Anna Marden
The Boston Globe
5/21/2012

Dancers hoping to be selected for a coveted spot on the Celtics dance team attended a workshop May 20 to help them prepare for the tryouts next month.

About 45 girls turned out for the workshop, where current Celtics Dancers taught them a routine and gave tips on how to get ready before the auditions.

Auditions take place at the end of June and will be held in Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Visit the Celtics Dancers’ audition webpage for more information.

[photo gallery]

By Chris Dunker
Beatrice Daily Sun
5/18/2012

“America’s Sweethearts” dance, cheer and help out in the community.

They are the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

Jillian Utley, who graduated last weekend with the Beatrice High School class of 2012, tried out for the squad a week prior to graduation on a whim.

“We were watching the show (“Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team”) and I thought it looked really cool,” Utley said. “My mom asked if it was something I wanted to do, and I said yes.”

Utley, who has been “dancing since I could walk,” and was a member of the BHS Dance Team, thought it to be a unique opportunity, so she filled out the paperwork, signed the waivers and TV release forms and paid the $25 fee to try out.

“We went down to practices first — you can practice before the actual tryouts — and we have family down there so we were able to stay with them,” Utley said. “Once you get to the actual tryouts, they have a walk-through the night before.”

Each potential cheerleader tells the 16-judge panel their name, age and where they are from, in addition to something unique about themselves, Utley said.

“I said my name is Jill and I’m 18 and from Nebraska,” she said. “And since I was named Jill, I was determined to marry someone named Jack.’

Her comment caught the eye of one of the television producers, Utley said. She hopes the moment may land her on the first episode of “Making the Team.”

After introductions, each woman is given 30 seconds to do a freestyle dance to a random musical selection.

“You don’t want to go in with a particular routine in mind because it might not work with the music,” Utley explained. “You just really want to get their attention.’

A total of 609 women tried out for the team. After the first round of tryouts, the judges narrow the pool to 150 women.

Utley didn’t make the first cut, but that hasn’t dampened the appeal of one day cheering for a professional football team.

“Once college is over with, I think I want to try that again and see how it goes,” she said. Many of the other women who tried out for the squad were 25 and older.

“It’s definitely on my bucket list,” she said.

Click here to check out a photo gallery from Saturday’s Cincinnati Bengals Cheerleaders final audition at Newport Syndicate in Newport, Kentucky.

By Vickie Jurkowski
Naperville Patch
May 17, 2012

Mekial Singleton learned at a young age that if she wanted to accomplish her dreams she had to toughen up and work hard.

In fourth grade, she attended her older brother John’s meet-the-football-players event at Downers Grove South High School.

“I saw the Phillies on stage and I was star struck,” Singleton said of the school dance team and the moment she knew what she wanted to pursue. “I was very determined and diligent.”

Singleton, who was born and raised in Bolingbrook and moved with her family to Plainfield in 2008, made the Phillies varsity team as a freshman and served as captain junior and senior years.

After graduation in 2004, she heard a radio commercial that would change her life.

She had started summer drills with the Cardettes dance team at North Central College in Naperville, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s in leadership studies with a focus on futuristic terrorism.

“I was listening to B96 on a Friday and heard about Chicago Rush Adrenaline Rush Dancers auditions that Saturday,” Singleton, 26, said. “I told my mom about it, printed the application at the library and the next day at 7 a.m. went in to auditions in a basic black sports bra and dance pants and there was a line of 200 decked-out women in glitter and makeup and all.”

After morning routines and lunch, Singleton said she was so intimidated she wanted to go home. But her mom Edna encouraged her to return. “And she was driving,” she said with a laugh.

After an afternoon of more routines, cuts and callbacks, Singleton was one of two 18-year-olds who made the team.

“It wound up being the best experience and best choice I’ve made in my life and I owe it to my mom for telling me to believe in myself,” Singleton said.

“We were taking a chance as that was the first year we lowered our age limit from 21 to 18,” dance coach Gloria Esposito said. “We knew right away that Mekial was a great person inside and out. To this day she has never swayed that decision for me. She continues to be extremely dedicated to the Rush, her fellow teammates and me.”

Singleton served three years as a co-captain of the dance team before being promoted to captain this season, which finds the Chicago Rush leading the Arena Football League national conference central division with a record of 6-2. Remaining home games at Allstate Arena in Rosemont are June 3, 16 and 30 and July 8.

As dance captain, Mekial is responsible for contributing choreography for auditions and the feature dances, which are performed after the third quarter. A different feature is performed at each of the nine home games.

“She is my right-hand girl when I am not around,” Esposito said. “I know that I can count on her to help me no matter what is needed. Every year she comes back eager as ever to get the new team under way.”

Being an Adrenaline Rush dancer and captain involves more than showing off hip-hop moves for diehard fans.

“It teaches you how to work with other people and be patient when learning new things, how to approach team members with friendly, constructive criticism and respect,” said Singleton, especially when mastering new choreography, which can be frustrating. “It teaches you how to take things one at a time and apply that to life to pace yourself.”

In addition to home games and practice two nights a week, the dancers appear at corporate, community and charity events throughout the season.

“We visit sick patients at hospitals, go to nursing homes and go to local cheer competitions and junior football games all over Illinois, from Huntley to Dixon to Bloomington,” she said. “It’s nice to step into a child’s shoes and see girls whose dreams are to dance and boys who want to play football. It opens you up to a lot of people and experiences.”

Dancers often tailgate with fans and sign autographs after games. Fans treat the dancers, who are only paid for home games, to food and drink at restaurants to watch away games, and host various events, such as a recent sold-out fan night at Brunswick Zone in Woodridge.

“We do it because we love it, love to dance, for the love of football and love of our fans,” Singleton said. “We get paid through friendships and that’s the best compensation.”

Dancers are expected to juggle the demands of the Chicago Rush season around college and careers.

For Singleton, that means interning in a secretarial position at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago in hopes of one day working in national security, and helping at John’s Rib House in Lisle. Her parents Edna and John opened the restaurant after retiring from, respectively, teaching and Chicago Carbon. Co. and Unocal oil refinery in Lemont.

“I love to cook with my mom,” Singleton said. “She always pulled me into the kitchen at a young age and I’d have flour on my face and dough in my hair.”

Her mom also enrolled her in gymnastics at a young age and then in ballet, jazz and hip-hop classes at the YMCA. Singleton cheered and danced with the Downers Grove Panther Youth Football and Cheer organization in fourth through eighth grades.

“I definitely credit my dad and my mom because they have been there with me through everything to teach me life lessons and to stand my ground,” Singleton said.

She also credits her brother John for being a role model. He earned a track scholarship from Lewis University in Romeoville and was ranked 13th in the nation for hurdles.

Singleton, who is single, said she hopes her internship will eventually lead into a career with the CIA or FBI. For now, she’s content to cook ribs and bake peach cobbler, travel the state meeting fans, do choreography and dance.

“I have no intentions of stopping. As long as the good Lord lets me keep dancing, I will,” she said. “I love dancing with my girls and I love the fans, who are some of the most diehard fans in Chicago. I thank Gloria for bringing me back every year.”

May 15, 2012

Lindsay Orr, a 2011 graduate of Heard High School and former Braves cheerleader, has been named as a member of the 2012 Atlanta Chiefs cheerleading squad.

The Chiefs are a semi-professional football team and member of the GDFL which plays its home games in Sandy Springs. Lindsay competed against several other talented girls to land the spot and hopes to one day become an Atlanta Falcon cheerleader.

She will cheer for the Chiefs until the end of the season when she is expected to join the Georgia Force arena football cheer squad.

The judges who picked Lindsay included two Falcons cheerleaders and several accomplished Atlanta area dancers. Lindsay’s new cheer coach is a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.

Click here to check out the San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers on SportsIllustrated.com!

Final auditions for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders took place yesterday. At the end of the day, the field of 70 candidates was narrowed down to the 45 accepted into the team’s training camp. This group has a lot of hard work ahead, because there are still cuts to be made. By the end of August, this group will be further narrowed down to approximately 36 members.

2012 DCC Training Camp
(click here to view full size)

Top Row (L to R) 1 Alex Hermes 2 Cassie Trammell 3 Meagan McVay 4 Jennifer Alexis 5 Jacie Veronica 6 Kelsey Lauren 7 Colleen Meghan 8 Lauren Williams 9 Carisa Rose 10 Melissa Kellerman 11 Mia Greenhouse 12 Brittney Schram 13 Veronica Ann 14 Nicole Bulcher 15 Kinzie Ryanne 16 Amelia Bren

Middle Row (L to R) 1 Amy Caroline 2 Alexandra Caroline 3 Holly Arielle 4 Emma Mary 5 Whitney Isleib 6 Kim Nicole 7 Katy Marie 8 Ashley Marie 9 Courtney Cook 10 Jasmine Raphella 11 Danielle Marie 12 Carla Ann 13 Kelly Jeannelle 14 Rachel Le-Ann 15 Chelsea Elizabeth

Bottom Row (L to R) 1 Sydney Durso 2 Emily Claire 3 Kali Nicole 4 Jordan Elizabeth 5 Teri Lynn 6 Collin Julia 7 Jessica Marie 8 Olivia Rene 9 Megan Marie 10 Jenna Lene 11 Sintia Jimmy 12 Jackie Bob 13 Mackenzie Lee 14 Angela Rena

Tomorrow is the final audition for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Finals will determine which young ladies will be selected to training camp, and are still in the running to be selected for the team. Photos of all of the finalists have been posted on the DCC Facebook page. [click here] Among them are quite a few familiar faces from other teams, including…

Taylor and Teri from the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm & Blue

Ashley and Kadie from the Dallas Mavericks

Kali and Paige, also from the Mavs

Chelsea and Emily from the Dallas Stars

Danielle and Jasmine from the New York Jets Flight Crew

Milly from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tessa from the Indianapolis Colts

Karissa from San Antonio Rampage and Miranda from the Seattle Seahawks

Good luck, ladies!

Stacie Kinder
Titansonline.com
May 16, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Titans Cheerleaders will host the 5th Annual Cheers to Robin fundraiser benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on Saturday, May 19th. The party will begin at 8 p.m. at Buffalo Billiards on Second Avenue.

Cheers to Robin celebrates the life of Robin Roach Towe, a former Nashville Kats Cheerleader who lost her battle to leukemia in 2002. The money raised goes toward the Woman of the Year Campaign of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to directly fund medical research.

The event is open to the public, and the $50 ticket buys each patron a meet and greet with the 2012 Titans Cheerleaders, one free drink, appetizers, door prizes, live music and more. Several Titans players are also scheduled to attend along with many former Nashville Kats players and coaches. This year’s party is also serving as the 15-year reunion of the Nashville Kats.

Cheers to Robin: A Party with the Titans Cheerleaders
Benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
8 p.m. May 19 at Buffalo Billiards, Second Avenue

Tickets: http://cheerstorobin.eventbrite.com

The society’s key priorities will ensure that: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society helps blood cancer patients live better, longer lives.

Charlotte and Cassie: Their Journey
Former Stampede Spirit Dancers both made NFL’s Seattle Seahawks dance team “Sea Gals”
By Travis Tate
Idaho Stampede
5/16/2012

Faced with just a minute on the clock, the pressure mounts. Thinking of all the time, energy and mental preparation from the past few months, the competitor hopes to stay calm and stay away from a trip up or mental mistake.
Of course, with the help of a teammate, the moment can become more manageable, but there’s still that clock that tells you that just 60 seconds remain.
Then, the music starts.
—

This was not the end of a Stampede basketball game, though – it was the challenge of making the Seattle Sea Gals, the official dance squad of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Former Stampede Spirit Dance Team member Charlotte fought through the pressure, making the 32-member squad with lots of preparation, but also the ability to just flow with the music.

“The music starts and your body just starts moving,” said Charlotte. “I was just happy to feel the music and feel relaxed.”

For the open call in mid-April, each participant is asked to simply dance for 60 seconds – considering the pressure and importance of this task, many dancers may script out every move, but that idea is thrown out the door considering the dancer does not know the music they will hear as they dance.

“There’s a lot of pressure because you don’t know the music that they’re going to play. I’m glad I didn’t make anything up and go out there and forget what I’m going to do – I wasn’t trying just to run through the moves,” Charlotte said. “The Seahawks are the only team that I know of that have freestyle in their audition process, so it’s kind of unique to them. It’s very scary, but I was very happy because it was similar to the Stampede experience.”
—
Charlotte, still in Seattle after the 3-week long tryout process, said that she feels Seattle is similar to Boise, but is just larger. She had a number of visits to Seattle over the past year, visiting her close friend, former Stampede Spirit teammate and current Sea Gal teammate Cassie.

“Cassie and I had become a few years earlier from the BSU dance squad and when we had auditions for the Stampede, I told her to come on out and that she would totally love it,” Charlotte explained. Last season, Cassie made the Sea Gals, and the two stayed in close contact.

“I came out here and made sure I loved the city and met some other Sea Gals – and they are all really, really nice, and they all gave me advice and some things to expect and were all very, very helpful,” Charlotte said. “There are a lot of mother-figures on the team, a very diverse team – they’re just all great.
“The city is different from Boise, but it’s still the West. The water is beautiful and I’ve been to Pike and a couple restaurants, but so far, I’ve just gone to the gym a lot and auditions. It’s good to not be going somewhere completely different like the East Coast or Miami or something.

The stadium is absolutely phenomenal, all the facilities are beautiful and wonderful. Right now, I’m just glad to get to be a part of the program.”
—
As for her future, Charlotte isn’t certain, but having made an NFL dance squad is reason enough to celebrate. For now, she doesn’t know what’s next.

“Some girls use this for a modeling future,” Charlotte said. “For me, this is the last possible thing I could do. I don’t know what else is higher than dancing for an NFL team. It’s what I’ve wanted to do for a really, really long time.”

With the preparation of her dance career all finished and a major goal finally accomplished, Charlotte will just listen and go wherever the music takes her.