the Acme Supermarket in Broomall (right across the street from where I work)

Sales of mayonnaise and salad dressing reportedly spiked on Saturday morning.

[Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders]

These professional cheerleaders-turned-scientists and engineers challenge stereotypes while helping to inspire young women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

At the USA Science and Engineering Festival, October 23-24 in D.C., these women will perform science-themed routines for thousands of people, conduct a free cheer clinic, and meet the public, sign their Science Cheerleader cards, and describe how they’ve bridged these two seemingly different worlds.

Science Cheerleader Performances: Wilson Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building
October 23, 11:30-11:50am. October 24, noon-12:20 pm

Science Cheerleading Clinic: Freedom Plaza on the National Mall
October 23, noon-12:30pm. October 24, 12:30-1 pm

Science Cheerleader Autograph Sessions: Pennsylvania Avenue, Booth 1227
October 23, 1-5:00 pm. October 24, 1:30-5 pm

[ScienceCheerleader.com]

From LVSteelhawks.com:

Team Tabs Tracey Stanton as First Ever Dance Coordinator

The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks are proud to announce the addition of Tracey Stanton to the teams staff to serve as the Coordinator for the yet to be named dance squad for the 2011 season. Stanton comes to the Steelhawks after recently serving as the Dance Coordinator and Dancer for the Lehigh Valley Storm of the Semi-Pro Big North East Football Federation.

“Tracey is the perfect person to build and lead our young squad heading into our first season here in the IFL,” stated Executive Vice President Mike Clark. “To be the best, you have to find the best, and with Tracey we are getting years of dance experience and large ambitions to establish the league’s best dance team in 2011.”

Born in Wilson, Pa Stanton started her dance training at Miss Pat’s Stage Door Studio at the age of 6. She then moved to the Diane Mederios Academy of Dance in Coopersburg, Pa. where she danced and taught for 9 years. She has participated and won many awards not only for her dancing but also for her choreography. In 2002 and 2003, she spent her summers teaching cheerleading camps around the Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas for Universal Cheerleaders Association.

[DallasCowboysCheerleaders.com]

[SpiritCelebration.net]

Yes, the baseball season ins’t even over yet and the Marlins have announced the audition date for the 2011 Mermaids.

From Marlins.com:

With the end in sight for the 2010 baseball season, the Florida Marlins announced today their call for talented and energetic South Floridians interested in joining the Mermaids for the 2011 season. Open auditions will be held on Sunday, January 23, 2011 at the Peacock Foundation Studio in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (located at 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, 33132).

The Marlins Mermaids are Major League Baseball’s first and hottest dance/energy squad. The team is seeking dynamic and talented young women who have drive and passion to perform and entertain for Marlins fans. The Marlins Mermaids perform at all Marlins home games and represent the Marlins at various community events throughout the season. Mermaid hopefuls must be 18 years or older, arrive in dance attire and shoes and bring a resume and headshot. Registration will open at 11:00 a.m. with auditions beginning at 11:30 a.m.

A select number of Mermaid hopefuls will be chosen from the January 23 open auditions to take part in the Mermaids Boot Camp before competing in the Final Audition Show. During the Final Audition Show, three members of the brand new Mermaids team will be selected to join the Marlins contingent traveling overseas for the 2nd annual Marlins Visit the Troops trip in early February.

The search is on for recently engaged women who have huge personalities and interesting stories. This season will have eighteen episodes. Filming begins in October and will run through April.

To be considered for the show interested applicants will need to fill out the application at BridalsByLori.com.