Boston Herald (March 4, 2012): Patriots cheerleader hopefuls put their best foot forward at yesterday’s tryouts at the Dana-Farber practice field.
The Warriors have finally updated their dance team pages. Click here for photos, bios, wallpapers, and more!
2011-12 Warrior Girls
2012 Cheerleader Audition Routines
Patriots.com
Mar 4, 2012
For the next phase of the Patriots Cheerleaders 2012 auditions, participants that have been called back will be required to learn two dance routines which they will perform during the next round.
The New England Patriots Cheerleaders began the process of selecting their squad for 2012 this past Saturday at Gillette Stadium. For the next phase of the Patriots Cheerleaders 2012 auditions, participants that have been called back will be required to learn two dance routines which they will perform during the next round.
The two dance routines are choreographed to the music of “Domino” by Jessie J and “Give Me Everything Tonight” by Pitbull.
Congratulations to those that have made it to the next phase of auditions. Walkthroughs and demos of each routine to be learned can be found at www.patriots.com/cheerleaders/2012-audition-routines.html
Click here to check Sports Illustrated’s latest NHL ice crew gallery, featuring the ladies from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Every year we have a heck of a time getting our hands on the official Pro Bowl Cheerleaders photo card. I don’t know why it’s always so difficult, but it never seems to make its way online. This year, we found this photo on Flickr, but we’re still looking for the real thing. So if you’ve got it, let us know!
211 vie to join New England Patriots’ No. 1 squad
Judee Cosentino
The Sun Chronicle
March 4, 2012
FOXBORO – More than 200 women assembled at the Dana-Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium on Saturday to audition for a spot on the New England Patriots’ number-one ranked cheerleading squad.
Saturday’s preliminary auditions consisted of three rounds, each with its own routine: across-the-floor routine, freestyle, and another, longer choreographed routine. By end of the tryouts, a spokeswoman said 30 of the 211 women who participated on Saturday were picked to advance to the finals on March 17.
Cheerleader Director Tracy Sormanti was thrilled at the squad being ranked No. 1 in the NFL by cable network CNBC.
“We are looking forward to keeping the standard this year that we had last year,” she said.
“We’re proud to say we have a great squad on the sidelines to compliment a great team playing on the field,” she said.
Sormanti said the candidates were judged by showmanship, ability, level of physical fitness and appearance, and that there was no specific number set for who was to make the cut.
“We wouldn’t eliminate talented people just because we wanted to cut it down to a few numbers,” Sormanti said. “We base it on talent.”
Michelle Birmingham and Carilee Spalding, both seniors at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, were one of the first five women to register. The two friends chatted with the current Patriots cheerleaders as they waited.
“I’m very excited, but there’s always nerves,” said Spalding.
Birmingham was equally nervous, but tried not to focus on a possible outcome.
“I’m just trying to think about the process,” she said. “It’s just fun to be here.”
The line for registration moved quickly and smoothly, and by 11:30 a.m., the women had completed their warm-up exercises and were ready to learn the first round’s routine.
“All you can do is your best,” Sormanti told the candidates. “Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, and don’t give up.”
Heidi Sullivan-LaRoche, a choreographer from New Hampshire, led the women through additional warm-up routines before teaching them the first round’s dance moves.
“You guys look great!” she called out. “Big smiles!”
The dancers then performed the routine in groups of four before the panel of five judges, which included Wendy Kraft, the wife of Daniel Kraft, who is the president international for the Kraft Group and the father of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Four friends from Leominster – Nicole Reynolds, Emily Robison, Lia Odoardi, and Melissa Amico – were among the first to complete the first routine and catch their breath on the sidelines.
“I’m relieved but nervous,” said Reynolds.
Robison concurred: “But it was nice, because the judges were smiling at you.”
A general air of excited shakiness extended between the four friends.
“I feel optimistic but nervous at the same time,” Reynolds said. “Hopefully, we make it.”
By Matt Tota
Wicked Local
March 3, 2012
FOXBOROUGH — The gloomy weather outside the Dana-Farber Field House yesterday was in stark contrast to the more than 200 wide-eyed and smiling women inside, all vying to become New England Patriots cheerleaders.
“Work, work, work,” said Tracy Sormanti, head coach of the Patriots cheering squad, addressing the sea of women sitting on the turf, “don’t give up, do your very, very best.”
“Don’t be scared,” she said.
The auditions included two rounds that whittled the field down to 65 hopefuls. They will return for a final round of tryouts and interviews on March 17. The final squad will consist of 24 women.
Current Patriots cheerleaders, voted the NFL’s best by CNBC, were on hand to give the women guidance and take part in the rapid-fire routines.
A group stretching session led the auditions off. After, the women watched closely as choreographer Heidi Sullivan-Laroche went through the first routine, which was comprised of leg kicks, knee twirls, jazz glides and hair whips.
Competing in the auditions for her first time, Kristie Grace, 18, of Mendon, was bubbling with emotion and, bobbing to the music, could barely hide her excitement. “My nervousness level is all the way up,” she said.
Grace, a cheerleader at Johnson & Wales University, where she studies business, said that, though she certainly wants to become a Patriots cheerleader, simply being a part of the auditions is fulfilling.
“It’s just about the experience and meeting people,” she said.
At last year’s auditions, Nicole Luis, 29, of Hopkinton, was ousted in the first round, so she knows not to let her ambitions eclipse her focus. “I am taking this year with a grain of salt,” she said.
Luis’ background is in dance, not cheering. In fact, she said, she hasn’t cheered a day in her life. But she is a huge Patriots fan. “I’m obsessed with the Patriots,” she said.
Luis said she hoped to at least make it into the second round this year.
For her, dancing is a profession and cheering is a tiny hurdle to leap.
“It’s a challenge,” she said of being a cheerleader. “At my age, you want to try as many different things that you love as possible.”
To see an updated list of which women made the cut and to watch audition video, go to patriots.com/cheerleaders.
The first round of auditions for the 2012 New England Patriots Cheerleaders took place yesterday. Click here to check out photos from the day.
By Yvonne Wenger
The Baltimore Sun
March 3, 2012
The investment banker, the lumber salesman, the kindergarten teacher and the meteorologist all came out Saturday for the Baltimore Ravens’ cheerleading tryouts for one reason: the right to bear pompoms.
Kristie Tapper of Stevensville — the mother of 1-year-old twins — was one of the roughly 250 men and women who turned out for the open tryouts on the basketball court of Merritt Downtown Athletic Club in Mount Vernon for one of the 60 coveted sideline spots.
Tapper and the other hopefuls practiced their eight-count dance steps while En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind” played over the booming speakers. Lined up along the perimeter of the gym were dozens of fur-lined Ugg boots, water bottles, hand mirrors and Michael Kors and Coach bags.
Tapper came back for another chance to be on the squad after she left in her third Ravens’ cheerleading season in 2006 to get married and start a family.
“I want to do something I enjoy for me,” the 28-year-old said. To get back in shape for the pros, Tapper said she worked out four to five times a week, including running with her son and daughter in a stroller.
“I’m very nervous for tryouts. You have to give it your all,” she said.
Pictures: Ravens cheerleader tryouts 2011
All Ravens cheerleaders must hold a full-time job, be a stay-at-home parent or be enrolled in a full slate of college courses.
James Schwille, a lumber salesman who went to Virginia Tech for wood science, was trying out for a fourth year on the squad.
“It’s just so much fun,” said Schwille, 33, of Parkville. “I’m on the field, 10 feet away from a football game. It’s an escape from the real world.”
He said he’s used to the jokes (“Where’s your skirt?”), but Schwille said not much beats the camaraderie with his fellow cheerleaders. And hanging out with dozens of beautiful women isn’t bad either, he conceded.
“People think we’re out there clapping and cheering,” Schwille said. “We’re out there tossing girls 30 feet in the air.”
Erica Lawson of Prince George’s County and Shanna Cooper of Rockville were two of the newbies.
Lawson said she loves the thrill of performing and thinks she’s got what it takes to juggle the intense workout routines, her job at a local park and planning commission and her volunteer work.
Cooper said she always dreamed of reaching the pros growing up. Now a full-time online student at the University of Alabama and a restaurant promotion and events coordinator in Bethesda, Cooper said she wants to make it happen.
“It keeps me fit. It keeps me healthy and it keeps me happy,” she said before springing up for the next routine.
About half of the hopefuls will make it back for the second round of cuts Sunday. The final 2012 squad will be determined by local celebrity judges March 17 at The Lyric Opera House. Tickets are $17. The event starts at 4 p.m.
Hopefuls learn the audition routine
