CBS has announced the cast and it includes two members of the Los Angeles Kings Ice Crew.
Click here to watch the video!
By Jay Betsill
DFW.com
Aug. 19, 2013
LAKE TEXOMA — The sixth annual Dallas Stars Ice Girls Lake Day took place on a scorching hot Sunday afternoon at Lake Texoma. It’s not like a group of ladies need an excuse to spend a hot August day out on the lake, but for this particular group, it was a celebration of making the Ice Girls team.
Following the auditions held at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco, 29 ladies advanced to a two-week Ice Girls training camp where first-year director Christina Swanson selected 23 of the candidates to represent the NHL organization at its home games at American Airlines Center as well as corporate appearances and charity events throughout North Texas. According to Swanson, the Ice Girls squad has never had more than 20 ladies, but this year’s talent level of skaters and dancers was so high that she kept more than originally planned.
The 23 ladies who comprise this year’s Dallas Stars Ice Girls team are Robbyn, Katharina, Candace, Shanelle, Chelsea, Stephanie, Mercedes, Jade, Rachel, Logan, Erica, Melissa, Cheri, Jessica, Ashley, Cassie, Belinda, DeAmber, Kendall C., Kendall Q., Lauren, Emma and Tori.
Lake Day, which is essentially a day for the rookies and the veterans to bond away from the ice rink, took place aboard a yacht provided by MarineMax Yacht Sales at Highpoint Marina on Beautiful Lake Texoma. This was not just any yacht, it was a luxurious $663k yacht that included an air-conditioned interior complete with two bedrooms and a lounge area with a flat-screen TV.
The day began at 11:30 a.m. and included several different stops on the picturesque lake located on the border of Texas and Oklahoma with the yacht anchored and the ladies clad in ‘Victory Green’ bikinis posing for photos and the Dallas Stars Ice Girls Lake Day video, which is annually the most viewed video on the Stars website. A highlight of the afternoon included a stop in the marina to pick up the gentlemen from DFWDrone.com who brought what amounted to a flying camera that they navigate in order to provide aerial pictures and video. After a turn on the jet-ski for several of the ladies, the day on the yacht and the photo shoot wrapped up with a perfectly timed stop just before sunset.
This year’s Lake Day video will be posted on DallasStars.com the first week in September.
For further information on the Dallas Stars Ice Girls, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
By Mark Snyder
Wicked Local Stoughton
Aug 28, 2013
DANCING FOR THE LORD: Stoughton’s Patrice Blakely-Ambroise has opened up a different kind of dance school at 2 Canton St. inside the Trackside Plaza. The former New England Patriots cheerleader is the owner and director of Praise Academy School of Dance. Patrice says she was unctioned by The Lord to open Praise Academy “as a dance studio that was searching to please God with their bodies as well as their spirits.” At the age of 12, Patrice choreographed and ministered her first piece in church and it was then God spoke to her about her purpose in dance ministry. Patrice was a competitive dancer by the age of 10, competing all over the United States and winning countless first place and high score awards. In her professional career, she was a New England Patriots cheerleader and featured as Ms. September in its calendar. Patrice was also a member and co-founder of Unified and Praise Dance Ministry, as well as the current founder and director of Full Anointed Dance Ministry.
Ambroise tells Snyder’s Stoughton, “Praise Academy is a Christian based dance studio that focuses on building up both the spirit and the body. Here at Praise Academy we believe that our bodies are the temples of the most high, so we focus our dance skills on that which will honor Him. We use only faith-based or inspirational music, have prayer to start and finish each class, as well as a monthly scripture. Our focus is to produce exceptional dancers who are well rounded, self confident, and have a clear understanding of who they are and whose they are. Praise Academy’s doors are open to each and every student that walks through them whether in faith or not, whether a member of a church or not. We are in love with every person God has made and want to be a blessing to everyone we can. In a society with so much pain, fear, and confusion, we want to be a safe, loving, fulfilled environment for everyone. We enjoy being a family.”
Melissa Boyle of Brockton had high praise for Ambroise: “My family has been part of the Praise Academy family since they first opened. Patrice is an excellent instructor and loves her students! We are more of a family than a business opportunity to Patrice. The passion and love for God shows in everything performed. My two daughters love being a part of Praise Academy and love to dance.”
So did Michelle Farley of Easton: “When I left I felt good, as if something special just happened. I am proud to have Praise Academy and all the Little Angels, God’s Promises, His Favor, Kingdom Praise and Victorious Vessels dancers as part of the Spectrum community. Patrice, you are an amazing dancer and teacher, a class act!”
It was a pleasure meeting this beautiful lady, and I thank Rev. Larry Johnson for introducing us. If you’d like more information on Praise Academy, email
PAmbroise@Praise-Academy.net or call 781-222-1425.
by Danny LoPriore
Port Chester Daily Voice
August 22, 2013
PORT CHESTER, N.Y. – Shana Fogz has found a way to mix business with pleasure, pursuing her professional career in business management while dancing for the New York City-based Gotham City Cheerleaders.
Shana, a native New Yorker and Port Chester resident, is currently a business applications manager for a major beer company based in New York and has been in the field for more than nine years. When out of the office, Shana is a veteran member of the Gotham City Cheer team, the unofficial cheer squad for the New York Giants.
“As a young girl I took many different styles of dance classes, but found that my true passion was cheerleading, which I did for 10 years,” she said. “After college, I hung up my pom poms and entered into the business world to focus on my career.”
Shana found her professional work stimulating, but missed the excitement of performing for crowds and dancing. That’s when she found Gotham City.
The Gotham City Cheerleaders are a team of professional dancers dedicated to sports entertainment and the New York Giants. The team will host its first annual swimsuit calendar release on Sept. 6 at M1-5 Lounge in Manhattan.
“A few years into my career, I realized something was missing in my life, which was my love of performing for a crowd,”Shana said. “I auditioned for an National Football League cheerleading team but needed more dance experience. Cheerleading for the NFL is completely different from high school and college cheerleading because it’s dance based instead of stiff movements and stunts.”
Challenged to improve her dance ability, Shana decided to take weekly dance lessons to prepare another shot at professional cheerleading. She’s been a member of the Gotham City team for several years.
“All of the ladies on our team are intelligent, well spoken, talented, and passionate about dance,” Shana said. “It’s a great honor to be a part of a team that supports the New York Giants. Each woman works hard to maintain her position on the team by attending practices twice a week, participating in charity events, and performing at various events around the tri-state area.”
Shana said the Gotham girls work hard to stay active and healthy by eating clean and working out almost every day.
“We must have strong, healthy bodies in order to keep up with the dance routines we have to perform for our spectators,” she said. “With the Super Bowl being held at Metlife Stadium this season, and having our very first calendar released in the next month, this is sure to be our most promising year yet.”
Part of the proceeds of the Gotham calendar sales will be donated to Superstorm Sandy victims in the New York City area.
“It’s only right that we give that back to the fans and local businesses that have helped us make this calendar a reality,” said Ana De Villegas, executive director of the GCC and former Washington Redskins Cheerleader.
By Clara Sandoval
Laredo Morning Times
August 26, 2013
SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs have a large following in Laredo as Spurs Nation stands strong and tall when they hit the floor every season.
Laredoan Clarissa Pena is vying to become part of the San Antonio Silver Dancers that entertain the crowds at all the Spurs home games with their choreographed dance moves.
Pena, a 2008 graduate of Nixon, is putting her best foot forward as she is one of six finalists for the last three spots with the Silver Dancers.
She is vying for the dance gig, but she needs Laredo’s help to make the team as online voting will determine who earns the last three spots.
The online voting starts today and finishes on Thursday as people can log on to Spurs.com and click on Clarissa Pena to vote for her.
Pena battled 93 other dancers in the two-day audition and 16 have already been named to the team.
“I feel a whole mixture of emotions,” shes said.
“Imagine being nervous, excited, happy, and anxious all in one moment, every hour of the day. I had so much energy that I didn’t want to sleep.
Most of all, I feel really blessed and honored to have had the opportunity to make it this far.
“No matter what happens, I know that God has a plan, and I will be happy with whatever he deems is best.
It’s not over, so I’m keeping my faith strong and am going to need Laredo’s help to make this dream a reality.
I’m also extremely happy to be able to go out there and represent Laredo.
I’ve lived in San Antonio for the last five years, so it does have a big piece of my heart, but Laredo will always be right there next to it.
Laredo made me who I am today, and I will never forget that.”
Pena recently graduated with Cum Laude honors from St. Mary’s University with a double major in psychology and marketing and currently works for Teach for America in San Antonio.
She is also a dance instructor for the St. Mary’s dance team.
Pena has an extensive dancing background that started at Diana Rendon’s Dance Academy for 16 years before she moved on to the Nixon cheerleading team and ended with the St. Mary’s dance team for the past four years.
This is not the first time that Pena has flirted with the Silver Dancers.
For the past five years, she toyed with the notion of auditioning before trying out last year.
Pena’s hopes of becoming part of the Silver Dancers stopped in the auditions but that only fueled her fire as she vowed to come back stronger this year.
“I’ve known about tryouts for the last five years but finally got the courage to tryout last year,” Pena said.
“Although my journey in the audition process last summer was short lived, I knew I couldn’t give up.
I spent the rest of the year coaching a dance team as well as practicing my technique whenever I had free time. I wanted to be ready and come back stronger for this year’s tryout process.”
Pena went to work since the day she was cut from the auditions and in a year went from not making the team to to being in the running for the last three spots.
“I feel like I’ve really been preparing all year long,” she said.
“Whenever I had some free time, I would work on different technique elements and focused on building on my strengths and improving my weaknesses.
Then in late March, I auditioned for the San Antonio Silver Stars Star Squad and made the team.
“I was so excited to be dancing for a crowd again.
This was the best preparation because the choreographer was always helping push the dancers, myself included, to be the best dancers we could be.
I also met some great friends, one of which who just made it to the Silver Dancers team, who really helped me improve on my dancing ability.”
Bios and individual uniform shots now online. Go get ’em!
Stephanie P, Jodi, Lisa Marie, Leigha Marie, and Casey
Melissa, Alexandra, Amber, Allison, Lasondra, and Kathryn
Alyssa, Brittany, Camille, Rachel, and Kikco
Stephanie S, Kelly, Erica, Jensine, Zoe
Heather, Hannah, and Angela
Click here for photos from week 3!
The American Legion presented its prestigious 2013 Distinguished Service Medal to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders this morning at the 95th National Convention in Houston.
National Commander James E. Koutz praised the Cheerleaders’ dedication to community service and support for the U.S. military.
“Since 1979 the Cheerleaders have made 75 USO tours to more than 200 locations worldwide and have conducted cheerleading classes for the children of military families,” Koutz said. “When not performing at football games or traveling overseas, they spend time supporting charities and visiting hospitals, including many VA facilities. They have also given their support to the Salvation Army, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Association for Hearing Impaired Children, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society, the Make a Wish Foundation, nursing homes and children’s homes.”
During the presentation before thousands of convention delegates, Koutz said, “If the Dallas Cowboys are America’s team, our next guests can be appropriately called America’s Cheerleaders. Not because of what they do on the football field but because of how they conduct themselves away from it.”
Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Anderson and DCC Director Kelli Finglass accepted the award on behalf of the entire organization.
“It is an honor to join such a respected group of recipients of The American Legion’s Distinguished Service Medal,” Anderson said, flanked by cheerleaders.“During their USO tours, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have always strived to bring a touch of home to the men and women of our Armed Forces serving abroad. It is just a small thank-you for the enormous sacrifices our service men, women and their families make to protect our freedom.”
The Distinguished Service Medal is The American Legion’s highest honor. Previous recipients include presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell and former Sen. Richard Lugar.
