February 21st at Spinners Practice Facility (899 S. Henderson Rd. King of Prussia, PA 19406)
Registration begins at 2pm; Audition begins at 2:30pm.
Cost: $20 online; $25 day of.
All applicants must wear two piece dancewear including a midriff top, lycra shorts and appropriate footwear.
Please bring a nonreturnable resume, head shot and body shot. All applicants must be 18 years or older and a high school graduate.
[Complete Audition Information]
A Washington Kastles Cheerleader
Award-winning performance groups from around the globe will gather in Hong Kong to participate in this year’s Chinese New Year festivities. Today, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced its selection of the National Football League’s (NFL) Denver Broncos Cheerleaders to represent the U.S. in the 20th annual Cathay Pacific Lunar New Year celebrations. This marks the first visit to China for the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders. As part of the event, the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders will unveil a brand-new performance exclusive to the world-renowned Chinese New Year Parade.
“The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders are thrilled to be selected by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to perform in the 20th annual Cathay Pacific Lunar New Year celebrations,” Director of Cheerleaders Shawna Peters said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our young squad to observe and learn about Chinese culture during one of the largest Chinese New Year celebrations in the world. We are also excited for the chance to share some American customs with the residents of Hong Kong.”
On February 19, Asia’s World City will transform into the world’s largest and internationally televised Chinese New Year celebration. Headlined by the award-winning Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Parade in Kowloon, and Chinese New Year Fireworks Display on the iconic Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong is set to welcome the “Year of the Goat” – the eighth sign in the Chinese Zodiac symbolizing harmonious co-existence for 2015.
“Each year we’ve taken our annual Lunar New Year celebrations to new heights by delivering authentic, thrilling and unforgettable events unique to Hong Kong,” said Bill Flora, U.S. Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board. “This year is no different as we prepare to welcome thousands of international visitors to celebrate the sophistication and rich traditions that only Asia’s World City can offer. We can think of no better way to do this than with the NFL’s Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.”
The award-winning Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Parade kicks off Hong Kong’s festivities on the first day of Chinese New Year (February 19), bringing an extravagant procession of embellished floats and international performers to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Celebrating its 20th year with the theme “World Party! Sweet 20!” the Night Parade is set to feature an extensive roster of critically-acclaimed performances by world-renowned talent, including the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.
Following the Broncos Cheerleaders Hong Kong debut, on February 19, the celebration rolls on as Hong Kong’s annual Chinese New Year Fireworks display engulfs the breathtaking skyline of Victoria Harbour.
By Sam Wood
Philly.com
When the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday, the smartest person on the gridiron may be a cheerleader.
Kelly Bennion, 26, has danced for the Pats for the past two seasons. At the same time, she’s been pursuing a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience and teaching psychology and neuroscience to undergrads. Her impressive resume includes bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Spanish from Middlebury College and a master’s in education from Harvard.
So it figures the vivacious Arizona native is a member of the Science Cheerleaders, the Philadelphia-based organization that encourages girls to pursue careers in science and engineering. Science Cheerleader, which counts about 250 current and former cheerleaders as members, was founded in 2009 by former 76ers cheerleader Darlene Cavalier.
As part of her Science Cheerleader duties, Bennion collected bacteria last year from Gillette Stadium (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, if you must know) to be blasted into orbit as part of a “microbiome Olympics” aboard the International Space Station. (The final results are still out.)
Bennion won’t be the only one on the sidelines this Sunday to mix beauty, brains, and boosterism. Ten others on the Pats’ squad — and at least three of the Seahawks’ Sea-Gals — are also pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
Sunday’s matchup in Phoenix will be Bennion’s first Super Bowl.
With the help of two Philadelphia-area 9-year-old girls, Betsy and Nora, we asked Bennion a few questions about her life in the labs and on the football field.
You’re a scientist, so why would you want to be a cheerleader?It’s what I do to release stress. I also love seeing the other girls on the team because they’re my best friends. It’s also great because we do workouts at every practice. So instead of going to the gym, I go to the stadium.
How did you become a cheerleader for the Patriots?I’ve wanted to dance since I was 7. I started with jazz and tap. I later studied at the Arizona Ballet School; that’s what I attribute all my technical skill to. I had cheered in high school, but prior to 2011, I hadn’t done that much.
I went to Boston for graduate school and while I was working on my master’s, I danced for the Harvard Crimson Dance Team and got to travel to Disney World.
The week I turned in my master’s thesis, I saw there were tryouts for the Patriots [cheerleading squad]. So I rewarded myself by going to the audition. I didn’t think about how my life would change! I wanted to dance for the day. I ended up making the team.
How did you get involved with Science Cheerleaders?
Darlene contacted my coach shortly after I became a cheerleader to see which girls were pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. When she asked me to join, I said “Absolutely, yes!”
Besides getting kids interested in science, what do Science Cheerleaders do?
For cheerleaders, it works to combat the negative stereotype that they’re only pretty faces. It shows that cheerleaders are very hard-working and are pursuing advanced educations in engineering, math, biology and other great things.
It also shows that scientists are not always the stereotypically nerdy people who can’t manage to hold a normal conversation. Scientists are people too, and they can have hobbies. It works nicely from both sides.
Does cheering pay?
We get a stipend.
Does cheering ever get in the way of your doing science?I think you can do both. With cheering, at some point, I’ll just be too old. It will be too physically demanding. There’s a four-year max for being a Patriots cheerleader. But I’ll always be able to be a scientist.
Do other Patriots cheerleaders lead similar lives?
We all have full-time or part-time jobs or are students. That’s a requirement to get selected for the squad. Everyone, of course, is very committed to a being a Pats cheerleader and has great dance ability and enjoys making community appearances. If there’s a girl who wants to join who does nothing besides cheering, that’s a red flag. Our coach wants someone who is a well-rounded person. She does a good job of picking girls who not only perform well on the field, but are good public speakers and get along with everyone.
How did you become interested in studying the brain?
I’ve been interested memory a long time. I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old. I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to teach.
I took some psychology in my freshman year. In my sophomore year I started working in a lab studying human memory. I found human memory fascinating, especially since I’ve always been interested in education.
And what is your Ph.D. research about?
I’m focusing on the effects of sleep on emotion and stress. Considering we spend approximately a third of our lives sleeping, I think it’s important to understand it! Sleep selectively strengthens memory, not that it boosts all memories equally. But it strengthens memories of negative experiences. If you’re held up at gunpoint, sleep might strengthen the memory for the specific characteristics of the gun, while it might leave out the other details such as the person holding gun, or the car that person drove up in or what they were wearing.
Much of what we experience is not just neutral information, but emotional. I happen to be very lucky. I got my own grant from the Department of Defense because my dissertation research has implications on PTSD, how sleep affects those negative experiences.
I’m also looking at how you can use sleep as a tool to enhance memory, how naps can be used as a tool to boost information. Data shows that you can assign some importance to whatever you’re studying and a nap will boost memory for that salient information relative to the same amount of time spent awake.
You’re so busy. How much sleep do you get?I usually sleep around seven hours, but I’m fine with four, which is good because it’s hard to get sleep if you’re doing research on sleep! On the overnights I’m working, I have to make sure the electrodes do not fall off the subject’s scalp.
How do people react when they find out you’re also a serious scientist?I get a few surprised comments when they learn what I do. At appearances, someone will ask, “Do you do anything besides this?” When I tell them I’m getting a Ph.D. in neuroscience, they’ll go like, “Wow!” I certainly get a variety of reactions, from some being very shocked to others feeling guilty that they asked at all.
What are you most excited about for the Super Bowl?I’m looking forward to everything about it. All the events leading up are absolutely incredible. We’re doing a science pep rally, on Friday the 30th. I can’t imagine how exciting the game will be. The AFC championship game was beyond amazing. As the players ran out to take the field, you could feel the enormous energy of all the fans.
And I’m actually from Arizona, so it makes it incredibly meaningful. We’re staying 30 minutes from my family’s house and the University of Phoenix stadium is about an hour from there. Being at my home stadium is very special.
What advice do you have for young girls?It’s very important you find something you’re passionate about. That can be sometimes difficult, and you don’t need to find it right away. Sometimes you’ll find it in college and sometimes after. Don’t let anything stand in your way. A lot of times people have told me, “There’s no way you can do that, be a scientist and a cheerleader!” I don’t listen to them. I feel if you’re passionate, it will make you happy. Get enough sleep, and put your mind to doing whatever you want to do and that will lead to success.
Last weekend dancers from all over Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia participated in Sideline Prep’s Pro Cheerleader Audition & Prep Workshop where they had a chance to learn from the Pros.
On Saturday participants learned dance routines, technique and tips and got the inside scoop inside scoop from coaches about the area pro dance teams.
And then on Sunday, dancers had a chance to show off what they learned the previous day, plus they received feedback on their strengths and opportunities for improvement, and had a chance to ask last minute questions and walk away with confidence for upcoming auditions.
In addition to aspiring cheerleaders and dancers, members from several local squads also participated in the event.
The Baltimore Blast Cheerleaders
The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders
The Bay Area Shuckers Dance Team
The Richmond Lady Raiders
The Washington Redskins Cheerleader Ambassadors
The Baltimore Lady Hawks & The Bomb Squad Dance Team
And if you missed the workshop don’t worry, Sideline Prep can still help you work towards your cheering and dance goals.
[Sideline Prep Workshop Gallery]
Last weekend at Sideline Prep’s DMV Workshop I had a chance to catch up with former Wizard Girl Devon Williams.
A three-year veteran of the Wizard Girls, Devon was a two-time captain, Wizard Girls Member of the Year in 2012, and the 2013 Wizard Girls MVP. She capped of her career by being the 1st Wizard Girl to have her uniform number retired.
Now Devon and her college friend and Syracuse University Dance Team teammate, Alanna Simpson, have started Fanciful Entertainment. Their company provides dancers for events and brands. They are growing quickly in the DC, MD, and VA area; and will be expanding to NYC very soon.
And Devon could use your assistance. She’s been nominated for Radio One’s Top 30 Under 30 Award. So help her out and give her a vote!
[Vote for Devon – Radio One: Top 30 Under 30]
A Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader
By Chris Hendrickson
The Monroe Monitor
Monroe’s favorite Sea Gal is headed off to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, and she’s pretty excited about it.
To Jessica Irwin, a five-year veteran of the Sea Gals professional dance team, there was never any question about who would triumph in that crucial game on Jan. 18 against the Green Bay Packers. She knew in her heart that the Seahawks couldn’t lose.
“It was the best game ever,” Irwin said. “I’m just really excited to have the chance to be a Super Bowl cheerleader two years in a row… especially after that game, it’s still so surreal.”
Not only is Irwin looking forward to dancing in her second Super Bowl, but the 5-foot-2-inch, 25-year-old dancer was selected along with one of her teammates to travel to Arizona early, to participate in media day on Tuesday, Jan. 27. She will have the opportunity to represent the Sea Gals while mingling with the media and players from both the Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
Irwin’s success as a Sea Gal can be attributed to her spirited dedication, her strong sense of commitment to the team and her lifelong love of dance.
“Dance has always been my No. 1 passion,” Irwin said. “I love to dance – I couldn’t live without it.”
When the 2008 Monroe High School graduate decided to try out for the Monroe Bearcat cheerleading team in her senior year, it was on a bit of a lark. A self-proclaimed dork with an affinity for being “alternative,” people were more likely to catch her in a mosh pit than holding pom-poms. But once she made the team, she quickly realized that she loved everything about it. Her only regret was not having tried out sooner.
It was also around this time that one of her dance instructors decided to try out for the Sea Gals, and shared her experiences during the competition with her students.
“She was just telling us how fun it was and how you make so many friends,” Irwin said. “We were there throughout her whole process of getting ready for it.”
Irwin knew that becoming a professional Sea Gals dancer would allow her to continue her passion for dance, even after she graduated from high school, and so the decision to try out for the team was a relatively simple one.
She went into the preliminary competition in 2008 while still in high school, with absolutely no idea what to expect. Competing along with a couple hundred other girls, the competition involved performing a freestyle dance routine. Her performance was a success, and she advanced to the next level of competition: the semi-finals.
At that point, the competition kicked up a notch. The dancers were taught a routine and given only 24 hours to master it before having to perform it in front of the judges. For Irwin, it was a whole new style of dancing.
“I was so used to being a ballerina,” Irwin said. “This was straight, typical Sea Gals style… head-whips and turns and kicks. It was so fun and so different than anything else I’d ever done.”
Again, Irwin’s performance was a success, and she advanced into the finals. Then she participated in an interview, answered questions using a microphone, had her photograph taken, and learned another dance routine for the final portion of the audition.
After that last leg of competition was complete, she learned that she hadn’t made the squad. But instead of looking at it as a defeat, Jessica decided to use it as a learning experience. The audition gave her a clear idea of what she needed to strive for, and so without missing a beat, she focused on honing her dance skills even more.
“It teaches you so much to not make it,” Irwin said. “I was really young and so determined to come back the next year and make it.”
She competed again in 2009, but became unsure of herself in the midst of the competition, stymied by self-doubt. She again made it to the finals but didn’t make the team.
Still, she didn’t give up, and indeed, the third time was the charm. In 2010, Irwin became a Sea Gal and hasn’t looked back since.
The Sea Gals professional dance squad is made up of 32 dancers, who are divided up into four smaller squads based on height. They practice two to three times a week at the Seahawks training facility in Renton, for four to five hours at a time. This year will be Irwin’s second Super Bowl as a squad captain.
As squad captain, Jessica is responsible for making sure her squad knows which routine to start performing and when. This means that once a song starts to play, she has only seconds to communicate with her squad via hand-signals and code-words, so that they know which dance to start performing. She is also responsible for communicating with the other three squad captains to keep everyone in sync.
“It’s a big responsibility, but an honor to be chosen,” she said.
She has to keep her eyes on the clock, as well as on the field, and be ready at a moment’s notice to shift gears and communicate with her squad the instant there’s a change in the music.
To Irwin, there are many different things that she loves about being a Sea Gal, like cheering on her favorite football team. But at the top of that list are the 12s.
“I love the 12s – and I love the interaction that I have with them,” she said.
Another thing she loves about being a Sea Gal is the opportunity to travel the world. Irwin is part of a smaller team made up of 10 Sea Gals called Show Group, which performs at places like the Washington State Fair and the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma. In March, the Sea Gals Show Group will travel to Europe for three weeks where they will perform on different military bases.
“It will be one of the most rewarding experiences,” Irwin said, “to get to go visit with them and hopefully brighten their day.”
But for now, it’s all about the upcoming Super Bowl, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 1. Irwin is looking forward to seeing how Arizona hosts the Super Bowl in comparison to New York, and is eager for the friendly Arizona weather. She is looking forward to dancing her heart out while rooting for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
[Jessica at Seahawks.com]
[Jessica AllPro3 All-Star]
By Gillian O’Callaghan
Boston Globe
LisaMarie Ianuzzi, a culinary arts student at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, had to tell her instructors she was going to miss some classes this week because she’s going to the Super Bowl.
Ianuzzi doesn’t have a ticket to the game, but then, she doesn’t need one. She’s in her third season as a member of the Patriots Cheerleaders, and on Sunday she’ll be cheering at Super Bowl XLIX.
The daughter of a New Jersey restaurateur, the cheerleader moved to Rhode Island for the job but was always interested in cooking. So she enrolled at Johnson & Wales and last spring earned an associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts; the culinary arts degree will be her second.
Ianuzzi started dancing before she was 3 years old. Her other two passions — food and football — have also been part of her life since childhood. “Growing up my father and I always watched football and the Food Network,” she says. “That was our thing. We were on the couch together watching Emeril or the games on Sunday.” Ralph Ianuzzi owns Restaurant L, a bistro in Allendale, N.J., and though Ianuzzi worked as a hostess in the dining room through high school, she was constantly in the kitchen to see what was going on.
The 25-year-old grew up as a New York Giants fan, but she’s had a long-standing attachment to the Patriots as well. “The Giants, the Patriots, and the Dallas Cowboys — those were the teams my dad respected, and when those teams were playing you were quiet,” Ianuzzi says.
Being a fan and a dancer led her to the National Football League. After graduating from college in 2011, she looked around for cheering opportunities. On her first tryout in the spring of 2012, Ianuzzi earned a spot with the Patriots Cheerleaders. Once settled in Rhode Island, she began a marketing position at an athletic equipment company there, but found it hard to focus on track and field supplies. “I still had the itch to cook. It was distracting. At work I was thinking of baking,” she says.
LisaMarie Ianuzzi at Johnson & Wales University in Providence.
Within a year she changed to a job as a server and prep cook with Twist Bakery Cafe in Millis. Professional training was still on her mind. She remembers thinking, “This is the most opportune time to go back to school.”
‘It takes a lot of preparation for both professions. . . . For both careers you have to be very dedicated and precise.’
During the season, this means balancing the demands of her football job and the rigors of an intensive culinary education. This adds up to two 3-hour cheering practices during the week, a full day at Pats’ home games, and six-hour cooking classes at Johnson & Wales beginning at 7 a.m. on weekdays.
Associate chef-instructor Fred Haddad, who taught Ianuzzi last fall, wasn’t aware of her responsibilities outside of his classroom until the two were chatting about sports after class one day. “When she said she was involved with the Patriots I thought she was joking,” Haddad recalls. “But then she gave me a flyer with a photo of her with the team.” Haddad admires Ianuzzi’s dedication to her education. “She’s a true professional, always prepared and a real team player in the classroom,” he says.
Ianuzzi looked over a pork loin during her meat cutting skills class.Last summer Ianuzzi worked as an assistant pastry chef at Providence’s Bacaro Restaurant, making vanilla-bean cheesecake with rhubarb jam, and fig and plum tart with creme Anglaise. But when she shares her culinary skills with her cheering team, the menu is a bit different. “I am mindful that they are athletes, and they work very hard to keep a healthy lifestyle,” Ianuzzi says. She might offer the squad a frozen pumpkin pie made with Greek yogurt and spices mounded in a crust of ground oats and graham crackers.
Her fellow cheerleaders don’t always understand what being a culinary student entails. “They think some of the things that I do in school are wacky,” she says, perhaps because she sent photos showing her cutting apart a big beef round in a meat-cutting class she’s taking now. She laughs at their reactions.
Her worlds may seem like an odd pairing, but Ianuzzi sees them as complementing each other. “I think the two go hand in hand. It takes a lot of preparation for both professions.” For school, she has tools she has to keep in a certain way, and for cheerleading, it’s the same. “For both careers you have to be very dedicated and precise,” she says.
On Sunday she’ll be at University of Phoenix stadium cheering. “That is something I could only dream of doing,” she says.
She calls the big day “literally the icing on a delicious cake.”
A New York Lizards Dancer
