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The Wizard Girls in the British Virgin Islands for their Calendar Shoot.
New Blogs
Contributor David Tyau has his own blog featuring the San Diego Charger Girls at TheHottestDanceTeam.wordpress.com
New Video
Behind the Scenes at the Spurs Silver Dancers Photo Shoot
Latest Auditions Dates
NBDL Dance Teams
Austin Toros Capital City Dancers (Saturday, September 19th)
Erie BayHawks Dance Team (Sunday, September 20th)
Springfield (Mass) Armorettes (Saturday, September 19th)
NISL Dance Teams
Milwaukee Wave Dance Team (Saturday, October 10th)
NLL Dance Teams
Boston Blazers Sparks Dance Team (Sunday, September 27th)
Calgary Roughnecks Drill Crew (Monday, September 28th)
Minnesota Swarm Performance Team (Saturday, October 24th)
Rochester Knightingales (Saturday, September 19th)
AIFA Dance Teams
DC Body Armor (Saturday, October 10th)
IFL Dance Teams
Wichita Wild Things (Saturday, November 1st)
UNGL Cheerleaders/Dancers Auditions
Ohio Regional Auditions (OH, VA, NC & FL) (Sunday, October 18th)
Bonus Dance Opportunity
LaVar Arrington’s restaurant The Sideline in Largo, Maryland is looking for professional dancers for the Sideline Divas dance team.
REQUIREMENTS
MUST BE AT LEAST 21 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF AUDITIONS
MUST BE A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE OR HAVE A G.E.D.
MUST HAVE A FULL/PART JOB.
MUST HAVE A 2 MINUTE ROUTINE (IF YOU WANT MUSIC BRING YOUR OWN).
PLEASE WEAR A HALF TOP OR SPORTS BRA, FORM FITTING JAZZ PANTS OR SHORTS ARE PREFERRED.
HAIR SHOULD BE DOWN AND MAKE UP SHOULD BE DONE.
GREAT PERSONALITY.
AUDITION INFORMATION
FIRST ROUND
WHEN: SATURDAY 26, 2009
WHERE: THE SIDELINE
880 CAPITAL CENTRE BLVD
UPPER MARLBORO, MD 20744
TIME: REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 11:00 AM
AUDITIONS END AT 6:00 PM
**DURING THIS TIME DANCERS WILL MEET THE JUDGES, HAVE INTERVIEWS, SHOW A ROUTINE AND BE GIVEN A DATE ON WHEN TO COME BACK.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING………….
VALID DRIVERS LICENSE
REGISTRATION FEE IS $10 (CASH ONLY)
PROFESSIONAL HEAD & BODY SHOTS
DANCE RESUME WITH REFERENCES
Earlier this month New Orleans Saintsation Christine had the best week of her life.
To start, on September 2nd the Saintsations held their Calendar Release Party at the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street. Christine was announced as the cover model which was a huge shock to her, but an even bigger shock was that her younger sister Brittany, a rookie on the squad, was announced as the back cover model!
Younger sister Brittany
The next day, September 3rd, the Saints hosted the Miami Dolphins in their last pre-season match-up. This was already going to be a fun game for Christine, because it was her birthday. She was excited but it turned out to be a way better game than she ever expected.
After the 1st quarter break she was doing she was doing a Pro Bowl promo since she was the Saintsations 2009 Pro Bowl Representative and the Pro Bowl is being held in Miami in January. (remember the Saints were playing the Dolphins). As Christine was standing there the announcer told the crowd who she was and also that she was in her 5th season with the Saintsaitons and then he said, “and a very big fan has a very important question to ask you!”
It was Christine’s boyfriend (now fiancé) proposing to her in front of 80,000 fans. Of course she said yes! Not only did the people at the game see the proposal, but it was also featured on the local news, the national news, and Good Morning America.
It was Christine’s best birthday ever!
I got an email from Donald Wells reminding me that the deadline for applying to Sweethearts for Soldiers is September 20th. That means there are only three days left for the chance to become a Sweetheart and represent the Sweethearts for Soldiers Non-Profit Organization. If you are a former NFL Cheerleader or NBA Dancer looking for an opportunity to continue to support the troops, this is your chance.
Sweethearts on their 2008 Handshake Tour of Kuwait and Iraq
The new Sweethearts will be announced on October 1st at SweetheartsForSoldiers.org and will debut the new Official Sweethearts uniform designed by Donald and Deb Erickson from The Line Up. Deb and Donald have been working together creating unique and trend setting uniforms and costumes for 14 years now and Donald tells us that the Sweethearts uniform is AMAZING!!!!
For complete information and details visit www.sweetheartsforsoldiers.org
And why is Donald emailing us on behalf of Sweethearts and what’s going on with him:
What’s going on with me? I haven’t been this happy in years…. just after leaving the Redskins I started working as a Defense Contractor and focusing on a program that taught troops the Irregular Warfare Program for the Air Force. Yes, I was doing war type stuff – it’s crazy how I got into all this. After that program ended I took a position as Director of Government Programs for a company in VA called EarthWalk and work daily with the military on various projects. Having watched Bari and Tonya create this program and my love for all those fighting for our country I knew whenever I left the Redskins I would want to work with them. Just a short time after me leaving the Redskins, they started the process to become a Non-Profit that’s when I jumped on board and became the Director of Marketing/Sponsorships. My main focus is on creating a world wide brand for the Sweethearts and of course being able to do what was always the greatest part of my job, entertain the troops all over the world. Having personally been on 27 tours I consider myself an expert in Entertaining our troops, I am thrilled to be apart of a program that doesn’t have the drama of dealing with upper management that doesn’t understand why we do what we do. Sweethearts for Soldiers is able to reach out far greater than I ever would have dreamed possible when I was with the NFL to those in the front lines fighting for our freedoms and say “Thanks, we love you for it”. The sky is the limit and the Sweethearts will be known as the Cheerleaders that are here 100% for our Troops. Through calendars, photo’s, autograph signings and of course the Sweethearts for Soldiers Show we will being smiles to thousands and thousands of faces all over the world!
A personal note: Way back in 2004 when I first started the blog and no one knew who I was, I got an email from Donald. I saw his name in the “from” field and I got really nervous. I knew who he was, and I figured he was sending me an email to cease and desist with the blog or he’d sick the Redskins IP lawyers on me. I opened the email and it was a polite note telling me that I’d made an error on the blog. I made the correction and emailed Donald back to let him know it was fixed. He replied telling me he thought I was doing a great job and he was going to forward the blog to all the other NFL Cheerleader Directors. That was a huge step for the blog in gaining acceptance in the world of Pro Cheerleading. Thanks, Donald!
The Springfield Armor announced that auditions for their official dance team, which will be known as the Armorettes, will be held on Saturday, September 19th at the MassMutual Center.
The one-day auditions will be conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and all participants must be at least 18 years of age. There will be a non-refundable registration fee of $25, which will be collected on the day of the auditions. For more information about the audition, please click here.
Registration will take place between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on the day of the auditions, but all interested parties are encouraged to preregister. Application forms can be retrieved at the Springfield Armor’s office, which is located at One Monarch Place, Suite 220 in Springfield or by clicking here.
The Armorettes will be under the leadership of Director and Choreographer Amy Ruelle Leigner and Assistant Director Kara Gagne. The Armorettes will be the third dance team connecting Ruelle Leigner and Gagne, who have overseen the Holyoke Blue Sox Dance Team the last two summers. Ruelle Leigner also has spent the last six years as Director and Choreographer for the Lady Warriors Semi-Professional Cheerleading and Dance Team, which included Gagne as a performer in four of those years.
In addition to her roles with the Armorettes, Blue Sox and Lady Warriors, Ruelle Leigner has been the Cheerleading Coach at Springfield College since 1999 – a tenure that followed a nearly decade-long stint as Varsity Cheerleading Coach at West Springfield High School, where she was a four-year cheerleader. Gagne also has varsity cheerleading and coaching on her resume, having been a four-year cheerleader at Holyoke Catholic High School and a coach at Holyoke High School.
The Armorettes will perform at every home game for the Springfield Armor, which will open their home schedule on November 27th against the Iowa Energy. Dance team members also will be involved in numerous community events and other appearances.
“We are excited about the inclusion of a dance team to the Springfield Armor’s arsenal of entertainment,” Armor General Manager Alex Schwerin said. “In addition to entertaining our home crowds during games at the MassMutual Center, the dance team undoubtedly will create a buzz in the community even on days the Armor are not scheduled to play.”
For more information about Armorettes auditions, please email Amy Ruelle Leigner at aruelle@armorhoops.com
Day 5 | Our Last Day in London
It’s our last day in London and we had two performances at the adidas 5 on 5 basketball tournament. The crowd was enthusiastic and we’re positive we gained some new Thunder fans in London.
After the festivities of performing routines, handing out giveaways and assisting as judges for the basketball contests, our job was officially done. After the event we headed back into Central London for a delicious dinner and to do last-minute souvenir shopping for family and friends. It was a great trip and we had a great time representing adidas, the NBA and most importantly, the Thunder!
Jada and Hayley
More from the trip here.
Okay, here are the last of the photos from the AllPro3 Convention in Atlanta. (I know, only 2 and half months late!) The last three galleries are of the Charlotte Lady Cats, the Washington Wizards Girls and just random photos of everyone.
Jenn, Charlotte Lady Cats
Washington Wizard Girls
Ashley A. and Buffy from the Redskins Cheerleaders.
As you can see from the last photo, not only did everyone learn a ton of choreography, but they had a great deal of fun. And it’s not too early to be thinking about next year’s convention. Visit AllPro3.com to learn more about the P-R-O Convention.
[Washington Wizard Girls at P-R-O]
[Charlotte Lady Cats at P-R-O]
Reader Mike was in Vegas taking in The Show in the Sky at the Rio and snapped this photo of former Eagles Cheerleader Paige (she’s in the middle).
Paige in 2006
From SouthFloridaAdventures.com
Brenda Lowe, a former Miami Dolphin Cheerleader and recent Nike model, has jumped into the local stand-up paddleboard scene by starting a company that offers rentals, lessons and tours. Paddleboard Miami’s first event was on Sept. 12 off Key Biscayne. More than 30 people participated.
Lowe told SouthFloridaAdventures.com that she was introduced to stand-up paddleboarding in 2007.
“I bought my board about three months after trying it for the first time,” she said. “It took me about a month to decide which one to get and finally I chose the YOLO Board.”
Lowe has seen dolphins, manatees, sharks, sea turtles and alligators while paddleboarding off South Florida’s coast. She also tones her muscles and gets a solid cardio workout.
Being fit has been important to Lowe’s career.
“I was on the (cheerleaders) swimsuit calendar my first year as a rookie and I landed the cover my second year,” she said. “I also was featured in Maxim magazine my first and second year.”
Lowe, who studied broadcast journalism at Florida International University, has always been active. An avid tennis player since she was 10, she also earned a second-degree brown belt in Kenpo karate. Today, in addition to paddleboarding, she road bikes and mountain bikes regularly.
“While I was in the Miami Dolphins, we did a lot of dancing and kick line three times a week for three hours a practice,” she said. “It is a lot of training but they make it that way so we can withstand the heat during the football games in the stadium.”
During her cheerleading days, she also ran a lot on the beach to gain endurance and freedived to keep close to the ocean.
“You’d be surprised how hard it is to dance holding pompoms, which are not light, and while wearing boots! Not easy at all!”
After cheerleading Lowe modeled on a national Hispanic TV show called Que Dice La Gente. When it ended after two years she pursued her passion for water.
“Since I discovered many obscure paddleboarding spots I felt like these excursions could easily be enjoyed by many, many people,” she said. “I wanted to be the only paddleboarding business that offered the most creative and undiscovered spots to people.”
[Paddle Board Miami – Brenda’s Company]
By Barb Kucera
Workday Minnesota
It’s not often you hear the words “cheerleader” and “labor movement” in the same sentence. Former Minnesota Vikings cheerleader Allison Drusch embodies both as a member-activist for Working America.
Working America is an organization for people who are not union members, but share common interests with the labor movement, such as good jobs, affordable health care and quality education. The group, which is a “community affiliate” of the AFL-CIO, has grown to 2 million members, including about 100,000 in Minnesota.
Drusch, a White Bear Lake resident, talked about her decision to join Working America in front of some 1,000 delegates to the AFL-CIO convention Monday.
“I joined Working America to fight for a better future and I feel unions are a better way to achieve this,” she said, while wearing a red t-shirt that read “I Am Working America.” She has been a member for three years.
In an interview with Workday Minnesota, Drusch credited her experience as a Minnesota Viking cheerleader from 1999-2003 with giving her the confidence to speak out. But she credits her family with building her interest in unions.
Her mother, Lynne Ekola-Harrington, is a registered nurse who helped nurses at Hennepin County Medical Center organize with the Minnesota Nurses Association. Her husband, Doug Drusch, is a member of Carpenters Local 87.
Drusch herself is a mother of two and works part-time, but is not in a union. She said Working America appeals to her as a good source of information and a vehicle to take action.
“It’s hard to know which opinions and sources you trust,” she said. “I trust their (Working America’s) research and their statistics.”
As a Working America member, Drusch has written letters and made phone calls to her members of Congress on issues such as health care reform and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to form unions.
She told AFL-CIO delegates, “I look forward to many more opportunities to be a cheerleader for Working America.”
The UNGL has updated their Cheerleader auditions page with the latest information and the ability to register online, and added information about the openings for Directors and Choreographers.
Auditions in Ohio are Sunday, October 18th for the Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia squads. Auditions for the other 4 teams will be in Texas in November.
