Lockout or no, the team has already had their first photo shoot. Click here to see their individual full length photos on the DND Facebook page.

By Aaron J. Lopez
Nuggets.com
7-25-11

The lights drop. The pulsating music begins. The adrenaline rush kicks in.

At that moment, the countless hours of repetition and rehearsal all become worthwhile.

“It almost gives you chills and brings tears to your eyes,” said Miranda, a Denver Nuggets Dancer. “You think, ‘This is so cool. This is what we’ve been practicing and working so hard for.’ ”

After two days of auditions and four training-camp sessions, Miranda was among the 17 women named Monday as 2011-12 Denver Nuggets Dancers. The team consists of eight veterans and nine rookies, including an 18-year-old two months removed from her high-school graduation.

“The girls worked extremely hard for two weeks,” said Denver Nuggets Dancers coordinator and choreographer Amy Jo Wagner. “Everyone did a phenomenal job. The 17 we chose showed they can dance in sync, pick up choreography very quickly and have the work ethic needed to make it through a long and strenuous NBA season.”

[VIEW PHOTO GALLERY]

Miranda, 21, proved her ability and endurance as a Denver Nuggets Dancer during the 2009-10 season. She left the team last season after being one of four people selected from 500 applicants to teach dance in Japan as part of the National Dance Alliance.

For more than a month, Miranda spent in excess or 12 hours a day training dancers for Japanese professional sports teams in cities such as Chiba, Tokyo and Yokohama.

“We had a translator, but the cool thing about dancing is you don’t really need to talk or learn a language. You just need your eyes to learn,” she said. “It was different whenever I went out and about. There was nothing in English. I had some freak-out moments and ended up in several different cities I wasn’t supposed to be in.”

Miranda got a reminder of home while conducting clinics for children at U.S. military bases in Tokyo. She also was able to be a tourist after her teaching was complete; climbing 12,389-foot Mount Fuji was one of her favorite highlights.

“The town up there looks like a Colorado mountain town,” she said. “You walk around five or six lakes and you gradually make your way up the mountain. It took a full day. It was amazing. That altitude was pretty brutal.”

Altitude is nothing new for Miranda, a marketing and communications major at Metro State. The Arvada West alumnus grew up in Colorado and started dancing competitively at age 6.

“No one in my family can dance,” she said. “My brother was a really good wrestler, but I couldn’t pick up any other sport. I tried soccer, and it was super-tragic. I can’t run, so I just stuck with dance.”

Miranda’s career goal is to become a police department spokesperson, but she hopes to stick around the Nuggets organization for a few more years. She enjoys representing the team in the community and is determined to prove that dancers have substance to complement their style.

“I always get asked, ‘So do you think you’re better than everybody else?’ It bothers me,” she said. “People assume that you think you’re better than everybody else when the majority of most of these women are so down to earth. Some of the friendships I’ve made will last forever.”

Wagner, entering her fifth season with the Nuggets, can attest to that. She was a member of the Phoenix Suns dance team and knows that team chemistry is an important ingredient for a successful dance team.

“I’m extremely happy to have Miranda back with us,” Wagner said. “She’s an excellent hip-hop dancer, an all-around friendly girl and a great overall representative of our organization.”

Now that training camp is over, Miranda can’t wait to get started again in the fall. She will juggle a class schedule with a dance schedule that includes 10 to 12 hours of practice every week.

She will exercise, follow a healthy diet and memorize dozens of new routines.

And when the lights go down at the Pepsi Center, she will enjoy the moment when that familiar adrenaline rush kicks in.

New Orleans Hornets: After a challenging week of auditions, training camps and choreography sessions, 22 ladies were selected to join the 2011-12 Honeybees! Check out which ladies earned a spot on the hottest dance team in the NBA! Click here to watch the videos.

Lakers.com:
Director of the Laker Girls Lisa Estrada is keeping a daily diary of the audition process for Lakers.com, starting with a summary of a full Saturday as over 400 hopefuls came to the Toyota Sports Center to show off their skills. Estrada will be checking in with updates throughout the week, covering individual interviews, final auditions and a wrap up once the final 22-odd girls are selected.

(Click here for part 1)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20: INTERVIEWS COMPLETE

Well, the Laker Girls interviews are all done. Today was the last day – it sure was neat to meet everyone.

Just like I said before, I was very impressed with all the finalists. They all are really are nice, educated young ladies. I can honestly say that every one of them being a good fit for our dance team, but unfortunately I cannot take them all. It will be a hard decision from here on out.

So, tomorrow evening is the “dance call-back” for all of these young ladies. I look forward to being able to see the 31 dancers left perform together. I will have judges there as well, they will decide which dancers move well together or which dancers move together as a unit. This because, of course, the Laker Girls dance on the court and are required to move in unison.

I am excited for tomorrow now! Alrighty, moving on to one more stage in this audition process.

Until then, goodbye for now.

~ Lisa

THURSDAY, JULY 21: DANCE CALL-BACK
Tonight was the final call-back for the group of 31 finalists! It was their “dance call-back”……which means we get to see them all dance together. It was a very fun evening!

I taught a real short dance combination to the group – it was different from the other dances they learned at the audition. This was a little more funkier. I did this because the Laker Girls dance squad will perform routines that are all sorts of styles during the upcoming season, so it was nice to see if they can adapt to learning that type of style of dance as well (and quickly).

It was interesting to say the least. It actually helped the judges a bit more. It seemed the judges were able to separate some of the girls from each other because it helped to understand each dancer’s capability of learning and performing that style of dance.

I know I said this all week but again, I was very impressed with all the finalists in so many different ways. To finish up with the audition process, now, I will take the next couple of days to check out the references of the dancers. In addition, we will take each individual’s score from Saturday, score from their job interview and score from tonight to see how the chips (votes) fall!

Doing this will help us to come up with the new Laker Girls dance team for next season.

YAY. How exciting!

I really hope these finalists have had a good experience participating in this audition process. This group of 31 dancers should be very proud of themselves – I mean, heck, they made it to the finals, out of 400+ young women. I told them tonight that making it this far is an achievement in itself (and I truly believe that!)!

Well, they will be notified on Sunday afternoon on whether they made this year’s dance team or not. This is always a hard job for me … I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love offering someone a new position as a Laker Girl!!! But, it’s the phone call notifying someone that they did not get the position – that’s what is hard to deliver, especially, after they gave it their all.

My fingers are crossed that hopefully they will come back next year though, since they made it this far!

I am sure I will fill you in later on how the notifications go…….again, thanks for checking in.

~ Lisa

MONDAY, JULY 25: MAKING THE CALLS
Well, Sunday went well … I mean, I was either the bearer of “good news” or “not so good news” for the finalists.

Only 22, out of the 31 finalists, were notified if they made the 2011-12 Laker Girls dance team. Those girls were just over the moon with excitement when they heard me offer them a position! However, the ladies that I did not have a position for this year were very understanding and handled the news with positive attitudes. I was so happy; some of them said “Thank you for the memorable experience,” or “I had a positive experience going through the Laker Girls audition process – you made us all feel very comfortable. I will be back next year!” Those are just a couple of examples.

It was nice that all the candidates seemed very positive about the audition process they went through with our organization. Hopefully they will come back next July to give it another try!

Alrighty, just like we started off last season, the new 2011-12 Laker Girls squad will consist of 22 members. As I mentioned before, at the beginning of the auditions – this is a job for our organization. So, pending some administration paperwork, we will give you a sneak peak of these members sometime at the beginning of August……..YAY! I hope you will check back then!

Thanks again for checking in with Lakers.com, me and the Laker Girls!

The 2011-12 Oakland Raiders are now online. Among other things, this year’s group includes a grandmother (Susie), a law student (Sarah Marie), and a legacy (Meredith‘s sister Kristen was a Raiderette from 2005 to 2008). Raiderette fans will also notice the team has a slightly different look this year. Director Jeanette Thompson, who was herself a Raiderette for ten years, brought back little more tradition. The center cinch on the blouse is back, and the rise on the shorts is a bit higher. The team looks as glamorous and beautiful as always. I give the changes 2 thumbs up! Click here for more.

Profiles and individual uniform photos of the 2010-11 Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders are now online! Click here to find out who is who and watch their individual videos.

Auditions for the inaugural Anaheim Bolts dance team took place yesterday, right across the road from Disneyland. The field of finalists has been narrowed down to 22. Now is your chance to weigh in on who you think should make the team. Go to the Anaheim Bolts page on Facebook and choose your favorite. [click here] Voting is only open from 10am to 2pm (Cali time), so do it now!

KJRH.com
07/25/2011

TULSA – A Green Country native is being featured Tuesday on NBC’s hit talent show “America’s Got Talent.”

Tanea Brooks, a former Owasso, Okla. resident, is a member of the dance troupe Purrfect Angelz, which is one of 48 acts competing for a top 24 spot this week.

Born and raised in Owasso, Brooks relocated to Dallas where she became the youngest ever Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and was featured on the much sought-after cover of their swimsuit calender.

She then relocated to Los Angeles where she has appeared in commercials, television shows and music videos. With her dance ability, Brooks landed the top spot as lead dancer in Trace Adkins’ “Honkytonk Badonkadonk” video.

While living in LA, Brooks joined the Hollywood-based dance group Purrfect Angelz.

The Angelz is a group of all-female professional dancers, models and entertainers specializing in high-energy dance shows for casinos, nightclubs, motorcycle rallies and military tours across the world.

With the other Angelz, Brooks recently completed her fifth military tour performing for troups in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brooks is one of eight dancers in Perfect Angelz currently competing on “America’s Got Talent.”

On Tuesday, the group will perform a sexy western dance for a top 24 spot on the show. The competition’s winning act will receive a $1 million grand prize.

Live Performance Episode: Tuesday, July 26 at 8 p.m.
Live Results Episode: Wednesday, July 27 at 8 p.m.

To vote:

Call 1-866-602-48 _ _ (The last two digits will be given to performers during the show)

Text 48_ _ (AT&T customers only. The last two digits will be given to performers during the show)

Vote online at www.NBC.com

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Sidebar: Several members of this dance troupe have backgrounds in pro sports dance. There are almost 50 dancers on the team. Of the 9 appearing on the show, at least 4 have backgrounds in the NFL and/or NBA.
Kristina Rodriquez: Golden State Warriors
Lindsay Dennis: Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers
Lisa Ligon – Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins
Tanea Brooks – Dallas Cowboys

The team recently postponed their auditions to a future date to be determined. I wondered why, until I came across this job posting. It looks like after five years as a Heat Dancer and another ten years as the team’s Director, Janine Thompson is heading off in another direction. Janine did an awesome job as the Director, taking them from run of the mill to one of the most popular dance teams in the NBA. I’m sure she will be greatly missed.

In the meantime, you know how it goes. Off with the old, on with the new. I wouldn’t be surprised if the organization already had their eye on a Heat or Dolphins alum for the position, but hey, you never know who will wind up with it. Whoever they select will have big shoes to fill.

*****JOB POSTING*****
(click here to view posting on Careerbuilder.com)

Position: Manager, Miami HEAT Dancers
Location: 601 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132
Employee Type: Part-Time
Industry: Entertainment
Manages Others: Yes
Job Type: Other
Education: High School
Experience: At least 3 year(s)
Division: Human Resources
Post Date: 7/21/2011
Contact Information: John Cervera

Essential Job Functions:

• Act as a liaison between the Miami HEAT Dance Team and the HEAT front office
• Recruit viable candidates for the Miami HEAT Dancers
• Coordinate the annual Miami HEAT Dancer Audition
• Will provide input and recommendations as to the hiring, firing and performance evaluations of employees on the dance team
• Investigate and notify Director, Game Operations and Special Events and Marketing Manager on matters of significance that relate to the Miami HEAT Dancers
• Coordinate choreography for all dance team performances and routines, establish game formations, and develop talent of dancers
• Schedule and manage rehearsals
• Work with Game Operations/Marketing on music selection and edits
• Work with Game Operations/Marketing to design and create costuming for the Miami HEAT Dancers
• Maintain inventory of costumes, props and accessories
• Manage all game night activities for Miami HEAT Dancers
• Responsible for maintaining dancer rehearsal hours and submitting to Marketing Manager for payroll processing
• Maintain good attendance and punctuality at all rehearsals, games and scheduled events.
• Special projects as assigned

Essential Requirements:

• Strong background in dance and choreography in a variety of styles, with emphasis on jazz and hip-hop
• Has good understanding of The HEAT Group Marketing strategies and team philosophies
• Able to connect with and understand the Miami HEAT fans
• Has an established knowledge of the NBA and the NBA standards
• Has management experience with strong leadership skills
• Must be able to work extended and/or irregular hours including nights, weekends and holidays, as needed.
• Work well within a collaborative group environment, build chemistry and have a strong sense of team
• Detail-oriented with excellent communication skills
• Able to take creative direction and feedback

Minimum requirement of high school diploma or general education degree (GED), college degree preferred. Additionally, a minimum of 3-5 years of choreography experience. Ability to follow oral and written instructions and communicate with others in both oral and written form. Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence and memos. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers and the general public. Must be fluent in English. Fluency in Spanish is desirable.

JustJared.com
July 22, 2011

The 22-year-old actress, wearing Sutra earrings and a Katharine Kidd cocktail dress, opened up to the host about how she got into acting, Pretty Little Liars and how she really wanted to be…a Laker girl? Yep!

Ashley’s sister is actually on her way to becoming one and she shared, “She got to the final cut and goes tomorrow (today) for her final interview. I hope she makes it because I’m obsessed with the Lakers and if they win the championship this year — which they will — she gets a ring, and I’m going to steal it (laughs).”

She added, “I’ve always wanted to be a Laker girl because not only do you get the best seats in the house, you see them everyday and you get a ring at the end of the day.”

Check out the rest of Ashley’s interview here!

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Sasha here: ok, so I googled and found Ashley’s big sister Shaylene on IMDB. Click here to check out her profile and learn a little about her. Like the rest of the Laker Girl candidate, Shaylene will be cooling her heels until Sunday, when she finds out whether or not she made the team. Best of luck, Shaylene!