Spreading Good Cheer Overseas
Buccaneers.com
[Photos]
Jun 25, 2009
“Oorah!”
That, as a dozen members of the 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders team are now well aware, is a traditional cry of greeting or enthusiasm by a U.S. Marine. Apparently, it can also mean, ‘Job well done!’
Meagan Pravden, whose father, grandfather and uncles have all served in the U.S. military, was recently treated to a rousing chorus of ‘Oorahs!’ at Camp Kinser in Okinawa, Japan, as were her fellow Buccaneer Cheerleaders. The cheerleaders, part of a traveling troupe participating in an Armed Forces Entertainment overseas tour, had just concluded a variety show performance for a large group of Marines, and there was little doubt it had gone well.
“They received our show very well,” gushed Pravden, one of only two rookie cheerleaders on the tour. “They say, ‘Oorah!’ and we absolutely love performing for them. The Marines are the best! Then again, we’re performing for sailors [Thursday] and that’s unexplored territory for me. I’ve never performed for sailors before. We’re excited to see how they receive the show, but all of our performances have gone over very well so far.”
Pravden and her fellow traveling cheerleaders — Tomoko Kojima, Tiffany Jimenez, Sahara Sears, Tramane Shuler, Jeni Summers, Courtney Russ, Holly Sellers, Sara Tetzler, Aubrey Gainey, Jaime Hanna and Cheerleading Manager Sandy Charboneau — have been out of the States since Thursday, June 18. They flew first to Japan then hopped to Guam on Tuesday. Tampa Bay players Michael Clayton and Will Allen also made the trip, though their itinerary has been slightly different.
The Buccaneers Cheerleaders put on two shows in Okinawa and filled almost every intervening hour with meet-and-greets and other appearances with members of the military. Clayton and Allen stayed in Okinawa one extra day in order to host a football clinic for service members at Camp Shields. For the cheerleaders, a third show at Anderson Air Base in Guam on Thursday will conclude the exhausting but highly rewarding trip; they will arrive back in Tampa on Friday night.
Charboneau and groups of Buccaneer Cheerleaders have participated in many such tours in the past, but each trip remains an eye-opening experience for the travelers, especially those taking part in it for the first time.
“What I’ve heard from most of the girls and how I feel myself is that it’s probably the best part of our jobs,” said Charboneau. “We get to meet people that we never, ever would have had the opportunity to meet. Seeing the impact it has on the people in the military when we just show up and tell them that we appreciate them, it means a lot. It really does.”
Pravden definitely agreed.
“It’s so much more than I expected,” she said. “I’d never traveled internationally before, and to meet all these troops, all the emotional rewards that we get back, it’s such an experience. I’m just so grateful to have this opportunity my first year on the team.”
Like Pravden, most of the cheerleaders on the tour have family members who have served or are currently serving in the military. A chance to say thank you to the men and women protecting our nation was a large part of their motivation to sign up for the trip. That seemed particularly poignant when the tour took the group relatively close to areas of current concern, such as Korea.
Knowing the danger these troops are willing to face, the cheerleaders wanted nothing more than to foster happier thoughts in the men and women they entertained and interacted with.
“Luckily, when we come and hang out with the troops we bring a sort of ‘lightness’ with us, just taking their minds off what they’re doing day to day,” said Sears, a four-year veteran of the squad who has taken part in previous overseas tours. “We’re trying to help them have some fun for a few hours. Emotionally it’s been just as touching as it always is. Each tour that we go on, we meet so many people and we hear so many stories that touch our lives in every single way, and this tour’s no different.
“It’s good for them to reflect and get their minds off being away from home. We meet tons of people from Florida and the Tampa Bay area, and even a lot of people who aren’t from the Tampa Bay area who are Bucs fans. That’s really cool to see, considering we’re thousands and thousands of miles away from home.”
Every tour is packed with appearances, travel and preparations. There’s a little time for sightseeing here and there, a little time for sleep. The schedule can be brutal on the face of it; the cheerleaders arrived in Guam at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, got to their hotel three hours later and were soon back on the meet-and-greet tour.
Still, the travelers uniformly agree that they don’t really feel the exhaustion until they get back to Tampa.
“The schedule is intense and it is hectic, but the thing is that we’re doing are once-in-a-lifetime things,” said Sears. “We’ve visited some troops while they’re practicing getting into their jets and we’ve visited other troops while they were working in the fire station. It’s stuff that you’ve really never had the chance to do before, so our energy level stays high because we’re running on excitement and adrenaline. The short hours of sleep are totally worth what we’re getting to experience every single day.”
Pravden says the adrenaline pumps double-time for the first-timers on the tour.
“I’ve never done this before so every experience is a new one,” she said. “Every meet-and-greet, you never know what you’re going to get, who you’re going to shake hands with, who you’re going to talk to and the experiences you’re going to hear. It’s just been non-stop and I’ve loved it.”
After another tough round of auditions, there are only 30 girls left in the running for the 2009-10 Knicks City Dancers. There are only 16 spots to be filled, so now it gets really tough for the candidates and the judges!
There’s a lot of new stuff from Round 2 on the Knicks wibsite. Click here to see who made the finals, to watch them work with guest choreographer Shane Sparks, and see lots of tumbling and dancing.
Cheerleaders Heading To Iraq
PhiladelphiaEagles.com
June 25, 2009
On July 1, 2009, six Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders will depart for Iraq and Kuwait as part of a 12-day goodwill military tour. This marks the second consecutive year that Eagles Cheerleaders will travel to the Middle East to visit US military servicemen and women. The tour is designed to entertain and boost the morale of the soldiers, many of whom are serving lengthy tours of duty in Iraq and Kuwait.
The cheerleaders will be performing variety shows at the bases in addition to meet-and-greets and autograph sessions. The cheerleaders will truly get a sense of the soldiers’ sacrifice as they fly in Black Hawk helicopters, sleep in the barracks and endure the severe climate.
Amanda Bedford, a fourth-year member of the squad, will be one of the six current cheerleaders making the trip.
“I’m going to Iraq and Kuwait not only to boost the morale of our brave soldiers and show my support, but also for more personal reasons,” she said. “I have friends and family currently serving our country in the military, as well as family members who have given their lives to protect our freedom. This tour is my small contribution to those who have sacrificed so much for us.”
Joining Bedford will be Krystle Campbell of Media, PA, Tiffany Monroe of Absecon, NJ, Janelle Stangl of Bethlehem, PA, Alexandra Stephan of Shamong, NJ, and Priscilla Williams of Pennsauken, NJ.
The new cheerleaders embarking on the 2009 tour are looking forward to the visit in part because of the experiences that the cheerleaders had during last year’s tour. Rachel Washburn, who was part of the 2008 tour said, “It was a life-changing experience. It was an opportunity for me to express my appreciation and thank them in person for the sacrifices they are making to protect us and people throughout the world. They are so courageous!”
In addition to traveling to Iraq and Kuwait, the Eagles Cheerleaders have also traveled previously to Bosnia and Kosovo for goodwill military tours. The Eagles Cheerleaders are very active in making appearances at military bases and veterans hospitals in PA, NJ, and DE. Most recently, they appeared at the Walk for the Wounded in Delaware County, a fundraiser for injured soldiers, and at a welcome home celebration at Sovereign Bank Arena for 1,600 members of the Army National Guard that just returned home from Iraq.
“These outstanding NFL cheerleaders will have a tremendous impact on the military personnel serving our country. All of the participants have expressed their passion for our troops overseas and are looking forward to a successful tour and once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says David Chavez, President of Pro Sports MVP.
Celtics.com was live at the auditions in Waltham Saturday, where hundreds of girls showed up for a chance at taking the court next season as a Celtics Dancer. Click here to view the photos on the Celtics website.
WALTHAM (FOX25, myfoxboston) – Close to 100 women strutted their stuff in hopes of becoming a member of the Boston Celtics Dancers. Check out video and photos of their auditions. (Click here for lots of photos)
File this under “WICKED COOL”
So, a few days ago I heard about the Oakland Raiders partnering with AirAsia to help raise the Raiders’ profile in Asia, and grow the airline’s worldwide market. I admit, I didn’t pay attention to the details. Blah blah blah… sponsorship. Blah blah blah…airplane. Blah blah blah…unprecedented creative endeavor. Yadda yadda yadda.
And then I saw this:
Yes, that’s an airplane. And yes, those are Raiderettes on the side. Sweet!
There are a few players and the Raiders label on the other side, of course. There’s even an eye patch on the nose of the plane. All of this is reallyl nifty. And I think it really says something about the Raiders and their pride in the Raiderettes.
Stop for a moment and think: what if it was YOUR face up there? I guess you’d try to get a couple more hours of sleep the night before the uniform photo shoot if you thought your image could eventually wind up on the side of an A340 Airbus!
FYI, that’s Angel, April, and Mandy from last year’s team. Angel and Mandy are still on the team this year. I believe April is retired.
Click here to read about it on Raiders.com
Click here to view photos on Posterous.com
Ever wonder what goes on at KCD auditions? Wonder no more! Here’s a chance to see for yourself.
Knicks City Dancers Auditions:
June 28, 2009
The Monitor
Hundreds of dancers showed up to make their best moves at Madison Square Garden today, but only a few dozen were chosen to move on to the next round. Meet the women who made the cut – those who will hit the ground dancing again tomorrow, the next step on the road to becoming a Knicks City Dancer.
The dancers return to The Garden [today] for round two, so stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes audition photos and video of the dancers in action, plus hit Facebook for KCD coach Danielle’s updates from the floor.
Click here for MORE:
Meet the Semifinalists
Day One Highs and Lows
Toes to Nose: The Highest Kicks
How’d They Do That?!
Look, Up in the Sky: It’s Dancers in the Air!
Line Up With the KCD Hopefuls
KCD Audition Photos ’08: Round One | Round Two
There was a great turnout for yesterday’s Clippers Spirit audition prep class! It was a terrific opportunity for aspiring dance team candidates to meet the Director, Audrea Harris, Assistant Director Cheryl Aure-Azurin, and a few Spirit alumni: Jessie, Brittany, Nicole, Melissa, and Brilane. (Click here for photos.)
Most of the afternoon was spent learning and performing a new combination choreographed by Cheryl. First, The Spirit girls (who had only learned the dance an hour beforehand) performed for the class, and then Cheryl started breaking down the counts. I swear, I hear that “Boom Boom Pow” song every day, and I had no idea the tempo was so fast.
Cheryl taught an 8-ct or two, then the group would do it a few times with the counts, then they’d do it a couple of times with music, and then she’d teach the next 8-ct. The Spirit girls were spread out in the crowd to help demonstrate and answer questions.
After they’d learned the whole combination and done it a few times, Audrea and Cheryl had them perform it in groups of six. Afterward, Audrea said they’d done very well, but she wanted them to try it again and really perform it – smile, attack the moves, keep it sharp, and make it clean. All of the girls took that advice to heart , and the second round of performances was really fun to watch.
Lesson learned: You can’t underestimate the importance of “selling” your performance.
It was a fast couple of hours. After all of the dancing was over, some girls had to leave, but most stayed for a Q&A session. There were lots of questions about everything – the audition process, what to wear, game night, choreographers, professionalism, time commitment, and balancing life as a Spirit Dancer with your life as a student, employee, race car driver, poet, turkey farmer, or whatever else you have going on.
There were lots and lots of questions.
By the end of the day, all of the girls had a MUCH better idea of what to expect and how to prepare for auditions. Tryouts aren’t for another 4 weeks, so the girls have a good amount of time to work on anything that needs to be improved between now and then.
Speaking for myself, I can’t wait to see these girls bring it on audition day. See you July 25th, ladies!
Campers put on impressive halftime performance
By Kevin Travis, Sports Editor
Washington Daily News
Sunday, June 28, 2009
PLYMOUTH — Boom goes the dynamite!
The cheerleaders at this year’s 2009 Charles Bowser NFL Youth Football/Cheerleading Camp certainly were explosive. Working in unison, the young cheerleaders put together a wonderful halftime routine during a flag football game that capped this weekend’s camp.
Miami Dolphins cheerleaders were on hand this weekend to interact with the girls.
Kim Leary, the camp’s cheerleading coach, was thrilled about the outcome.
“This has been a great experience,” Leary said. “The (Dolphins) cheerleaders have brought some excitement. They have taught them character-building, a healthy way to eat, the lifestyle of being a cheerleader, being smart and getting good grades, having fun and being disciplined.”
Amy M. and Kellie C., a pair of Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, were on hand to lend their support.
“This has been amazing,” said Kellie, a rookie on the Miami cheerleading squad. “The kids are so great. They’re eager to learn.
“They’re just full of life. We’re excited to be here and they’re excited to have us. It’s heart-warming to see them be excited to see us.”
Amy, a second-year cheerleader with the Dolphins, was glad she had the chance to mingle with and teach the campers.
“This means a lot for us to come out here,” Amy said. “Just to meet all these kids and to see how they’re doing in life is great.”
The campers were happy they had a chance to spend some time around professional cheerleaders.
“It’s nice because we don’t get opportunities like this all the time,” said Alexis Owens, 14. “It’s a good experience.”
Tiffany Palin, 13, enjoyed learning new routines from the Dolphins cheerleaders.
“It’s been good having them here,” Palin said. “They taught us some things we didn’t know.”
The campers returned the favor to the Dolphins cheerleaders.
“They taught us three dances and we’re hoping that we can bring them back to Miami and teach them to our girls,” Kellie said. “Learning the dances was the highlight, definitely.”
Campers were from Creswell High School, Creswell Elementary, Pines Elementary and Washington County Union. Participants ranged from first grade to tenth grade.
“It’s an exciting time to have all the schools come together and have a wonderful time,” said Leary, who thanked coaches Shirley Henson and LaTasha McNair for their help. “It’s all about learning to work together, and learning how to make friends.
“We’ve had a great time. I’m glad the girls had a chance to have this opportunity.”
There were certainly plenty of reasons to cheer.
