Rockets.com
July 22, 2010
Houston – After ten days of intense training, multiple auditions and nerve-wracking performances, the results are in and a new generation of Rockets Power Dancers has been unveiled.
Culminating a process that began with the initial round of auditions on July 11th, 18 lovely and talented dancers were chosen Tuesday night at the House of Blues in downtown Houston to join RPD co-captains Ebony, Ginger, Natalie, and Christie on the squad for the upcoming season.
The event marked the second time that the Rockets have held the final auditions in public, and more than 1,000 people were on hand to witness the festivities which included top-notch performances from all the finalists, plus Clutch the Rockets Bear, Launch Crew, Little Dippers and the Space City Seniors.
If you weren’t able to attend, don’t worry – Rockets.com has you covered with video footage (click here)
and a slide show (click here)
from the event.
And be sure to keep an eye on the Rockets Power Dancers’ homepage in the weeks and months to come for more pictures, news and information on the ’10-11 team.
[Finals photos on 39online.com]
[Finals video on Click2Houston.com]
By Paula Beltrán,
Houston Press
Jul. 22 2010
The Rockets Power Dancer final auditions were in full swing Tuesday night: oh the glamour, the perfectly-sculpted legs … the NASA engineer adjusting her hot shorts?
Yup.
“I’m an engineer at NASA, so when I’m not dancing I work with some of the best and brightest in Houston,” Summer Williams told Hair Balls. Williams has legs that Bridget Jones would kill for, but she has an even longer title: Sustaining Engineering Lab Manager in the Avionic Systems Division.
At NASA — which just puts the rest of us saying we don’t have time, or we are too drained by the daily grind to work out, to sh-sh-shame, people.
The women endured several weeks of grueling physical preparation — you try landing that step perfectly every time and then covering up the bruises that come with perfection. They devoted all their available time to achieving that winning combination of form, technique and, of course, sequined hot shorts and bedazzled bras.
The judges selected eighteen of the thirty women that tried out for the honor of cheering the Rockets this season.
Geneva Gordon was one of those selected and she was bubbly as she told us that this will be her third season with the Power Dancers. The artist is also celebrating her sculpture show currently at the Lawndale Art Center.
This season’s Rockets fans will also have the chance to appreciate the athleticism of Rachel Snow and Yvette Nguyen, who although new to the Power Dancers, have plenty of experience cheering for teams.
Nguyen, a recent Marketing graduate from UT-Arlington, used to dance and skate for the Dallas Stars, and Snow spent two seasons with the Texans.
True, they’ll have to get used to winning more often now.
The best part for all the ladies whether they made the team or not?
A break from the endless stretching.
31 Selected to Move on to Bootcamp
By Melissa Cebold
bobcats.com
July 17, 2010
2010-11 Lady Cats Finalists and Galleries
On July 17, 2010, more than 200 contestants auditioned for the 2010-11 Lady Cats. The tryouts started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m. After stretching and getting loose to some music, Lady Cats Director Brandii McCoy taught everyone a routine that would eventually determine the first round of cuts for the contestants.
McCoy has a few questions she needs answered every year when making the selection for her squad.
“Can they entertain our fans, are they pleasant to look at, is their fitness on point, do they have fun while they’re out there?” McCoy asked.
Everyone was divided into groups of eight to perform for the judges, and the first cut narrowed the competition down to about 75 women.
“There are some amazing looking girls here,” Andrea, a Lady Cats hopeful said. “I hope I did my best and smiled the whole time.”
While the contestants that were eliminated left the arena, the ones that remained quickly grabbed some water before McCoy taught them a new routine. Returning Lady Cats were excused from the first round, but now joined the rest of the women auditioning as well. The contestants learned another routine and were broken into groups of six for the final round of the day. After everyone danced, the judges left the room to tally the scores.
The judges selected 31 women to move on to boot camp. This camp will last one week where the contestants will go through physical training, as well as an interview process.
“I wish we had 31 spots because there’s a lot of talented girls,” said McCoy. “But now we move into the phase that’s the tougher part.”
The final team of the Lady Cats will be announced on Friday, July 23.
MyFoxHouston
7/19/2010
HOUSTON – There will be more incentive to mark down what days the bills are due with the release of the 2011 edition of the Houston Texans Cheerleaders calendar.
The Houston Texans Cheerleaders 2011 Swimsuit Calendar goes on sale starting on Friday, July 30. Calendars will be available at all open training camp practices and at Academy Sports + Outdoors locations throughout the Houston-area.
Calendars cost $10 and proceeds from calendar sales benefit the Houston Texans Foundation and the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center.
All of the cheerleaders featured on the calendar will be signing autographs at the first three open training camp sessions and on Friday, July 30 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.at the Academy Sports + Outdoors on Westheimer Road near South Voss Road.
Lots of cheerleader updates on the Miami Dolphins website. They’ve got the new team photo and are in the process of posting the individual pages. Click here to go there now.
Kristin Long
Memphis Grizzlies
[View full size team photo]
It’s official; the 2010-11 Grizz Girls have been selected. On Sunday, July 18 the final audition for the Grizz Girls took place at the Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica. The night was full of twists and turns as the final 30 girls gave it their all on stage to make their potential dream of becoming a Grizz Girl come true.
The process for selecting the 2010-11 Grizz Girls began at Rhodes College July 10. After the first cut, the 30 finalists spent a week at Boot Camp to help prepare them for the finals. The try out process was different and more challenging this year for the aspiring dancers.
“This year was definitely challenging because we had a week long boot camp,” said new Grizz Girl Melissa H. “We met up almost every night, learned choreography and got to mingle with the girls. It was a good experience, but it was definitely challenging and worth it.”
As for the turnout of girls this year, the returning fourth season head choreographer Tamara Moore was pleased.
“The turn out on talent definitely far exceeded my expectations especially compared to last year,” Moore Said. “We had high expectations and we felt that they were met and it was really hard to pick out the final girls.”
After a struggling week of Boot Camp the girls were back to give it their last try. With a packed crowd of screaming fans in the Millennium Theater at the Gold Strike Casino Resort cheering the ladies on, the night started off with a group dance by all the 30 finalists. After the group of finalists performed it was time for the girls to split off into groups of three for their last shot making the final cut.
Next up for the night was a special dance performance by the Grizzlies Grannies & Grandpas. The audience then got a surprise visit from Grizz as the judges met for a half hour to decide the final list. Hearts were pounding anticipating the final decision on who would be the Grizz Girls for the 2010-11 season.
Once results were in, the top 20 girls were announced on stage and presented flowers. Some familiar faces will be returning the 2010-11 Grizz Girls squad, but there will be new faces as well. There are nine veterans returning to the squad and 11 new girls joining them this upcoming season. Pure joy was on each of the girls’ faces as they stood together as a new squad. The hard work and dedication paid off for those final 20 girls as they made their dream come true.
“I think becoming a Grizz Girl will definitely make me personally just a happier being,” said Melissa H. with a huge smile on her face after her name was announced on the final list. “With the economy being the way it was last year I had a couple of downs. Now with me being on the team I can personally enjoy life more and I think it will make me become a stronger person. I am a stronger dancer now. I will get to network, meet people and be a positive influence in the city. That’s a great thing.”
Veteran Grizz Girl Jenn who is coming up on her sixth season with the Grizz Girl squad is excited to get back to the fans at FedExForum.
“The past few seasons we have had some really amazing fans,” said Jenn. “From the two guys that come dressed up yelling through the megaphone every single game nonstop to ticket holders from the first day. We have great fans. I have made some good friendships out of fans with the Grizzlies.”
The Grizz fans have something to look forward to with all the new talent the 2010-11 Grizz Girls has along with the returning fan favorites.
“They (the fans) can look forward to some great talent about and I am looking forward to just starting some new energy out on the court,” said Moore. “I think they (Grizz Girls) will come out strong and I think the fans are going to enjoy it.”
With the great talent, coaching and spirit that was on hand for the finals it will be exciting to see what the new 2010-11 Grizz Girls will bring to the court this season.
The 2010-11 Indiana Pacemates presented by Bright House Networks were announced after an Audition Showcase Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The members of the squad are:
Top row: Desiree, Shea, Tamara , Meredith, Ashley
Middle row: Jessica R., Erin, Courtney, Jarin, Kayla
Bottom row: Megan, Melanie, Sarrah, JoAnna, Jessica P.
The candidates went through a preliminary audition last week as well as personal interviews and a community service project. The Showcase was the final step in the selection process.
The showcase consisted of four parts:
* A choreographed dance routine with all of the 25 final candidates together;
* Smaller group performances;
* A fitness presentation;
* Solo performances by each candidate.
At the end of the program, a special panel of judges chose and announced the 15 dancers that will comprise the 2010-11 team.
The votes have been counted and the winning cover is (drumroll please):
Also ran:
New Orleans Hornets: 34 Honeybee hopefuls will compete for a spot on the NBA’s hottest dance team. Click here and show the Hornets which finalist you want to see next season at the Hive!
Honeybee Finals : July 22, 7:30pm
Generations Hall
Open to the Public
