Tryouts for the 2011-12 Red Rockers spirit squad kicked off on Saturday, July 9. After a rigorous audition process involving choreography, fitness tests, and interviews, 16 young ladies were selected for the team. Congrats!
By Aaron J. Lopez
Nuggets.com
July 11, 2011
[Audition Photos]
[Bootcamp Photos]
Over the next two weeks, 26 women will experience the dancing equivalent of boot camp.
The payoff will be one of 18 spots with the Denver Nuggets Dancers.
The 26 finalists were selected from a field of more than 100 candidates who took part in two days of audition at the Pepsi Center on July 9-10. Up next is four days of training camp at Forza Fitness and Performance Club on July 12, 14, 19 and 21.
“Everyone who came out for the auditions was amazing,” said Denver Nuggets Dancers coordinator and choreographer Amy Jo Wagner. “The judges had the difficult task of finding the top 26. We are very excited to see how they perform during training camp.”
Seven of the finalists were members of the 2010-11 Denver Nuggets Dancers, while four others were on the squad in previous seasons.
Wagner emphasized that previous experience with the Nuggets does not guarantee a final spot on the 2011-12 dance team.
“The biggest thing about being a returner is you know what to expect,” Wagner said. “That’s half the battle, being able to prepare yourself mentally for the two weeks ahead. I don’t think (first-time candidates) understand how difficult training camp is.”
Each training-camp session will include a one-hour workout with a personal trainer and two hours of dancing. The finalists learned two dance routines during auditions and will add two more during training camp.
“Four routines is a lot to learn in just two weeks,” Wagner said.
Wagner and a panel of judges will select the final 18 dancers, with the roster scheduled to be announced on July 25.
Here is a list of the 26 finalists, along with their professional dance experience.
Amber – Rookie Candidate
Angela – Rookie Candidate / Mammoth Wild Bunch 2005-11
Ashlee – Rookie Candidate / Mammoth Wild Bunch 2011
Brigitte – Rookie Candidate / Mammoth Wild Bunch 2011
Brooke – Rookie Candidate / Denver Outlaws Dancer 2010, 2011
Casey – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2010-11
Cassie – Rookie Candidate
Chelsea – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2009-11
Didi – Rookie Candidate / Mammoth Wild Bunch 2010
Dominique – Rookie Candidate
Emily – Rookie Candidate
Jacqlyn – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2008-10
Jana – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2009-10
Jessica – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2008-09, 2010-11
Kady – Rookie Candidate
Kali – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2009-11
Kate – Rookie Candidate / Mammoth Wild Bunch 2010, 2011
Katie – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2008-09
Kirsten – Rookie Candidate
Krista – Denver Nuggets Dancers 2008-11
Koko – Rookie Candidate
Miranda – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2009-10
Morgan – Denver Nuggets Dancer 2010-11
Peyton – Rookie Candidate
Ryann – Denver Nuggets Dancers 2010-11
Torrie – Rookie Candidate
Source: Portland Trailblazers
After weeks of tryouts and competition, 16 dancers will become the 2011-12 Portland Trail Blazers’ BlazerDancers today, announced live on Courtside tonight at 6 p.m., and on Trailblazers.com shortly thereafter.
Their first public appearance will be tomorrow, Tuesday, July 19, on KGW’s Live @ 7 show with Stephanie Stricklen.
In order to claim one of the coveted 16 spots on the 24th edition of the BlazerDancers, hopefuls had to go through a rigorous audition schedule that began July 9, at the Trail Blazers Practice Facility in Tualatin. Dancers were taught and judged on three different routines. Those that survived the cuts made it into the finals, and were joined on Sunday by any dancer that was on last year’s team and wished to reclaim her spot. All 16 spots are up for grabs, and while last years dancers get a bye into the finals, even those hoping to return for another season have to compete and earn their spot.
“We had one of our strongest groups in a long time this year, so the competition was very intense,” said Trail Blazers Performance Teams Manager Michelle Woodard. “It’s been a long process, and we are excited to announce to our fans who made the cut tonight on Courtside.”
All 36 finalists performed the three routines that they learned the previous weekend at the Winningstad Theater. In addition to the three group routines, all finalists were required to choreograph a one-minute solo routine and perform an unexpected 30-second “Hot Time Out” routine at the end of the day. As if that wasn’t enough, finalists who weren’t on the team last year were required to have an interview with members of the front office staff to ensure that those selected are great representatives of the Trail Blazers organization both on and off the court.
Recognized as one of the top dance teams in the NBA, the BlazerDancers engage fans and perform exciting routines at every Trail Blazers home game. The BlazerDancers also make countless charitable and promotional appearances throughout the greater Portland area and have historically been asked to represent the Trail Blazers and the NBA overseas in China.
Janis Carr
OC Register
7/16/2011
The Laker Girls are arguably the most prestigious dance teams in the NBA, so who wouldn’t want to be a member of the team?
Ask the more than 400 dancers, who showed up Saturday for the annual auditions held at the Lakers’ training facility in El Segundo. Women, such as Amanda Abbott, came from all over the country to try out for one of the 22 spots on the team.
For the past two years, Abbott traveled from Nashville, Tenn., for the auditions and was among the final 60 dancers last year. This year, she moved to Los Angeles to improve her chances of advancing further in the competition.
“They say the third time is the charm, right?” she asked. “I’m hoping this year I make the finals.”
Not every dancer is as lucky as Abbott. Nicole Garner, 22, of Anaheim, failed to impress the judges and was ousted after the initial group dance. The Cal State Fullerton dance major promised to be back next year.
“It was fun being a part of it,” Garner said.
The group was pared down to 192 after the first round. By then end of the day, there were only 31 women left in the competition, who then must return for a final audition and interviews with the judges.
The final team will be named later this week.
Sara Hecht
Trailblazers.com
July 11, 2011
The line outside the Trail Blazers practice facility wrapped around the parking lot. Sixty-nine new hopefuls for the 2011-2012 BlazerDancers were taking deep breaths to calm their nerves before entering the gym to participate in a grueling audition process for the major professional dance squad in the Rose City.
Day one was nine solid hours of learning choreography, practicing and performing for the judges. Three rounds of cuts narrowed the field as the day progressed. The first round, a technique routine, eased the girls into the speed of the day. The second round upped the ante in difficulty and the third round, an actual routine performed by BlazerDancers this season, pushed the girls even further.
The women fighting through the process, faced an extreme version of what many of them know as dancers. As athletes they experience tough workouts, fatigue and injuries. Band-aids and ice all made appearances on this day. The strength and endurance they’ve built over their tenures as artists were put to the test.
The audition process isn’t just a physical battle, but a mental one as well. For BlazerDancers, being an ambassador and performer for the organization isn’t their only job.
The search for BlazerDancers is an extensive process, and rightly so. Todd Bosma, Director of Game Operations, described a typical game day for a BlazerDancer, “You get to your real job, you do that from 9 to 4:30 or so and if you’re a BlazerDancer you come to the arena and then you start getting ready to be a dancer, that’s a long day. So you have to be physically able to handle that and then mentally you’re performing in front of 20,00 fans. I think the audition process is a good way for us to start seeing who physically and mentally can handle being out there.”
The search for BlazerDancers is an extensive process, and rightly so.
The next day the 25 girls who survived day one were joined by the 11 BlazerDancers veterans returning to audition for their spots on the team for the 2011-2012 season. There are no guarantees for the veterans, they have to earn their titles just like everyone else.
Looking forward, the finalists face a round of interviews and a final performance of the the three routines they learned on day two, as well as a solo of their own making.
After that… the promised land and a season spent as a BlazerDancer.
See the photo gallery of BlazerDancers auditions.
Bios are online for the newest edition of the Chiefs Cheerleaders. Click here to check ’em out.
They also included a few preliminary photos with the audition photos a few months back. Click here and scroll to the end of the collection.
By Ted Dunnam
YourHoustonNews.com
July 14, 2011.
For Elyse Derr, however, she practically emerged from the crib with happy feet.
The 2008 Pearland High School graduate hopes that 18 years of dancing will prove beneficial when she competes in the final round of Houston Rockets Power Dancer auditions at 7 p.m., July 20 at the House of Blues in Houston.
In her first audition ever for any professional dance team, Derr has already survived three rounds to advance to the finals. She is among 28 dancers who will vie for 18 available spots on the Rockets Power Dancers’ roster.
“I’m a nursing major, and I wanted to apply for a nursing school in Houston,” Derr said. “I just thought that being in Houston…this would be another good opportunity for me.”
Derr is a former Texas State University Strutter, and has honed her dancing skills at Dancescape by Joyce for 15 years.
“Even though this was my very first time, I was fairly confident,” Derr said. “My mother’s had me dancing since I was 2 years old.
“My first goal was to just make it through the first round, and after I did that, I was hoping to make it through the second round. I gained more confidence each time I danced.”
Derr said “probably 120 girls” auditioned in the opening round. Then the number was pared to 100 for the second round. After the second round was completed, the number of competitors diminished to 52.
When the third round was complete, only 28 dancers remained.
“Each round was different,” Derr said. “We just did a basic sideline routine in the first round. Round two featured hip-hop, and round three was a jazz routine.
“This final round will be a production. We’ll learn a number this Friday and perform it, and we’ll also have to do each routine that we’ve learned through the entire process.”
If Derr is selected to the squad, it will certainly be a special day for her.
“When they have the final round at the House of Blues, it’s the same day as my 21st birthday,” she said. “I’ll probably be pretty nervous, but I’ll also be pretty confident.”
Derr knows she’ll get a morale boost from her mother.
“She was a dance team director,” Derr said, “and she started me off dancing as soon as I was born.”
A former Pearland Prancer, dancing is second nature to Derr. However, she’s taking nothing for granted when she performs in front of numerous friends and family members next Wednesday.
“If I make the team, I’ll be really happy,” she said. “If I don’t make it, I’ll be a little disappointed but not extremely heart-broken. I’m really happy to have made it this far.”
Individual profiles for the 2011-12 Houston Texans are online. Click here to learn more about the team!
Duyen, Stephanie, and Tabbetha
Night to Remember
By Josh Cohen
Orlando Magic
July 15, 2011
ORLANDO — It lasted a little over 15 minutes.
It felt like a little over 15 years.
For those that heard their names called when the members of the 2011-12 Orlando Magic Dance Team were announced on Friday, the nervousness, trepidation and anxiety felt during those stressful 15-plus minutes of deliberations from the judges was well worth it.
After a week of rigorous and passionate audition activities, which included a very competitive First Round, a couple days of backbreaking boot camp, pressure-packed interviews with a variety of judges, an assortment of dance rehearsals and spectacular final performances in front of hundreds at Amway Center, the winners can finally celebrate a job well done.
For the returnees from last season, which include Tara, Lyndsay, Jessica, Emmy, Shalize, Victoria, Abby, Jazmin, Heather, Virgilia, Ashley, Priya, and Kendra, they proved they are exceptional performers with a demonstrated talent to lead by example.
“It’s that much more exciting,” Jazmin said about being named to the team for a second season. “Last year was one of the best year’s of my life. I feel I have a lot to bring to the table in terms lending a helping hand to those that need it.”
“Walking into this arena last year as a rookie was an eye-opening experience,” Abby said. “For the veterans who have been in this arena before, it’s our time to help the rookies.”
For the rookies, which include Katie, Krystle, Tya, Gizelle, Casey, Shaunte and Laine, they showed they have unlimited potential and a willingness to adapt to the Magic’s techniques.
“I just wanted it that much more knowing how much fun I had trying out last year,” said Shaunte, who made it to the finals last season. “I got a taste of it last year and I came in more confident and relaxed this year.”
It was very apparent at final auditions that whomever Dance Team Manager Jeanine Klem-Thomas and her accompanying judges selected, there would be no shortage of personality, elegance and commitment.
Smiles lit up on each finalist’s face every time they took the stage to perform their routine in front of all the spectators.
And it was no different when these incredibly gifted entertainers arrived last Saturday for First Round Auditions or when they had to battle all the exhaustion from the various physical challenges at boot camp or even when they were forced to answer the rather intricate questions during the interview stage.
Over the next few months, the 20 members of the Magic Dance Team will begin preparations in their quest to become the most dynamic and dazzling dance squad in the NBA.
And during this time, we will begin to learn more and more about each of the dancer’s backgrounds and personal stories like how Katie flew into town last week from Cleveland where she was a dancer for the Cavaliers the last three seasons.
We will certainly notice the cohesion that these 20 artists will develop as they become more and more familiar with each other.
We will see more and more improvement, both individually and collectively, and we will ultimately see an outstanding dance team perform at every game at Amway Center during the 2011-12 season.
It was very telling how integrated the team already is when all 20 members of the squad along their manager, Klem-Thomas, and assistant coach, Cherie LaRosa, huddled around each other. The chant went like this:
“Who came to bring it?” Klem-Thomas shouted.
“We came to bring it!” the dancers shouted back.
After two more rounds of that recite, the whole team with hands in erupted with OMD’S (short for Orlando Magic Dancers)!!!!!!!!!
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