Co-Captain Maigan Announced as Pro Bowl Cheerleader
By Maigan
Redskins.com
December 2, 2013

Hey Redskins Fans!!!

All that has been running through my mind since this past Sunday’s game is “WOW, I was selected as Pro Bowl cheerleader… Is this real life?!” I am so incredibly honored and thrilled to have been chosen by my teammates to represent us this year in Hawaii.

Pro Bowl has been a dream of mine since making the team 3 years ago and to see it actually happen blows me away! I couldn’t believe it was me who they were walking towards to announce, seeing it on the big screens in the stadium was so surreal. I feel very special to now be a part of an amazing and talented group women whom I’ve admired for so long. I hope that I will also inspire current and future Redskins Cheerleaders to put forth all their hard work and humbleness into everything they do. I promise to represent at Pro Bowl the way every WRC has who’s gone before me! I won’t let my team or the best fans in the NFL down!!

Thank you so very much to our director Stephanie, Jamilla and all the people behind the scenes for the complete surprise on the field. Having my parents there to share that with me is another moment that I will never forget. I feel very special to be a part of an amazing and talented group of Pro Bowl women, whom I’ve admired for so long. I hope that I will also inspire current and future Redskins Cheerleaders to put forth all their hard work and remain humble with everything they do. I promise to represent us at Pro Bowl in the same professional, upbeat and kind manner that all WRC Pro Bowl cheerleaders before me have done! I won’t let my team, or the best fans in the NFL, down!! The support from my teammates, family and friends means the world to me, I love you so much and THANK YOU!!! Aloha Hawaii, here I come!

See you there Redskins fans!!! HTTR!

Ok so this news is a little late, but the Jacksonville Sharks have selected their dancers for the 2014 AFL season. Click here and here to check out photos from this year’s final auditions! [also: photos from open call]

Auditions are scheduled for Jan 5th, so if you want to take a class, now’s the time to do it!

Profiles and individual photos now online. Click here and check ’em out!

Written by The Philster
Pro Player Insiders
November 30, 2013

Until 2007, the NFL teams in the Big Apple didn’t have official cheerleaders. The New York Jets rectified things on their end with the Flight Crew but the Giants cheerleaders, in their 3rd year of existence, aren’t official, just yet. To truly understand how the Giants went from having no cheerleaders at all to a squad of Unofficials, you have to understand the drive of the lady who founded the squad.

After moving to the US from her native Bolivia, the woman known as “Wonder Woman” to her partner, Ana De Villegas, spent her childhood training in ballet and jazz dancing and then joined the dance teams in high school and in college. It was in college where she started studying choreography in addition to earning degrees in Communication and Criminal Justice. She put that training to work in choreographing dances for her home studio, the Ballet Academy of Northern Virginia, where she trained when not in school. Once a young lady finishes dancing in college, there are a limited number of avenues left to continue performing. One of those avenues is in professional cheerleading and in 2009, Ana joined up with the First Ladies of Football, the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. After a season with them, she turned her focus to the Big Apple and got a job with the Broadway Dance Center. However, her role with the BDC was as more than a dancer but as a director as well.

It was in her childhood that she started on her path to becoming an entrepreneur. The Gotham City Cheerleaders isn’t the first group she created as she started groups as early as 4th grade. She even formed a company while in middle school called the “We Can Do That” Club to raise money to bring a friend with her on a trip to Miami for the summer. Her company did various odd jobs around the neighborhood and in addition to raising money, gained a fan base as well. All her success during her childhood creating successful ventures showed her some of what it takes to get something started. Seeing that the Giants had no cheerleading squad, she did the same thing as she did with groups and her childhood company all her life: she created one.

Like in many new projects, the biggest challenge in forming the GCC was listening to the doubters and naysayers. As Ana herself puts it, “There are 2 types of people in the world, those that believe and those that don’t. There is hope that most people are believers. There is the creative kid in all of us that still believes in dreams and in making the impossible possible. It’s really what keeps life fun and innovative.” Ana’s dream was to create a cheerleading squad that fans of the New York Giants could support while creating an outlet for ladies to perform as well as give back to the community. Based on how they’ve been received, she’s achieving her dream.

Ana goes on to say “While we are not sanctioned by the Giants, it’s a hope that we carry with pride, as we continue to be ambassadors for fans who are truly the ones that make this game come alive. Whether it’s a charity event, a special performance or our wonderful tailgate appearances at MetLife, I believe that people are inspired and moved by our team. When I come across people who say “don’t you think you should just give it up and be a director of an established team?” I can’t help but chuckle. This is the most official group of dancers you could meet. Not many people have the guts, the passion and the dedication that these girls do. They have the talent to go to any team, some have even come to us from other pro teams. Yet, they are here, making a difference and have left a mark in history. Not many people can say that. We have performed overseas, appeared in music videos and completed countless hours of community service and fundraising for charitable causes. It’s a beautiful, commendable thing that we do, why would we stop? Clearly, I can’t explain this in an “elevator pitch”, so it remains the biggest challenge to get those who question, to believe. Dressed in their red, white and blue uniforms, this team is to me America’s Dream Team.”

Away from the Gotham City Cheerleaders, Ana keeps herself busy in a variety of areas of dance. Before starting up the GCC, she landed a spot as a NJ Devils Cheerleader and midway through the squad’s first season, she joined up with Going Pro Entertainment, an organization that, among other things, helps aspiring pro cheerleaders make it onto the big stage. Finally, in 2012, after Christie Artinger joined her with the GCC, she took on the extra role as the coach of Pace University’s Dance Team. You can read more about Ana at Going Pro Entertainment.

By Katrina Styx
Hastings Star Gazette
November 26, 2013

It was the early 1980s when Jan’s School of Dance first opened in Hastings. Andrea (Schappa) First was one of the first students there, and she quickly became an assistant instructor as a sophomore in high school.

“It was the next step,” she said.

She loved teaching the kids and loved the challenge of making a transition from student to teacher, she said. She kept working with the studio even after college and still teaches there today.

Her next step in her dancing career came in college. The Mankato State dancers were invited to the Vikings stadium to perform during halftime, and there Andrea got to see the Vikings cheerleaders perform live. At that moment, she knew becoming one of the Vikings cheerleaders would be her next challenge.

She heard an ad on the radio that the Vikings would audition for new cheerleaders, and Andrea took the opportunity. About 600 people tried out, she said, and only 32 got to be on the squad.

Being a Vikings cheerleader was amazing, First said. Now she’s an alumni cheerleader, and still performs for certain events.

Inspiring the next generation

One of Andrea’s students was a girl named Kayla. Kayla started dancing at Jan’s when she was 2 years old, and she did her first dance recital with Andrea as her teacher.

Andrea had a big influence on Kayla.

“(Andrea is) somebody I always looked up to,” Kayla said.

Andrea has a heart of gold, Kayla said, and was always positive and friendly. And since Andrea was a Vikings cheerleader, Kayla figured that the whole squad had to be just like her teacher, and that made her want to be part of the squad as well.

“The reason I wanted to be a Vikings cheerleader is because Andrea was a Vikings cheerleader,” Kayla said.

After graduating high school, Kayla went on to college at Gustavus. A couple years ago she had an opportunity to try out for the Vikings and, although she didn’t make the team, she did get a spot in the training program, where she learned the squad’s cheers and its philosophy.

In April, auditions opened up again. There were about 100 people trying out, and Kayla was one of them. After making the first cut, she and about 50 to 60 other dancers attended a three-week training camp that prepared them for a show and their final audition.

The day after her final audition, Kayla got the call. She had made the team.

There’s a lot to being a Vikings cheerleader. The dancers practice three times a week for three hours at a time during the football season, and they make several publicity and charity appearances as well. They like to call it a part time job with a full time commitment, Kayla said, but “it’s definitely worth it.”

Mentor and mentee

Getting to experience the Vikings cheerleader squad together has been special for both Andrea and Kayla.

Andrea knew right away that Kayla had what it takes to make it as a dancer. Kayla always had a sparkle about her, Andrea recalled, and worked hard to improve. Dance is a passion in Andrea’s life, and she could see the same passion in Kayla.

Still, it was great to see her student follow so closely in her footsteps.

“It’s a neat feeling that you can impact someone’s life,” Andrea said.

As Kayla’s solo teacher, Andrea developed a bond with Kayla. And that only grew once Kayla made the Vikings training team. Andrea said she could just look across the field and see Kayla’s progression, almost just like she had 20 years ago as her dance teacher.

For Kayla, having her dance teacher around to help her through the audition process was invaluable. She emailed Andrea every day during the audition process, getting some critical support as she worked toward her dream.

“She’s definitely still a mentor for me,” Kayla said.

Performers and teachers

Being professional performers has made an impact on Andrea’s and Kayla’s teaching. For Andrea, being a Vikings cheerleader broadened her horizons, she said. It showed her new choreography, new techniques and new ways of teaching.

“It ups your level of performance,” she said.

Now, when she teaches at Jan’s, she’s better able to translate those skills to her own students.

For Kayla, being a Vikings cheerleader is an opportunity to inspire kids in the same way she was inspired.

“Them seeing me reach for my dreams… helps them do the same,” she said.

And since she didn’t make it on the team at her first audition, she’s a living role model for not giving up, she said.

Kayla is hoping she can be the mentor to her students that Andrea was to her.

“Everyone should have that person they can go to for anything,” she said.

Of course, none of this would have happened if not for the woman who taught both of them.

Jan Tripp, owner of Jan’s School of Dance, has been a pillar of support for both Andrea and Kayla, and her affection for both women is plain to see.

“They’re really positive role models,” Jan said. “They’re like my daughters.”

They are enthusiastic, upbeat, energetic and great with all the kids, she said, and they both have a huge passion for dance. And she’s grateful, she said, that they both take time out of their busy schedules to come back to Hastings to help her at the studio. The fact that they’re both professional Dancers as well as excellent teachers is just a bonus, she said.

And while Kayla credits Andrea for inspiring her to be a Vikings cheerleader, she credits Jan with all the rest.

“I wouldn’t be dancing if not for her and her studio,” she said.

“(Jan’s) just always been like a second mom to me,” Kayla said, and she’s honored to represent Jan and the school.

Sweethearts for Soldiers? This was an organization created by two former NFL Cheerleaders, Bari Yonkers (Arizona Cardinals) and Tonya Helman (Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers.)

SFS recruited NFL Cheerleader alumni from all across the country to visit American military bases in the US and abroad, doing handshake tours, performances, and meet and greets. They did a lot of good for many years before the organization was dissolved last Spring. I haven’t spoken with Tonya and Bari, but I imagine, it was just one of those things where it had served its purpose and life was taking both women in new directions. I know Tonya had remarried, but I wasn’t sure what Bari was up to. When I found out, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather. Bari joined the Air Force Reserves.

Bari's days and as an ACC