HoustonTexans.com: Following are the 29 members of the 2010 Houston Texans Cheerleaders. One more member will be chosen among four finalists, who will be announced Sunday, May 2, 2010, at 10:30 p.m. CT on ABC-13.
From Sunday, April 28, at 11 p.m. CT through Thursday, April 29, at midnight, fans will be able to vote for the finalist who they think is the most deserving of the last spot on the squad. The winner will be announced Friday, May 7, at 4 p.m. CT on ABC-13.
Click here to check out a ton of photos from Saturday’s open call.
(MiamiDolphins.com) The first and second rounds of the 2010 Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders Auditions took place on Saturday, April 24, at Sun Life Stadium. Over 250 candidates were vying for a shot to move on to the next round. At the end of the day, 70 ladies were selected to move to the next phase which includes a one-on-one interview with the Director and dance clinics.
2010 2010 Cheerleader Auditions Photos
The 22 returning Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders will join the new candidates in this phase of the audition process in hopes of gaining their spot back on the team. On May 8 at the Final Auditions at the Aventura Mall the returning and new candidates group will be cut down to just 80 candidates performing for their spot on the 40 member squad.
Check back next week to see the final 80 candidates. Your vote can help your favorites make the team!
The 41 finalists for the 2010 Houston Texans Cheerleaders made an appearance at the Texans Draft party last week.
Click here to see photos from the Texans website.
Click here for photos on KTRK.com
And stay tuned: On Tuesday, April 27, at 7 p.m. CT, visit HoustonTexans.com to watch the live streaming video of the announcement of the 2010 Houston Texans Cheerleaders.
Peter Mucha
*Audition Photos*
First-round draft pick Brandon Graham wasn’t the only new face seen by fans at last night’s draft party at the Linc.
The Eagles also introduced the new cheerleading squad, with 12 rookies and 26 returning vets.
Three of the newbies have pro credentials: Dani Pretti, of West Reading, Pa., danced for the Reading Phillies, and Philadelphia’s Sarah Cossa and Glen Mills’ Jacqueline Ranieri danced for the Philadelphia Soul (un-defending champs of the floundering Arena Football League).
Also first-timers are Casey Baldwin of Media; Corinne Jenkins of Philadelphia; Danae Dinger of Easton; Danielle Kerns and Janelle Makowski of Glen Mills; Jennifer Mooney of Jenkintown; Kelsey Brooks of Aston; Kimberly Ransom of Nazareth; South Philly-raised Marissa Patterson, of Williamstown.
The vets, though, took all the honors at Tuesday’s audition finale, in which 60 women competed to make or rejoin the squad, said director of cheerleading Barbara Zaun. Philadelphia’s Stephanie Smith won the interview portion, Ardmore’s Tracey Dunn won for dance, Blue Bell’s Paige Bell won for fitness, and Bensalem’s Alicia Lee won for beauty for at least the third consecutive year, Zaun said.
Pennsauken’s Danni-Lynn Bell, Paige’s sister, is also back with the squad. She’s one of a troupe of Jersey girls, including Devan West of Absecon, Erica Dorsey of Marlton, Ivelisse Rivera of Hammonton, Jessica Gonzalez of Williamstown, Khira Cooper of Blackwood, Michelle Morris of Mount Laurel, and Priscilla Williams of Moorestown.
The squad’s two Delawareans are New Castle’s Cheryl Newton and Wilmington’s Jamie Steinberger.
The rest are all from Pennsylvania: Ali Smith and Heather Randall of Philadelphia, Amy Mecca of Allentown, Ayva Wolset of Royersford, Kimberly Mellen of Peckville, Kristin Garofalo and Krystle Campbell of Media, Laura Jenkins of Drexel Hill, Lauren Keeley of Southampton, Lindsey Sengebush of Collegeville, Monica Grandlienard of Archbald, and Tiffany Monroe of Mechanicsburg.
After photo shoots for their trading cards, the squad will be off to Riviera Maya in Mexico from May 16 to 20 to shoot the 2010-2011 calendar, Zaun said.
The Iberostar Paraiso Maya resort is offering a special package for Eagles fans that are interested in attending, but arrangements have to be made through the resort, Zaun said.
Once again, “eco-friendly” will be the theme, with recycled and natural materials.
For more information, go to www.philadelphiaeagles.com/cheerleaders.
David James Heiss, Staff Writer
Record Gazette
April 23, 2010
Maria Baldi heads to a San Diego Chargers cheerleading “mini-boot camp” this weekend, on the path to living out her lifelong dream.
The 22-year-old Cherry Valley resident, who graduated from Beaumont High School in 2005, has been named one of the 28 members of the class of 2010-11 Chargers Girls — whittled down from an initial field of more than 400 girls, including three former Chargers cheerleaders who did not make the cut this year.
She spent a few days in San Diego at various locations, performing prepared and impromptu dance routines and undergoing panels of interviews. Baldi had tried out three times before. “The first few times I tried out, I was really nervous and stressed out, and they see that,” she said. “This time, I just went in there hoping to have fun.”
According to Baldi, the first performance at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on April 13 included “a few eight counts, and if you make it past that you’re part of the first 100 to get called back.” From there, participants redo the routine with “more eight counts,” which helps judges narrow the field to 68 candidates; then there’s an interview, an opportunity to redo the routine — as well as perform one on their own; then there’s a span of time that seems to stretch for a long hour as panelists deliberate and determine the final 28. Overall, it was a three-day tryout. “If your number is called, you’re a Charger Girl,” Baldi said. According to her, “Performing in front of 10 people was the hard part.” She’s now looking forward to performing at home games in front of a crowd of thousands, which doesn’t seem to unnerve her, though she admitted, “The first game I might be a little nervous, but I’ll be with a group of girls who have wanted this their entire lives.”
This weekend she will have a chance to meet her colleagues and start working on routines as they go through orientation.
Baldi said that she thinks she will be paid $75 per game — and though the stipend doesn’t sound like much, there’s prestige and career-building and travel opportunities involved. And should the San Diego Chargers make it to the Super Bowl next year, she would likely join them to perform on the sidelines there.
“This has been her dream since she was 3,” according to her mother, Veronica Baldi, who co-coached her along with Sonya Balingit. “It’s something she has always wanted to do. I’m so excited it finally came through for her. She stayed dedicated and never gave up. She told me she was going to keep trying out until she made it.”
Baldi works part-time as a secretary at her family’s construction firm, Baldi Bros Construction in Beaumont. She also teaches cheer classes at Noble Creek Community Park, and is finishing up getting her business license for her cake decorating business.
A picture of this year’s final squad appears on the San Diego Chargers’ Web site at www.chargers.com/charger-girls/index.html.
She spent two seasons as a cheerleader on the Inland Empire 66ers baseball team from 2007-09, which she was recruited for (and hence, her “tryout” was much easier, she said).
Although she is a member of this year’s squad, she said that no one is guaranteed a spot for the next year, and that she will have to start from scratch and try out all over again in 2011.
“Even when she was at Chavez Elementary School” in Beaumont, “she was a dancer. She stood out for her passion,” said former Beaumont High School cheer coach Sonya Balingit, who is now principal of Hoffer Elementary School in Banning. “She was on the varsity cheer team all four years, and was varsity captain for two years. What’s been so great is, she shows others that you don’t give up on your dreams. She’s always excelled in cheer and dance, and she’s always had that spark and that passion, but she also has drive and ambition.”
To say that coacheing Baldi makes Balingit proud is an understatement.
“You’re always giving advice and encouraging your students to not give up on their dreams,” Balingit said. “To see her dream come to life is so exciting as a coach. For anyone who knows her, this won’t be a surprise. They’ll say, ‘Well of course she made it.’ And she really deserved it, because she persevered so hard.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 23, 2010
Greensburg native Gina Cerilli, Miss Pennsylvania USA 2010, will represent the Keystone state in the Miss USA Pageant next month in Las Vegas. The 24-year-old former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader is a 2004 graduate of Greensburg Central Catholic High School and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Philadelphia University. The Miss USA 2010 pageant will be telecast live May 16 on NBC at 7 p.m. from the Performing Arts Theatre at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
The San Diego Union-Tribune has some great shots from this year’s Charger Girl auditions. Click here to see them now!
(Mine are coming soon, I promise!)
…And the results are in! These are the 25 talented ladies who made the squad. Congratulations!
