WHAS11.com: The Seattle Sea Gals fire up fans and cheer on the Seahawks in the final preseason game of 2011 against their longtime rivals, the Oakland Raiders. Click here to view photos.
The Chicago Bulls have selected the members of their 2011-12 dance team. Congratulations, ladies!
The Cheerleader pages have been updated on StLouisRams.com. Click here to read up on this year’s squad!
The New Orleans Saints website has been updated with profiles and individual headshots of the 2011 Saints Cheerleaders. Click here to learn more about the ladies on the team!
Jasmine and Lauren
By Clare Farnsworth
Seahawks.com
8/30/2011
I love, I love, I love my calendar girl
Yeah, sweet calendar girl
I love, I love, I love my calendar girl
Each and every day of the year.
Geraldine “Gelly” Lirio obviously wasn’t born when Neil Sedaka crooned his hit tune in 1961. Heck, her parents were toddlers when Sedaka’s signature song was climbing the charts.
But Lirio is the Sea Gals’ “Calendar Girl,” as she graces the cover the squad’s 2012 calendar that will be unveiled Wednesday night at the Munchbar at Bellevue Square. The event starts at 7 p.m. and Lirio and the other 31 members of the squad will be there to sign calendars and model the outfits they’re wearing on its pages.
To say that being the cover girl caught Lirio by surprise only scratches the surface of her initial reaction to the honor.
“I did not have one clue,” she said. “Honestly, I got way more than I bargained for just making the squad. I’m still excited about that, and then when I heard I was going to be in a calendar it just flipped everything over for me.”
When Sea Gals director Sherri Thompson showed the calendar to the girls for the first time at a recent practice, Lirio admits, “I glanced at and said, ‘Oh, that’s a pretty cover.’ And then I went back to what I was doing.”
That’s when everyone else started glancing at her.
“All of a sudden it got kind of quiet and I see all these eyes looking at me,” she said. “I was like, ‘What?’ Someone said, ‘That’s you!’ I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ ”
Lirio still is “figuring out what I feel about it,” as she put it. “It’s definitely a huge change for me. Something really new. But nonetheless, I am so excited about it.”
This is Lirio’s first season on the squad and the 22-year-old “rookie” from Covington comes at it from an unusual background.
“This style of dancing that we do – Sherri calls it ‘The Sea Gal style’ – I love it, but it’s also new to me,” she said.
That’s because her training is in ballroom dancing. She started competing after attending Kentwood High School and she’s currently an instructor.
“I’m of Filipino decent, so it’s customary when girls turn 18-years old to have big Debutant Balls,” she explained. “So a lot of what I do is choreograph for those events.”
There is one similarity between ballroom dancing and 50-yard line dancing. “It’s all entertainment, which I love,” she said.
There’s also one huge difference.
“As far as the size of the audience, the crowds for even a large ballroom dancing competition is not nearly the size of the crowds at CenturyLink Field,” she said. “It’s such a big chance and I’m just loving every minute of it.”
When not dancing with the Sea Gals, or practicing with the squad, Lirio helps her parents with their property management business. She has completed her degree at Green River Community College and will enroll at the University of Washington for the winter quarter.
“Right now, I consider this my job,” she said of her Sea Gals’ duties.
The proceeds from the $15 calendar go to charity, which is an added plus for the cover girl.
“I am so excited about that, and the fact that I get to represent that girl on the cover and being someone who just wanted to try out a dream that I had and I made it happen,” she said. “I got more than I bargained for. I’m so grateful.”
Now, back to that Sedaka tune.
“Of course I know that song,” she said. “It’s actually a favorite karaoke song.”
Now it just has a new meaning for Lirio.
Audition for the Richmond Rockets Dance Team!
Here is your opportunity to dance and cheer in the realm of professional sports in the American Basketball Association with the Richmond Rockets Dance Team. [Richmond Rockets]
The Richmond Rockets Dance Team will be comprised of beautiful, competent and sophisticated women who will represent the the team as well as the City of Richmond. We are looking for highly talented women over the age of 18 years from around the Bay Area to become the inaugural members of the Richmond Rockets Dance Team.
The dance team will entertain Rockets fans at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium and Convention Center during the 2011-2012 ABA season. In addition to game day performances, the dance team will be part of many personal appearances and promotions throughout the course of the year.
Date:
Saturday, September 10 Preliminary dance audition
Sunday, September 11, Interviews and finals dance audition
Time:
11:00am
Location:
UFC Gym, 1975 Diamond Blvd, Concord, CA 94520
Cost:
$30.00 per person, advance registration encouraged
$35.00 per person, on-site registration
Click here for additional details.
Oakland Raiders
8/28/2011
The Raiderettes held their 2012 Raiderette Calendar Release Party, sponsored by Bud Light, this past Sunday prior to the Raiders preseason game versus the New Orleans Saints. Football’s Fabulous Females, along with friends, family, sponsors and the media, had the opportunity to view the photos chosen for each month of the calendar for the first time. Raiderette Director Jeanette Thompson also revealed the front and back covers of the calendar to the guests.
Raiderette veteran Tiphanie and rookies Meredith and Nicole are the 2012 calendar cover girls. “Tiphanie and I were standing in the back so I really couldn’t see it until it was completely revealed, but I’m absolutely shocked,” said Meredith. “I’ve never been on a calendar, let alone the Raiderette calendar, so it’s really amazing.”
“I was just completely shocked,” said Nicole. “I never thought that, with it being my first season, I would ever be on the cover. It’s a gorgeous picture of all of us and I’m just so excited.”
Not only were the three Raiderettes thrilled with the cover, they were excited about the entire calendar. “I love the calendar,” said Tiphanie. “I absolutely think this is the best calendar we’ve had in a really long time. It’s so elegant and beautiful and it really shows how diverse and wonderful our team is. It’s really exciting just to have the opportunity to be a part of it, let alone be in the cover.”
Raiderette veteran Natalie, who will be featured on Bud Light’s billboards, was overwhelmed when she found out her photo was on the back cover. “This is my fourth year, fourth calendar, and I think it’s the most beautiful one yet,” said Natalie. “Everyone just looks beautiful and I can’t wait for Raider fans to see it. I’m very excited [to be on the back cover] and to find out with all of my best friends, my sisters, my teammates, and my family and my directors is more exciting. I’m very happy and thrilled.”
Rookie Raiderette Susie could hardly control her emotions as she looked at her calendar photo. “I’m completely overwhelmed right now,” said Susie. “It’s an amazing event. Lots of friends and family are out at this event right now. The calendar looks absolutely beautiful. Every single one of us looks stunningly gorgeous. They just revealed the front and back of the cover and it’s amazing. It’s truly an amazing experience and in the background they had the videos of us making the team and the whole audition process and it’s kind of like making the team all over again.”
“I think our fans are really going to love it,” said Meredith. “I think they’re really going to have a great time showing everyone, all the rest of the NFL, what the Raiderettes can really do.”
The 2012 Raiderette Calendar is available for purchase online at Raiders.com and at the Raider Image retail stores.
By Rich Mardekian, Editor
Community News (Fair Lawn Edition)
8/29/2011
When the National Football League (NFL) lockout ended in July the period that followed saw a frenzied time with scores of athletes leaving their old teams for new squads. The free agent players weren’t the only ones changing teams – a cheerleader from Fair Lawn also decided it was time to make a move.
Christie Artinger, 26, a 2003 Fair Lawn High School graduate, has traded in the green and white of the New York Jets for the yellow lightning bolt of the San Diego Chargers. Artinger, a former member of the New York Jets Flight Crew, is now a San Diego Charger Girl.
“I was looking to do something adventurous,” said Artinger of her decision to move to the West Coast. “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine, even as a child, to move to San Diego.”
Last winter, Artinger sent in an application to become a Charger Girl, a squad with a rich tradition.
“San Diego (Charger Girls) are up there with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in terms of prestige,” she explained.
Even though sunny San Diego will never be confused with Exit 16W of the Turnpike and the often cold and dreary conditions at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the call to move to the sidelines of the Chargers was not a complete no-brainer.
“I second guessed it (decision),” she said. “To move from a town (Fair Lawn) I have lived in for 26 years was hard.”
Her cold feet eventually subsided and she booked a last-minute flight to the team’s tryouts in April. After a grueling audition process that included dancing, routines and countless interviews that lasted almost a week, Artinger was one of nine new cheerleaders picked out of 425 women who tried out for the squad.
“Wow! My life just changed forever,” said Artinger of becoming a Charger Girl.
After making the team, Artinger had to move 2,844 miles to begin a new life.
“I had to pack up my life and ship everything out here,” said Artinger, who also found a job working as a sales rep for a protein drink company.
Artinger originally tried out for the Jets Flight Crew in 2009 after being laid off from her job as a marketing executive for Capizio in New York City. She has an extensive dance background and was trained locally at Dance Designs in Fair Lawn, Art of Motion in Ridgewood and Gotta Dance Performing Arts Center in Elmwood Park. She attended Sacred Heart University in Connecticut where she competed on its nationally ranked dance team and then transferred to Montclair State University where she was on the cheerleading squad.
“I had to go back and find a way to make myself feel complete again,” Artinger said at the time of her decision to try out for the Flight Crew.
She made the squad and the experience was one she called one of the best of her life. She cheered for the Jets for two seasons, including the first in the New Meadowlands Stadium.
“It was awesome,” she said. “I made a lot of lifelong friends and improved my style of dance. [Being a Flight Crew member] helped me grow as a dancer.”
With her days as a Jets booster behind her, Artinger is looking forward to life in the AFC West and has nothing but praise for her new teammates.
“Everyone on the Charger Girls is very laid back,” she said. “Everyone on the team builds each other up. It is a great team environment.”
While Artinger is looking forward to cheering at her first regular season game on Sept. 11 against the Minnesota Vikings, she is still a Jersey girl at heart.
“I really miss the Jersey Shore,” she added. “There are beautiful beaches here but the Jersey Shore has something special that (San Diego) can’t compare to.”
Artinger will be part of the Charger Girl swimsuit calendar that will be out on Sept. 15. Half of the proceeds from sales will go to charity. For more information, go to chargergirls.com.
by Heather Zara
Pistons.com
August 2011
She’s a scientist by day and an NBA dancer by night.
Her name is Andrea McCurry and she is one of Automotion’s new faces for the 2011-2012 season.
Her dancing skills and energetic showmanship earned her the spot on the Pistons’ dance team, but her scholarly smarts and exciting career as a scientist make her a prime example of what the Automotion team strives to be: well-rounded women who are not only crowd-pleasing entertainers but educated and inspirational ambassadors in the community and off of the court, as well.
McCurry is an assistant scientist in the analytical development department of Emergent BioDefense Operations, a biopharmaceutical company in Lansing.
“We research and manufacture the anthrax vaccine,” said McCurry. “We’re the only FDA-approved vaccine.”
Before McCurry began developing and testing vaccines in a lab for a living, she attended Michigan State University where she earned a degree in human biology.
“All throughout high school, I had an interest in all of my science classes, so I checked out Lyman Briggs (residential college specializing in sciences) at MSU and I declared a major in human biology because I really enjoyed the work and I always wanted to be in lab.”
While McCurry might be the first scientist to represent Automotion, the team’s members already spanned the professional spectrum.
“We have had an interior designer, a fashion designer, many teachers, students, legal assistants, nurses. We’ve had a doctor, bankers, TV hosts, personal trainers, dance coaches and entrepreneurs, but never a scientist,” dance team director Rebecca Girard said. “Often, people think the women are just full-time dancers but that’s not the case. They are all so smart and so well-rounded.”
McCurry not only has a superhero day job creating vaccines that help protect people around the world, but she has also managed to beat out the competition to be a professional dancer in the NBA. That’s an opportunity few experience.
“My co-workers are extremely excited for me and they are really supportive,” said McCurry on her new adventure as an Automotion dancer. “They’re happy to see that I’m able to do something I’m passionate about in addition to having a career.”
McCurry has been dancing for over 20 years and started her training at a local dance studio in her hometown of Davison. She looks forward to growing as a professional dancer and bonding with her teammates.
“She just brings a level of poise that is so necessary for this job,” Girard said. “I was just drawn to her the first time I saw her. She’s just so radiant.”
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