The Cincinnati Bengals Cheerleaders have new unis for 2014!
The new 2014 costumes
The 2008-14 costumes
The Redskins Cheerleader pages have been updated with new profiles for the members of this year’s team. Click here to check ’em out!
Oklahoma City Thunder
August 8, 2014
The Oklahoma City Thunder selected 20 women for its 2014-15 Thunder Girls dance team on Thursday night, the team announced today. Final auditions took place in front of a full house at the Showplace Theatre in Riverwind Casino.
Of the 20 ladies, 12 return from last year’s squad, joined by eight rookies.
“The Thunder Girls represent our team on and off the court. They’re not just great dancers, they’re also community ambassadors,” said Paige Carter, who enters her fourth season as the Thunder Girls dance team manager and choreographer. “We’re excited to see our new team on the court and in the community, interacting with our fans.”
Judges for final auditions included Joleen Chaney from News 9, Joe “Blower” Garvey and Cody Hanson of Hinder, and Daneka Allen, who was named Miss Oklahoma in 1999. The panel assisted Thunder staff in making the final selections.
The final audition process consisted of three rounds: a choreographed jazz/hip-hop routine, a question-and-answer session and a solo dance.
Following last Saturday’s open auditions, 35 women advanced to Thursday’s final round. During the week, finalists took part in formal interviews and rehearsals to prepare for the finals.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have updated their website with new individual profile photos of their cheerleaders. Click here to take a look!
The Chiefs have updated their individual cheerleader uniform photos. Click here to take a look!
Top Row: Emma*, Belinda*, Courtni W, Whitney, Courtney J, Madison, Callie, Rachel*
Middle Row: Christen, Mariyah, Julia, Taryn, Kendall*, Ashley*, Courtney C, Stephanie*
Bottom Row: Amanda, Lauren, Jade*, Cheri*, Cassie*, Jessica*, Melissa*
*=veteran
There are a few familiar faces among the rookies. Amanda and Julia were Allen Americans Ice Angels, Callie was a Texas Revolution Revs Girl and a FC Dallas Dancer, Courtney C danced for the Texas Legends, Courtni was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, and Mariyah was a San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancer.
Kelly Steele
The Windsor Star
August 6, 2014
When Nathalie Couvillion went to her first Detroit Pistons game in Auburn Hills, Mich. last season, it wasn’t for the basketball players.
“It was the first NBA game I’d been to and I loved it,” she said. “Everyone was watching the game but I couldn’t stop watching the Pistons dancers. The whole time I kept thinking how much I wanted to do that.”
After the game, Couvillion, 18, jumped on the Pistons website and much to her surprise discovered they were already holding auditions for the dance team’s next season.
“I was really excited,” she said. “I signed up right away. I didn’t really know what to expect, but knew it was something I really wanted to do.”
Nervous, the Windsor teen attended the first tryout in July along with 150 other women ranging from 18 years old and up. She was thrilled when she made the first cut, becoming one of only 24 left for the 19 coveted spots. A week later, she was called back for another audition and wasn’t sure what to expect.
“When I walked in I noticed right away there seemed to be less than 24 of us,” she said. “The organizer said, “stand in line,” and told us to look to our left and look to our right because we were the members of this year’s Detroit Pistons Dance team. I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited.”
The coaches had already made their decisions and made the final cuts through phone calls. Not only is Couvillion the only Canadian on the team, but she is also one of the youngest.
The former competitive gymnast and dancer said the auditions were challenging as the choreographer would quickly teach the routine and then have everyone perform it as a group.
“At the auditions, I knew I had to stand out so when I would see them looking at me I would do a crazy gymnastic or dance move that the other girls couldn’t do,” she said. “It was hard not to look at the other girls and compare yourself.”
Couvillion, who teaches dance at Edmund Towers School of Dance in Windsor, loves to perform and can’t wait to take the floor at the Palace of Auburn Hills during a Pistons’ game in October.
“I love to perform and I love to make people smile while they are watching me dance,” she said. “When people watch me dance they say it helps them to forget about things. I also love the dancers’ gear — it’s really cool and the colours are great.”
As important as dance skills were, the coaches also wanted their team members to have a strong personality, confidence and athleticsm. Dancers perform during games and at halftime as back-up dancers alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry. Dancers are also required to appear at various team events throughout Detroit.
“They were really big on your personality,” she said. “They really want you to be a good person and someone who will represent the team positively. In addition to the dance auditions, we also did a few interviews where they asked a bunch of questions. It was an important part since the dancers also do signings and take pictures with fans before the games.”
Couvillion has always known she wanted a future in dance, but besides coaching wasn’t sure where the path would lead.
“That night watching the dancers at the Palace, I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. “I’ve watched them on TV before and always thought how much I would love to do it. Once I was there and could feel the atmosphere and the audience going crazy I knew I wanted to do it. I’ve always wanted to do something big and make a name for myself. This feels like that chance.”
Practices will start for Couvillion the end of August and she won’t take the floor at the Palace for the first time as a Pistons Dancer until October.
“I’m really excited, this really feels like a dream,” she said. “The whole experience is going to be amazing and I can’t believe I get to do this. I can’t wait to take the floor as a Pistons Dancer.”
Holden woman to dance with Celtics
By John Orrell
The Landmark
Sarah Pisa will dance at Celtics games this season. Submitted photo Sarah Pisa will dance at Celtics games this season. Submitted photo When the legendary Boston Celtics open their 2014-15 NBA campaign in October, Holden folks will be proud to know that one of their own will be front and center on-court gracing the famous TD Garden parquet floor.
But there will be no slam-dunks, driving the paint for an easy layup, three-point shots or baseline jumpers.
Holden’s representative will be 23 yearold Sarah Pisa, who has made the final cut and will be a member of the Boston Celtics Dancers team for the upcoming season. Pisa, a full-time registered nurse, was chosen among over 100 aspiring dancers that made the cut down to 30 before being selected as one of the final 16 to make the team.
The dancers perform before the game and during breaks in the action. To her and her family, dancing has been a lifelong commitment and to be chosen by the Celtics is both an honor and a dream come true.
“Dance has been such a huge part of my life, and it’s what I liked to do growing up,” she said. “It became such a huge part of my life so I thought I would give auditions a shot and see what happens. My family and I were so excited when I got chosen because they’ve seen me dance my whole life and it’s hard not to have dance a big part of my life anymore, so they were happy to see that I would continue to be dancing and I’m so proud to have been chosen.”
Learning to be the accomplished dancer she has become began at age four and continued through the years with competitive dance that required as much as fifteen hours a week in rehearsals. She trained and competed with Charlotte Klein Dance Centers, where she now gives back. She teaches children ages 2-13 on Saturdays and enjoys seeing her students progress.
Pisa, a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School and Worcester State University, tried out for the Celtics Dance team a year ago and did not make the cut, something that was disappointing at the time, but may have helped her in the long run. She says the experience gave her more motivation this year and raised her feeling of comfort, knowing what to expect in the auditions.
Final auditions were held on June 27 at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion. The audition consisted of a one-day dance intensive session with competitive segments featuring technical dance combinations, choreographed dance routines, group performances and interviews as well as solo performances where candidates creates their own choreography. On Saturday, June 30, finalists were selected to participate in the final show on the following Monday. The show consisted of various notable judges, including KISS 108 on-air and NESN Dining Playbook on-air personality Billy Costa and NESN Dining Playbook on-air personality Jenny Johnson.
“We started off with a basic across the floor combination three at a time and once you make it across the floor the judge either came up to you and gave you a call-back card or said ‘Thank you for coming today,’ and let you go,” Pisa said. “So once I got the call-back card, they gave me a number and then we moved on to the next phase, which was a jazzy, hip-hop combination which we did in small groups. And after that, they decided who they wanted to come into the solo rounds. So we all stood in line and went up one at a time and did improvisation dancing and after that they decided upon the 30 girls they wanted to take to the finals.”
Preparation for the finals was intense and nerve-wracking and it was here that all the years of formal competition paid dividends.
“Growing up with dance and being in front of judges made me not so nervous,” Pisa said. “I think it just becomes second nature to a dancer that there are people watching and judges watching every single thing that you do so you just get used to it.
“The finals were a big day. We came in the next Sunday and rehearsed all day long in preparation for the finals and then we rehearsed all day Monday and then we had a show at the Pavilion in Boston and that was really fun. We were able to have guests come in and watch. We did a jazz and hiphop combination and solos.”
It was following the show that the nerves from waiting for results kicked in to high gear. Would this be a second straight year of coming far but not quite close enough?
“It was nerve-wracking and at the end of the night we were all huddled back stage,” said Pisa. “They were just calling numbers one at a time. They called about ten girls and I was thinking ‘Oh no, it’s not going to happen this year’ and then I heard my number and it was like such a surprise and I was so excited.”
She will begin practicing with the team in mid-August, putting in as much as 20-30 hours a week. Besides dance time, promotional events in the community are part of the team’s activities. Each event usually consists of two to three girls at a time going out into the community.
Pisa admits that there may be butterflies on opening night but knows that her skill and commitment to the team will more than see her through. By October, the team should be well familiar with one another which is the goal looking forward.
“I think what will be happening next is more learning what happens on game day,” she explains. “We’ll be learning how to dance together as a team because when you have a new group of girls you always have to try and learn how to match each other and look unified.
“I think the first night will definitely be a lot of nerves but a lot of excitement. I never performed in front of 20,000 people before so I think that will be awesome and a special adrenaline rush.”
The Broncos website has been updated with individual profiles for this year’s DBC. Click here to read up on the team!
The ladies from Miami really showed up yesterday for the Heat Dancers open call. Click here to check out the gallery from the first rounds of this year’s auditions!
It’s almost like there was a Converse rep in the lobby, giving away free samples…
