Ann Carroll
FoxSportsNorth.com
July 14, 2011

[Calendar Shoot Photo Gallery]

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — While Minnesota Vikings players and coaches wait eagerly for the green light to start the 2011 NFL season, the team’s cheerleaders are hard at work preparing as if it’s business as usual.

The team of 35 women, including 12 rookies, was chosen in April, the annual swimsuit calendar was shot and produced in May and now, in July, that calendar is hot off the presses.

It is labor of love for 14-year head coach Tami Krause. She is the calendar’s artistic director, coming up with the original design concept year after year. The location for this year’s calendar was brand new. The cheerleaders used an eclectic Northeast Minneapolis warehouse as the backdrop, giving the calendar an edgier feel than ever before.

“I am so proud of this year’s calendar. I think it is absolutely our best calendar we have ever had, for sure,” Krause said Wednesday. “I would dare to say it is the best in the NFL.”

It’s also one of the most unique.

“We are very proud that we are the only team in the NFL that features every single team member; that is 35 girls,” Krause said. “That is a big deal. Some teams are very selective; some use only veterans or the top 12 girls, but we feel every single one of our girls is beautiful and worthy of having a full page to represent the Vikings.”

A portion of the proceeds from the year-long sale of the calendar goes to benefit the Vikings Children’s Fund, the charity arm of the Vikings’ organization that helps raise money for the University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics.

So, with the calendar project off the to-do list, Krause is getting the cheerleaders ready for game day, whenever that might come.

“We are getting the girls’ bodies to their best physical condition, so they can cheer three hours on the sidelines,” she said. “We are focusing on knowledge of routines and learning a lot of choreography. Plus, we are working on confidence-building.”

Krause said there is plenty of conversation about the status of the lockout, but she knows her team must be ready when the Vikings are ready. There has been no delay in her team’s approach.

“We are practicing three days a week right now and hitting it hard,” she said. “The practice sessions can be 3 hours long, with a 3.5-mile run just as a warm up. Following the run, the girls are put through a one-hour cross training session all before one dance step is ever taken. We are constantly working on strength and endurance and tightening up their bodies.”

Nutrition education is also part of becoming a cheerleader.

“We had a nutritionist come in these last two weeks to meet with the girls to help them in their lifestyle and life stage for getting the most energy, recovery time and just making sure the girls’ bodies are ready to go in costume,” Krause said.

Plus, learning the game is a must for the Vikings cheerleaders.

“We ask the girls to start with just getting to know the fans,” she said. “Then, as fans start to engage with the girls about the game, the players, the season, they need to have information and knowledge. We want our girls to enjoy the conversation with fans and show passion toward the organization. The girls read game recaps, and we talk about the upcoming opponents and the schedule. We talk about players, changes — we want to be ready to go for all phases of our game.”

Though the cheerleaders spend most of their rehearsal time on the same practice field as the Vikings inside the Winter Park facility, a handful of them recently returned from visiting US troops across the country. From Hollaman Air Force Base in New Mexico to Fort Lewis in Washington and Fort Hauchuca in Arizona, it is an exciting opportunity for the women to spread goodwill and purple pride.

“They came back and said it was life-changing,” Krause said. “We realize that pro cheerleaders are the whole package and they needed to be prepared in a variety of areas. We do a lot of talking about being role models and representatives of the organization everywhere we go.”

Clippers.com
7/11/2011

[watch the video]

Auditioning can be an exhaustive process. It takes a certain something to put yourself out there in front of a group of your peers in a competitive environment. It’s never easy to willingly volunteer yourself to be judged. The whole process can be downright nerve-racking. To get through it, you’ve got to have some kind of spirit.

As it turns out, the 200 ladies who attended the tryouts for the Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team had just that. Girls from all over the country came to Redondo Beach with big smiles on, anxious to have their shot at dancing for an NBA team.

“I’m just really looking forward to the experience,” said Shannon, a first time tryout attendee. “I’m hoping to gain knowledge about this industry and go very far.”

Ultimately, all the ladies in attendance – both rookies and members of last year’s team – aimed to pull down one of the 16 available spots.

“I’m excited to see everyone come out and try and be a part of this team,” said Brittany, the longest tenured Spirit Dancer. “All of us veterans just want to come back and get our spots back.”

The competition was fierce, but it was easily explainable. Outside of having the best seats in the house for games, being a member of the team has a ton of other benefits. The Spirit travel all over the world to make appearances (this Summer the squad went to China), and the notoriety and prestige of the position has launched many successful careers, both in and out of dancing.

But it certainly isn’t easy to gain that highly sought after opportunity. Potential team members were asked to memorize and perform complicated dance routines with little time to practice, and that was just the beginning of their day. Those lucky enough to pass the initial dancing tests were asked to do a formal sit-down type interview, and then finally, one last audition.

“It takes dedication,” said Anasheh, a member of last year’s team. “I don’t think people really know how hard it is to dance for an NBA team. It’s a lot of hard work.”

While the tryout process is definitely tough on the girls, it can be even harder on the judges. Narrowing down 200 talented dancers to the best 16 isn’t always easy.

“This is an extremely difficult process,” said Audrea Harris, the Spirit Dance Team Coordinator. “There are so many beautiful and talented ladies auditioning for the 2011-12 Clippers Spirit this year. I want to select the absolute best team, so I have the assistance and input of 14 other judges throughout a three round process. We definitely have our work cut out for us.”

Although there’s a lot of judges on the panel, they’re all looking for the same thing.

“We’re looking for great dancers and performers,” Harris said. “We’re also looking for well-spoken ladies that would make amazing ambassadors for the Clippers organization. We’re looking for the full package.”

Rest assured though, with the girls giving it their all and the judges making sure they select the best of the best, the Los Angeles Clippers 2011-2012 Spirit Dance Team looks to be one of the finest in years.

“I can’t wait to see the final product,” Harris said. “Any of these finalists would make incredible Clippers Spirit members…but there are only 16 spots.”

We’ll see who makes the final squad when the Clippers 2011-12 Spirit Dance Team is announced later on this week.

Click here for Spirit Auditions photogallery

The Alouettes have updated their cheerleader pages.

The Girls of Paradise … Sasha and Nicole
By Mickey Spagnola
Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine
(by way of DallasCowboysCheerleaders.com)
July 11, 2011

Now it’s one thing to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, but how about being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and a fulltime teacher?

First-year veterans Sasha Agent and Nicole Bulcher know all about that. Nicole is a fulltime teaching assistant at a middle school, where she helps instruct seven ESL classes – English as a Second Language – along with becoming the Step Club advisor. She considers herself quite fortunate to have landed this job after making the DCC and moving from her hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho.

She puts in the same hours as a regular teacher, then turns into a cheerleader after school, a side of her life she tried to keep from her students.

“I tried my best to hide the fact I’m a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader from everyone,” Nicole says. “Until the first faculty meeting when the principal, bless her heart, she was so excited to have me, put it in our newsletter that went home to the parents the first week.”

And before she knew it, thanks to that and telling the members of her Step Club she had cheerleading experience, it was “Ms. Bulcher, are you really a cheerleader?”

Sasha tried the same thing at her middle school, where she teaches special education classes, and also failed miserably at keeping her DCC status a secret. Hey, kids talk.

But there is yet another side to this Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader that made every day of the 2010 football season, her first with the DCC, seem like a 200 mph lap around the Texas Motor Speedway. Sasha also is a fulltime mother to a five-year-old daughter.

Talk about a juggling act.

“I definitely wear many hats right now in my life,” Sasha says, followed by a self-deprecating giggle, “so life is overwhelming, I’m not going to lie. But when you love what you do in all avenues – I love being a mom, my daughter loves that I’m a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and my love is to dance. And then I also get to use what I majored in and get to teach my kids.”

Let all of that sink in and you further understand what’s probably coming next when you ask the 28-year-old to provide what a typical day in her life was like during her inaugural season with the DCC after moving to the area from the West Coast. The first thing she does is smile before saying, “Whew � are you sure about that?”

“I try to do everything at night to get myself prepared, getting clothes, getting showered, getting my daughter’s clothes ready, getting my lunch ready – my little lunch box for school. I definitely have to be organized, and that also falls into practice clothes because I’m going to have practice pretty much right after I get out of school.

“So I wake up in the morning, and we’re talking last minute because I need every second of sleep that I can get, get myself ready, get my daughter ready for school, and we take off, drop her off at school, and I head around the corner to my school and get prepared for the day, start up the overhead, check email, get my lessons ready, make sure I know what I’m doing for the day. Then do my little hallway duty, then teach my first period and it goes all the way through seventh period. And, I must throw in, if it’s during the football season I will utilize my lunchtime to practice.

“Then after school is over, and remember the teachers have to stay after a little later than the students, I pack up my things to leave, get my daughter from school and head home, and that’s when I get ready for practice, get my bags ready and make sure I know what I’m doing. I usually will cook on the weekends or my husband will cook or try to utilize our leftovers, especially during the season. Then head to practice, and practice until Judy (Trammell, squad choreographer) says we’re done, and that could be very late, and start the cycle all over again. As tired as I am, I have to get my stuff ready or I’ll suffer in the morning.

“That’s the typical day of Sasha.”

Whew, wears you out just listening. So any time for fun?

“My fun is exactly what I do and any days off I have I definitely spend with my daughter,” she says.

So Sasha, the week of the calendar shoot, who’s teaching all those subjects over seven periods?

“This week Ms. Agent has a substitute,” she says, laughing.

Click here to watch the video!

Los Angeles Times
July 15, 2011

In the wake of “Carmageddon” during the 405 Freeway shutdown this weekend, law enforcement officials are urging everyone to stay off the roads. But sometimes there are important things to attend to, such as Laker Girls tryouts.

Usually these auditions involve young women fretting about whether they nailed the dance routine and have the looks to wear the glittery purple-and-gold costumes. But with tryouts taking place Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo, Laker Girl prospects will surely be tested on whether they can navigate the treacherous L.A. traffic without pulling the hair they just spent hours on highlighting, spraying and straightening.

“Hopefully, people will pay attention,” said Laker Girls director Lisa Estrada, who said the tryout date was scheduled between January and February and couldn’t be changed. “Obviously it’s in the media so everyone knows about it, even in other states. Hopefully people will know. If not, I end up with whatever I end up.”

In a way, it could make Estrada’s job a little easier. She plans to make three to five cuts after various dance combinations and is open to holding follow-up dance callbacks and job interviews next week so she can assemble a 20 to 22 member team. While she said no Laker Girls prospects have expressed concern about the NBA lockout that could wipe out or at least shrink next season, Estrada sensed that some members of last year’s team didn’t fully understand the commitment being a Laker Girl requires in attending games and making numerous public appearances and only makes exceptions to absences for classes or other jobs.

With the Laker Girls planning to make at least 100 appearances this summer and becoming the team’s ambassador during an uncertain work stoppage, what better way than to have Carmageddon help with the weeding-out process?

“I don’t really know. I don’t have a comment on that,” said Estrada, considering the Lakers have posted on their website guidelines detailing alternate routes on how to navigate around Carmageddon. “If people made preparations to get here for July 16 and knew this was coming up, then hopefully they will get there on time. That’s what I’m hoping.”

Back: Natalie, Becca, Ashley, Tina, Mandisa, Brianna, McKenna, Cassandra, Jennifer, Jenny, Katie S, Rachel, Lauren
Middle: Tiffani, Katie C, Angel, Jacy, Kellie, Anasheh, Ariana, Sharon, Sara, Michelle
Front: Shannon, Kristi, Jocelyn, Jessie, Brittany, Katrina, Andi, Bianca, Rhea, Mandi

The final round of auditions for the Clippers Spirit took place last night at PACE Performing Athletic Center in Orange County. The field of dancers had been narrowed down to 33 finalists, who put it all out there on the floor, hoping to win a spot on this year’s dance team. With 8 veterans in the mix, and sixteen positions to be filled, the pressure was on. All of the girls put their hearts in it, performing the jazz and hip hop combinations they’d learned at prelims last weekend. They also had a chance to perform individual solos, an opportunity to show off their special talents, showmanship, and crowd appeal. Now the dancing is over (maybe for a long while, if this you believe the buzz about the lockout) and the only thing left to do is wait. The team will be announced tomorrow, and I don’t mind telling you that I have no clue who is going to be on it. That’s how good everyone was last night.

I did my best to bring you back the goods for you guys. You can check out my photos on Flickr [click here], and you can watch videos of both of the combinations and all of the solo performances below!

The veterans: Mandi, Kellie, Anasheh, Andi, Rhea, Katrina, Jocelyn, Brittany, and Bianca

Tina

Sara

Natalie

Kellie, Angel, and Bianca

Kellie

Katrina

Rachel

Jocelyn

Jenny

Cassandra

Bianca

Andi and Ariana

Jazz combination
From Left:
#65 Brittany (red, white and blue top, red briefs)
#149 Tiffani (dark pink top, black briefs)
#190 Brianna (light pink top, black briefs)
#3 Mandisa (tie-dye top, black briefs)
#35 Katrina (rainbow top, black briefs)
#177 Ashley (red top, black briefs)

Jazz combination
From Left:
#156 Natalie (purple top and briefs)
#190 Brianna (light pink top, black briefs)
#45 Andi (pink, green and white top, pink briefs)
#25 Anasheh (pink and purple top, black briefs)
#39 Michelle (aqua top and briefs)
#125 Lauren (green top, black briefs)
#94 Jenny (red top and briefs)

Jazz combination
From Left:
#15 Kellie (blue top, black briefs)
#185 Shannon (red top, blue briefs)
#105 Katie C (green top, black briefs)
#35 Katrina (rainbow top, black briefs)
#192 Sharon (black top and briefs)
#94 Jenny (red top and briefs)
#95 Bianca (green and black top, black briefs)

Jazz combination
From Left:
#156 Natalie (purple top and briefs)
#39 Michelle (aqua top and briefs)
#59 Becca (green and blue top, black briefs)
#85 Rhea (pink top, white briefs)
#90 McKenna (yellow top, black briefs)
#130 Katie S.(red top, black briefs)

Hip Hop Combination
From Left:
#55 Jocelyn (kelly green top, black pants)
#156 Natalie (purple top, grey pants)
#89 Sara (sparkly pink top, gray pants)
#85 Rhea (pink and white top, grey pants)
#67 Jacy (sparkly green top, black pants)
#130 Katie S. (red top, white pants)

Hip Hop Combination
From Left:
#177 Ashley (red top, black pants)
#149 Tiffani (dark pink top, black pants)
#95 Bianca (green and black top, dark grey pants)
#3 Mandisa (tie-dye top, black pants)
#105 Katie C (green top, pink pants)
#35 Katrina (rainbow top, black pants)

Hip Hop Combination
From Left:
#63 Jessie (pink and white top, black pants)
#59 Becca (green and blue top, green pants)
#45 Andi (pink, green and white top, black pants)
#67 Jacy (sparkly green top, black pants)
#75 Mandi (white top, black pants)
#108 Rachel (blue top, black pants)

Finalist solos – part 1.
In order of appearance:
#3 Mandisa (tie-dye top, black briefs)
#4 Tina (turquoise top with black mesh, black shorts)
#15 Kellie (blue top, black briefs)
#25 Anasheh (pink and purple top, black briefs)
#35 Katrina (rainbow top, black briefs)
#39 Michelle (aqua top and briefs)
#45 Andi (pink, green and white top, pink briefs)
#46 Ariana (lavender top, black briefs)
#50 Becca (green and blue top, black briefs)
#55 Jocelyn (kelly green top, black briefs
#63 Jessie (pink and white top, pink and black briefs)
#65 Brittany (red, white and blue top, red briefs)
#67 Jacy (sparkly green top and briefs)
#69 Cassandra (purple top, black briefs)
#75 Mandi (white top and briefs)
#85 Rhea (pink and white top, white briefs)
#89 Sara (sparkly pink top, black briefs)

Finalist solos – part 2.
In order of appearance:
#90 McKenna (yellow top, black briefs)
#94 Jenny (red top and briefs)
#95 Bianca (green and black top, black briefs)
#105 Katie C. (green top, black briefs)
#108 Rachel (blue top, black shorts)
#118 Jennifer (green top, black briefs)
#125 Lauren (bright green top, black briefs)
#129 Angel (pink zebra top and briefs)
#139 Katie S. (red top, black briefs)
#149 Tiffani (dark pink top, black briefs)
#154 Kristi (pink and purple top, black briefs)
#156 Natalie (purple top and briefs)
#177 Ashley (red top, black briefs)
#185 Shannon (red top, blue briefs)
#190 Brianna (pink top, black briefs)
#192 Sharon (black top and briefs)

Auditions are over and the team is set. Click here for more photos of the team!

[Video from finals]

Grizzlies.com

The Grizz Girls will save the last dance for Saturday, July 16 when the Memphis Grizzlies dance team holds its final audition for the 2011-12 squad at Gold Strike Casino Resort’s Millennium Theatre in Tunica, Miss. (1010 Casino Center Drive). The competition begins at 4 p.m. with doors opening one hour prior and the event is free and open to the public (children must be accompanied by an adult).

To qualify for the final audition, prospective dancers competed in first round of auditions on Saturday, July 9 at Rhodes College’s Mallory Gymnasium. After a rigorous five-hour audition process, approximately 27 dancers were selected to advance to the final round, where they’ll vie for a spot on the 2011-12 Grizz Girls dance team.

This will mark the third consecutive year that the final Grizz Girls audition has been held at the 800-seat theatre at Gold Strike Casino Resort, a longtime partner of the Grizzlies.

Celtics.com: The Final Auditions for the 20011-12 Boston Celtics Dancers tipped off on Tuesday, July 12 at the Celtics’ practice facility in Waltham, Mass. The Finals will span three days, concluding with the selection of the team on Thursday, July 14.

Check back with Celtics.com on Thursday for updated photos of the final day of Auditions, as well as the first-ever photos of the 2011-12 Celtics Dance team!

[Photos]