James, East Coast Correspondent – Page 78

Last group photo for the 2014 Philadelphia Soulmates 🙁

Rebecca

Samantha

Kayia

Carley

Soul Squad

[Soulmates Gallery]

High-stepping Tiffany at Baltimore Blast Cheerleader Auditions on Saturday

Free event to take place at Shooters on the Water.

There’s no denying it – the ladies of Northeast Ohio can dance!

Talented women from across the region brought their best moves to wow judges at preliminary auditions for the 2014-15 Cavalier Girls dance team earlier this month. Now it’s time to find out which of the 30 finalists will “make the cut” and become one of the 18 incredible women selected for this season’s dance team! The final squad will be announced on Saturday, Aug. 9 when the Cavs host “Making the Cut: Cavalier Girls Live Audition Finale” at Shooters on the Water (1148 Main Ave., Cleveland, OH 44143). Fans are encouraged to arrive early; the fun tips-off at 7 p.m.

Leading up to the live audition finale, fans can help decide who will be on the 2014-15 Cavalier Girls squad! From now through Friday, Aug. 8, fans can view interactive profiles with bios, photos, and videos of each finalist, plus watch exclusive “Making the Cut” behind-the-scenes videos of the audition process then cast their votes for their favorite dancers at vote.cavs.com.

At the Saturday night event, the 30 finalists will have one last opportunity to leave an impression on fans and judges! The women will perform one of the team’s dazzling routines, an individual freestyle dance, and model their favorite swimwear. Fox 8 News morning show hosts Kristi Capel and Wayne Dawson will join the panel of judges as special guests.

Fans are invited to cheer on their favorite dancers and enjoy an evening of entertainment emceed by Cavs in-arena hosts Ahmaad Crump and Nicole Marcellino. After the Cavalier Girl hopefuls have hit their ultimate 8-count, they will face the moment of truth as each name is called and the 2014-15 Cavalier Girls are announced for the first time.

Join the live audition finale discussion on social media with hashtag #CGFinals and stay connected with the Cavalier Girls on Twitter (@CavalierGirls), Facebook (Cleveland Cavalier Girls) and by visiting cavs.com/cavaliergirls.

Co-Directors Larissa Johnson and Jennifer Miller Bring Extensive Backgrounds to Team

The Bay Area Shuckers of the American Professional Basketball League (APBL) announced Larissa Johnson and Jennifer Miller have been selected as the Bay Area Shuckers Dance Team Co-Directors.

“We’re happy to announce Larissa Johnson and Jennifer Miller as Co-Directors of our Bay Area Shuckers Dance Team. They both bring extensive backgrounds in cheerleading, dance, and dance training. Our fans have grown accustomed to our dancers being a key part of our Shuckers team, game day experience, and community outreach and I know under Larissa and Jennifer’s guidance the team will continue to grow,” commented Shuckers General Manager John Wolfe.

Larissa Johnson has been dancing since she came out of the womb and now uses her energy and excitement in each and every thing she does. Originally from New England, where she was in a competitive dance troupe called Organized Konfusion and had the opportunity to dance for Mickey Mouse in Disney World. She began teaching Hip Hop when she was 16 and hasn’t stopped teaching yet! While in college, she was Director of the Dance Troupe Spirit of Color which performed throughout the Boston area and then after graduation she moved to NYC to pursue her dreams of dancing professionally. She was accepted in the Broadway Dance Center Training Program where she was trained by world renowned teachers such as Dorit Koppel, Sheila Barker, Leslie Feliciano and Savion Glover. In 2006, Larissa joined fellow Co-Director Jennifer Miller on the Golden Baseball League (GBL) San Diego Surf Dawgs Dance Team. After that experience, Larissa decided to focus on choreography and teaching and over the last 20 plus years, she has had the pleasure of sharing her passion of movement and music throughout the country in many major cities; from Boston to Philly, Miami, Maui, New York City, San Diego and now Maryland with the Bay Area Shuckers!

Jennifer Miller began her dance training at the age of three and has studied a variety of styles including jazz, hip hop, ballet, pointe, contemporary, and hula. She began teaching classes in high school, and graduated from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with Bachelor’s Degrees in Communications and Dance. She was also part of the competitive UCSD Dance Team. After college, she participated in several semi-pro dance teams including the GBL San Diego Surf Dawgs Dance Team, the American Basketball Association (ABA) San Diego Wildcats Dance Team and the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) San Diego Shockwave Lady Shakers. In 2010, Jennifer became one of Football’s Fabulous Females, The Oakland Raiderettes. Over three seasons cheering on the Silver and Black, she was Rookie of the Year, Dancer of the Year, a second-year Captain, and traveled overseas to Austria and Japan. During Jennifer’s final season, the Raiderettes were ranked Best NFL Cheerleading Squad by CNBC.com.

The Bay Area Shuckers Dance Team has provided local dancers a home to hone and showcase their skills and provided an opportunity to move to the next level of professional dance with dancers moving on to earn spots with the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders, Washington Redskins Cheerleaders, Baltimore Blast Cheerleaders, and Chesapeake Bayhawks Hawkettes.

Bay Area Shuckers Dance Team Auditions

Date: September 6, 2014

Time: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Registrations Begins: 9:30 AM

Place: Leadership Through Athletics, 2900 Hammonds Ferry Road, Lansdowne, MD 21227

Cost: $20, Due Day of Auditions

Payments Accepted: Cash, Debit Card, Credit Card

Dancers should wear sports bra or tank top, dance shorts, and dance shoes. Also please bring a non-returnable photograph/headshot.

Dancers Must be 18 Years Old to Participate.

Hopefuls on the court at Trinity University where the opening rounds of the Washington Wizard Girl Auditions took place.

Wizard Girls Manager Derric Whitfield

Wizard Girls Michelle and Michell are hanging up their poms after 4 seasons. They were on hand to help with the choreography.

Former Philadelphia Soulmate and Sixers Dancer, India was up at 3am for the drive down to DC.

Cara

Wizard Girl Veterans…Oops.. .minus one!

Here’s WG Jalina who was missing from the group photo

Chimere is a former Charlotte Lady Cat

Kelly graduated with a degree in journalism from Hofstra and spent last year as a member of the NY Jets Flight Crew. She moved back to the DC area and is looking at going to grad school.

Catherine cheered for the University of South Carolina and the Baltimore Ravens

I thought Wizard Girl Amber had the best, hottest and most color-coordinated audition outfit

Jackie

The Wizard Girls Finals Showcase is this Monday (August 4th). Details here.

[Wizard Girl Audition Gallery]

[Vote for your favorite Wizard Girl Finalist]

A hopeful at 2014 Miami Dolphins Cheerleader Finals

The Washington Kastles Cheerleaders move indoors for 2014, cheering for the Kastles at the Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University.