Our good friend and former Raiderette, Cardinals Cheerleader and Sacramento Fast Break Dancer Aubrey Aquino is back with another edition of On The Flipside. This episode includes a look at the former Miami Heat Dancers that have joined together to join The Fly Khicks.
Flipside – The Bay Area from On The Flipside on Vimeo.
Phil reports on the Jills Open Call Auditions:
This time of year football fans are getting ready for the draft and in the cheerleading community, they’re also getting prepared for the upcoming season by restocking their rosters. In the case of the Buffalo Jills, they just started the tryout process with an Open Workshop for all interested young ladies at Fusion Dance Studio in Buffalo, the studio run by one of the finest choreographers in the business, Kelli Wagner, the Jills’ choreographer.
Like most squads, all veterans have to try out again with the exception of the 8 pre-selected captains and co-captains. Last year, 17 veterans, in addition to the 8 captains, returned to tryout and every one of them made the squad. This year, we see how many of the 41 vets return to make up the 2009 Buffalo Jills. A few have already decided not to return while some more may be on the fence. A couple of alumni are looking to return and a lot of prospective rookies are competing with many talented veterans looking to fill in the 37 or so empty spots on the squad.
Tryouts continue Tuesday night with another workshop, sort of a condensed version of today’s workshop for those who couldn’t make it today and to provide extra help for those who feel they might want it.
Thursday night, the next level of tryouts continue with the 1st cuts for the Ambassador Squad at Fusion Dance Studio in which young ladies looking to escort Billy Buffalo on Sundays in the fall get their first chance to prove they’re up to the task of being an Ambassador Jill.
On Sunday, April 5, Jills tryouts move downtown to the Town Ballroom from 1-4pm in front of the public when they make the 1st dance cuts and the 2nd Ambassador cuts. Dancers will demonstrate the routine they learned in today’s Open Workshop in front of judges while Ambassadors will introduce themselves to the judges and show whether they have the qualities required of a Buffalo Jill. Admission to the event is $5 a person and the participants, all putting a lot of hard work into trying to make the squad, would do well with a lot of positive reinforcement from friends, family, and fans.
A few restrictions are in place for this that will be brought up again at the start of the event. While the young ladies are out on stage to try out, no flash photography will be permitted. Cameras are allowed but the lighting will be bright enough that no flash will be needed and it would distract the participants. Also, quiet will be asked for during the routines so as to allow the young ladies to concentrate on what they need to do.
Kristin M. and Angelina
[Photos and Video from Auditions]
By Dan Lucas and Anthony Allred
News Channel 8
It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie or a three-year veteran.
It doesn’t matter if you were on the squad last season and you were selected to participate in the NFL’s Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
If you want to be a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders, you have to try out.
“They have a little more to lose if when they’ve already been on the team,” Bucs cheerleading coach Sandy Charboneau said. “There’s a lot of competition.”
More than 300 women attended try-outs today and Saturday at the University of South Florida Sun Dome for one of about 30 spots for the 2009-10 squad, Charboneau said. “They’re vying for a small percentage of women that can be in the NFL.”
Even six-year veteran Jennifer Summers auditioned. Her resume includes a selection as a Pro Bowl cheerleader last year.
“I’m back. I love this,” Summers said. “This is my hobby. This is my passion and my outlet.”
Summers said auditioning every year evens the playing field. From rookies to veterans, everybody’s got a shot at making the squad, she said.
Sahara Sears agrees.
“I don’t think any athlete anywhere should get comfortable with their position,” Sears, a three-year veteran said. “I like it. It inspires us.”
Thirty-one women made the 2008-09 squad.
Charboneau, the coach, said she believes the Bucs cheerleaders are one of the most recognizable squads among all NFL cheerleaders. Charboneau said Bucs cheerleaders are often asked to appear in photo shoots for major magazines and to travel overseas to represent the organization.
“We are an elite team,” she said. “Our girls are beautiful and successful.”
[Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders]
Busy weekend for Phil. Not content to cover the Jills Auditions, he was at the Titans-Bandits game covering the Bandettes.
The Nashville Predators Dancers unveiled their new uniforms at the Thursday night game against the San Jose Sharks. (Which the Predators won 3-2!) The Dancers also got to meet country music star, Kenny Chesney, while he was rehearsing at the arena!
I spent Sunday afternoon at Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena where the AIFA Baltimore Mariners hosted and defeated the visiting Reading Express.
The 2009 Lady Mariners consist of 14 dancers: six veterans and eight rookies.
The Lady Mariners are in their second season under the direction of Audra Weaver. Audra tells me the squad has been quite busy, with two calendar release parties and the dancers are also the official ring girls at the Baltimore Boxing Club.
This Saturday the Lady Mariners will make the trip to Harrisburg when the Mariners face the Harrisburg Stampede. There is a dance off scheduled between the Lady Mariners and the Harrisburg Stampede Dance Team.
I thought “Medieval Times” was a fictional place from that Jim Carrey movie. I had no idea it was real.
Many thanks to Audra, the Mariners management and the Lady Mariners.
[Lady Mariners two-piece uniforms by The Line Up]
Alysha is a 2005 graduate of Woonsocket High School where she graduated with honors excelling in theatre arts, gymnastics, and cheerleading. From 2005-2006, she attended the University of Rhode Island. Alysha majored in Elementary Education and was a cheerleader for the university’s football and basketball teams.
In spring of 2006, Alysha had the opportunity to audition for a professional cheerleading team. She was honored to be selected to the exclusive team of 24 women. The stunning brunette’s exceptional career as a professional model and cheerleader provided her with several opportunities to travel the world and model for nationally recognized publications. Alysha’s cheerleading/modeling career provided her with a hands on opportunity to fulfill many unique roles. Alysha has been a leader, role model, ambassador, and volunteer. She has traveled around New England making appearances for charitable organizations as well as corporate events. She was also selected as one of six women to travel overseas on the OSG (Operation Seasons Greetings) tour to entertain and meet with U.S. military troops stationed in Germany, Turkey, England and Iraq.
In April of 2007, a remarkable opportunity surfaced allowing Alysha and her mother to fulfill a lifelong family dream of owning and operating an all-star cheerleading gym for inner-city youth. The gym which is family oriented caters to children and emphasizes the philosophy that one can achieve anything with a good attitude, hard work, determination and teamwork. Through fundraising, the tuition for the team members is defrayed allowing the members the chance to be a part of a competitive cheerleading team and experience the joy of competition at both the local and national levels. Since opening only two years ago, the gym has grown from two teams to six! Their ultimate goal would be to expand the gym to additional locations along the east coast. Alysha is also a financial consultant representative for Bank of America.
In her free time, Alysha enjoys singing, spending time with her family and dogs (Molly and Pom-Pom), and watching her brother play baseball.
The 2009 Miss USA Pageant airs Sunday, April 19th on NBC.
For 12 years Adrienne Della was the captain and coach of the Philadelphia 76ers Dancers. She recently started a dance company with her long time dance friend, Tori Closson. They do workshops all over the country teaching dancers how to audition for pro dance teams. They just filmed an instructional video which is now in editing.
The New York Jets announced open auditions for the 2009 New York Jets Flight Crew. Twenty-two spots will be up for grabs in this second year of open auditions for the cheerleading squad. This unique opportunity to be a part of a New York football franchise starts May 2 with the preliminary round of auditions.
The audition application fee is $25. All persons interested in auditioning for the team must have submitted an application on or before April 29 to participate in the first round Saturday, May 2, at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Florham Park, N.J.
Download the 2009 Flight Crew Application now!
“We are excited to once again hold open auditions for our Jets Flight Crew,” said Matt Higgins, Jets executive vice president of business operations. “This is a tremendous opportunity to become part of an elite NFL cheerleading squad, performing in front of thousands of fans at the stadium and millions more watching at home. We encourage anyone to try out if they believe they have the athleticism, the energy and the will to join the Flight Crew.”
The first round of auditions on May 2 will take place at Fairleigh Dickinson’s Ferguson Athletic Courts at 285 Madison Avenue, Florham Park, NJ 07932. The semifinal round of auditions will take place the following day, May 3, also at the Fairleigh Dickinson location.
The finals will be held on May 9 at Pacha New York at 618 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036.
Prep classes will be conducted by Flight Crew director Denise Garvey along with other current Flight Crew members before official auditions for the team take place. The prep classes will teach aspiring team members Flight Crew routines designed to help applicants prepare for the auditions. Details about the prep classes will be available in the coming weeks at www.newyorkjets.com.
