We have more video from this year’s tryouts. Today’s video is from Day 2 of the audition process!
Possibly this is old news, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it. The article below is about Alex Ramon, the Ringmaster for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show “Zing Zang Zoom.” Halfway through the article, they introduce his sister Leah, a former Raiderette who spends a lot of time these days flying high on the trapeze. The excerpt below is only the portion about Leah. You read the entire article here. And don’t forget to check out Leah’s website right here.
Alex Ramon’s career goes ‘Zing Zang Zoom’
Janny Hu, Staff Writer
The San Francisco Chronicle
August 12, 2009
…Bay Area residents might remember him as Alex Gonzalez, the teenager whose magic tricks charmed them at restaurants, libraries and parties. But the boy magician is all grown up now – at 24 – and he returns this week as the headliner for the Greatest Show on Earth.
Ramon, who uses his middle name as his stage name, is the second-youngest ringmaster in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s 139-year history, and the first magician ever to be featured in their circus…
His older sister, Leah Cristiana, is also in on the act. A former Raiderette, Leah – who, like her brother, goes by her middle name – graduated with a degree in dance from San Francisco State before learning trapeze at the city’s Circus Center. She has a solo turn in the preshow and is later featured as a dancer.
“It’s funny,” says Leah, 26. “You think seeing him up there – I mean, he’s the star of the show – there would be some sibling rivalry. But there’s no sense of that. We’re truly excited for each other.”
Adds Alex: “I was away on tour for three years, and when I came back and saw her, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ ”
Both are quick to credit their mother as their biggest fan, and Molly Gonzalez couldn’t be prouder that her kids ran off and joined the circus. She’s seen the show at least 30 times in person, and every time, she shines a special laser light so that Alex and Leah know exactly where she’s sitting.
“I still can’t believe it,” she says about their success…
…
Former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Taylor Duncan (née Miller) recently held a clinic for the Western High School Cheerleaders in Barry, IL. Click here to watch the video on Connect Tristates
Life’s a beach for these talented ladies! The AVP Dancers are the first ever official dance team of the AVP Beach Volleyball Tour, which hits dozens of cities throughout the United States each year. The team was founded by Whitney Frink, a former Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader, who was inspired at the Beijing Olympics by the volleyball dancers.
Currently a producer for NBC’s “Access Hollywood” in Los Angeles, Whitney longed to perform again, but could not devote countless days to a demanding NBA or NFL practice and performance schedule. So she approached the AVP with a proposal, and the rest is sun-kissed history.
Check out the AVP Dancers on Facebook
Click here for the AVP Dancers YouTube Channel
All 11 talented beauties come from a variety of backgrounds and have a plethora of experience. Count the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, the Laker Girls, the San Diego Charger Girls, the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders, the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders, and the Carolina Panthers Cheerleaders among the long list of professional pasts on this team.
And they’ve already got a swimsuit calendar! Order your 2010 AVP Dancers swimsuit calendar, shot in Los Cabos, Mexico, at: VBsuperstore.com
There’s been a lot of buzz about this new dance team, ever since they were spotted at this year’s draft party. I contacted the Cowboys organization, and Jenny Durbin, Director/Choreographer of the Rhythm & Blue Dancers was kind enough to send me this information. Thanks Jenny!
[Click here to download the full-size photo card]
The Dallas Cowboys are pleased to introduce an innovative, unique and exciting new element to their legendary game-day entertainment line-up. The Dallas Cowboys’ Rhythm and Blue Dancers, a high-energy hip-hop dance team, will bring a new level of enthusiasm and entertainment value to the entire game-day experience for the ever-faithful Dallas Cowboys fans.
Audiences will be entertained by the talented group of women upon entering the plazas of Cowboys Stadium before each game. After every Cowboys score during the game, the Rhythm and Blue dancers will dazzle fans with thunderous celebration dance performances from their elevated placement on platforms in the west end zone.
The Rhythm and Blue Dancers presented by Miller Lite were conceptualized under Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President of Brand Management Charlotte Anderson and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Director Kelli Finglass and is the first of its kind in the National Football League.
The Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue is a two-part entertainment entity consisting of a percussion troop and drum line to provide the rhythm and the dance team providing the spirit of Dallas Cowboys’ true blue. The performances are electrifying with their unique blend of cutting edge music and drum cadences.
The dance teams’ dynamic routines feature power pom and hip-hop based movement requiring both strong musicality and level of dance ability and are already proving to be a fan favorite at the Dallas Cowboys Draft Day and Training Camp Kick-Off Celebrations.
Since the short time of their inception, the dance team has been requested to appear at both charity and corporate appearances in the DFW metroplex, Texas, New Mexico and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jenny Durbin lends her expertise and award winning choreography as director and choreographer for the team. Durbin has been choreographing for 10 years for teams such as the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Dallas Mavericks Dancers, Dallas Desperados Dancers, The “Groovement Crew” and numerous college, high school and studio competition teams. She has also lent her skills to several national television commercials, television shows, touring stage shows and promotions such as ‘America’s Got Talent’, Mary Kay, Hasbro, MTV’s ‘TRL,’ Harrah’s Casinos and Monday Night Football. Durbin plans to use her extensive hip-hop dance experience and unique coaching style to influence the style of the innovative Rhythm and Blue Dancers.
The 23 young women selected to lead the inaugural season of the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue are no strangers to the excellence and quality of the Dallas Cowboys dance programs as they are the former members of the nationally-acclaimed Dallas Desperados Dancers.
“Each one of the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue Dancers possesses the talent, intelligence, poise and beauty we were looking for to represent the team and they will serve as excellent ambassadors for the organization and role models within our community,” Durbin says of the team. The team consists of Ivy-League graduates, sales professionals, lawyers, professional dancers and instructors and students.
The official uniform of the Rhythm and Blue Dancers was created by Robert Best, acclaimed designer for Barbie, and Kelli Finglass. The uniform is a sophisticated long-sleeved unit body garment that glistens in silver and blue. The uniform evokes a stylish and hip Cowboy image while keeping the tradition and excellence of America’s Team.
The Dallas Cowboys are long-heralded for their innovation, prestige and merit in game day entertainment and were challenged with providing more entertainment to cover every area of the new Texas Stadium…the result is your much anticipated Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue!
We’ve got a few photos of the 2009-10 WRC Ambassadors from the recent Washington Redskins Fan Appreciation Day. Check ’em out!
The Patriots Cheerleaders are in Afghanistan to visit with and perform for our troops, on behalf of the United States Army. Click here to see photos from their trip.
Dolfans get quite the show
Madeleine Marr
Miami Herald
Click here for photo and video
The Miami Dolphins cheerleaders unveiled their 2010 calendar in grand Miami Beach style Friday night at Casa Casuarina, the ornate former home of murdered designer Gianni Versace.
The emcee/DJ — T-Pain – arrived in a red hearse, complete with (yes) sliding coffin. Ocean Drive passersby craned their necks and snapped cellphone cameras. Infuriated cops yelled at members of the Florida rapper’s caravan — causing major traffic on the already congested avenue — to move on out. Classic.
To the dismay of some hard-core fans, T-Pain — a big Dolfan — has been enlisted to do a hip-hop version of the Fins’ fight song. Let’s hope he improves our luck. (Some original lyrics: “Miami has the Dolphins, the greatest football team. We take the ball from goal to goal like no one’s ever seen. We’re in the air, we’re on the ground, we’re always in control. And when you say Miami, you’re talking Super Bowl!”)
In the steamy courtyard, Fins execs announced that Land Shark Stadium will see some more changes: Pop artist Romero Britto — looking fit and slim — will put his colorful stamp on some areas. Also in the works: a private club with cabanas, fine dining, a separate entrance and other fancier-than-thou features.
Last but certainly not least, the squad hotties commenced a fashion show, each in a skimpy bikini with their month written across the chest. Then the calendar — shot in St. Martin — was unveiled.
Want to make your year? It’s available for $14.99 at miamidolphins.com.
More links for calendar party photos
The Sun Sentinel
Flasporty on Flickr
Busted Coverage
: Stephanie’s Day is an annual event in Dallas hosted by CBS11 that raises awareness for special needs children. Below is the unedited, raw interview between Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Crystal Trevino and DFWreporting.com reporter Candice Benjamin at the 2009 Stephanie’s Day at the Northpark Mall.
See the 2009 Stephanie’s Day video in HD reported by DFWreporting.com reporter Candice Benjamin on DFWreporting.com here:
http://dfwreporting.com/?s=stephanie%27s&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
By Jason Anderson
Staff Writer
Recordnet.com
August 08, 2009
STOCKTON – Some new emotions swirled inside Ashlee Marks as she descended into Baghdad aboard a C-130 Hercules military transport plane carrying American soldiers and four other Oakland Raiderettes.
The 23-year-old St. Mary’s High School graduate donned a Kevlar vest and looked into the eyes of troops who were being deployed for the first time that day. She thought about her appreciation for the American way of life, the sacrifices U.S. troops make in the name of freedom and the incredible bravery of the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters who risk their lives to protect it.
“It was a life-changing experience,” said Marks, a Raiderette for four seasons who works for an insurance brokerage firm in Concord. “I got to see firsthand what the men and women of our country are fighting for on a daily basis, and it made me feel so much gratitude and a newfound respect for people in the armed forces.”
The Raiderettes, who made an appearance Friday on Raider Nation Night at Stockton Ballpark, visited more than 40 bases in Kuwait and Iraq during a two-week USO tour from May 25 to June 6. Marks said they flew 17 hours to reach the Middle East. The temperature when they arrived in Baghdad was 130 degrees.
The Raiderettes toured Saddam Hussein’s former palace and the surrounding palaces where his wives and grandchildren once lived. They greeted troops, visited wounded soldiers and performed hour-long shows each night.
They traveled in Blackhawk helicopters with two pilots and two door gunners. One pilot asked them to autograph the inside hood of a Blackhawk that has been in use since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003. They signed right next to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.
“It was nothing short of an honor to be selected and to go over there representing the Raiderettes and Raider fans, but more importantly all the Americans who support America’s heroes,” said Emily Compagno, a Raiderette who works as a criminal defense attorney in Burlingame. “For us it was an honor to meet them, but it was reciprocated tenfold in their response to us.”
Compagno said Marks did her part to boost the troops’ morale.
“What Ashlee brought to Iraq was such a warm spirit and joy and connection she’s able to make with literally every person she ever comes in contact with,” Compagno said. “I saw firsthand the effect she had on so many soldiers, men and women, who appreciated her sincerity, genuineness, care and passion for everyone over there.”
Marks met one woman who lost her leg in a mortar attack two days earlier and other troops who have been killed or injured since the Raiderettes returned from the trip. She said each of the American soldiers she met made a lasting impression on her.
“They would give their lives for anybody,” Marks said. “These men and women – I can’t even tell you – I just have so much respect for them and everything they do.”
