By Joshua Boyd
Wicked Local Middleton
Tri-Town Transcript
August 14, 2013
Bring on the cameras! Middleton native Angela Lavoie is ready for her close-up.
After being a member of the Patriots Cheerleaders in 2007, 2008 and 2010, Lavoie has returned, making the squad for 2013.
“I grew up dancing, so I love to perform and what better outlet can you get than dancing in front of 75,000 fans?” said Lavoie. “It’s all the better when those TV cameras go by. It’s a lot of fun.”
Formerly, the Patriots had a rule where a cheerleader could only be on the squad for three years. Lavoie, already a three-year veteran, was a beneficiary of the organization extending that to four years.
“I wanted to come back while I still could. There’s just nothing like being on the sidelines for a game,” said Lavoie. “I love the girls. It’s a great team – especially with a bunch of new girls. I also love the community involvement.”
During the summers, the cheerleaders get together to practice Tuesday and Saturday, and that changes to Tuesday and Thursday during the regular season. The cheerleaders are at all the home games and they do not travel to away games. Instead, on the Pats’ away weekends, they generally take part in community and charity events.
“It’s involved, but you can create your own schedule. There are all kinds of promotions that you can volunteer for,” said Lavoie. “One that really stuck out for me was in New Hampshire. I ended up playing baseball with a lot of little kids, it was a fun day. I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I believe it was in 2010. All of the community events are unique and you meet so many interesting people.”
At the end of 2010, Lavoie and five other Patriots Cheerleaders traveled to Afghanistan and Qatar to visit U.S. troops both on the battle front (in the former country) and on R&R (in the latter). She and her fellow cheerleaders also took part in humanitarian aid activities in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan.
More recently, being a Patriots Cheerleader took her to the Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa on the island of St. Lucia, where the cheerleaders had their pictures taken for their 2014 calendar.
The cheerleaders donate 30 percent of the proceeds from the calendar to the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. They have their calendar launch party on Thursday, at which time they will also debut their new uniforms for the 2013 NFL season.
Click here to check out the first Sports Illustrated NFL Cheerleader gallery of the season, featuring cheerleaders from the Falcons, Panthers, Colts, Vikings, Chargers and Bucs.
NFL.com
Aug. 14, 2013
Go behind the pom-poms with Minnesota Vikings cheerleader Mollie as she discusses NFL MVP Adrian Peterson along with the experience of shooting the Vikings cheerleaders calendar. [Click here]
Dallas Culturemap
By Jonathan Rienstra
August 14, 2013
Saunders is the founder and lead designer for Waitressville, a new site that allows restaurants (both breasty and not) across the country to design custom uniforms. And though Waitressville is new, Saunders has been designing uniforms for more than 15 years.
It started with the Dallas Cowboys. Saunders was a cheerleader from 1995 to 2000; in 1997, she began a business designing uniforms, a fusion of her two passions.
“I had some horrible uniforms,” Terra Saunders says. “There was one that was a cummerbund with splatter paint, suspenders and a bowtie.”
“I’ve been designing my whole life,” she says. “It was a family thing, my mother and grandmother sewed, and I picked it up from them. I mean, when you know something so personally, wearing the clothes I was designing, it was a natural fit.”
After retiring from cheering, Saunders began selling her uniforms to cheerleading squads in the NFL and NBA. She’s designed outfits for the Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Oklahoma City Thunder and several others under the Dallaswear Uniforms brand.
In 2006, Twin Peaks approached Saunders about designing new outfits for their waitresses. She was suddenly in the breastaurant game.
Remember this?
“Here it cooooomes. Sunday afternoon FEEEEVAAAAAH!”
Thanks to the vigilant fans at the DCC Yahoo Group, word is out that you can now purchase both Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders made-for-tv movies on DVD. [click here]
Insert the usual disclaimer here: I’ve never purchased anything from this website, so I cannot speak to it’s legitimacy. But it’s only $32 for both movies, so if they take your money and run, it won’t take them much farther than across town.
I haven’t seen these movies in ten years or more, but I will give you the synopses, as I remember them. Keep in mind that although I love this kind of stuff, I am a card-carrying member of the UFPS (the United Federation of Professional Snarkers) and am duty-bound to represent the membership to the best of my ability.
Movie #1 first aired in January of 1979.
This movie is about aspiring DCCs going through the audition process and making it through to the first game. This is the movie with Jane Seymour and Lauren Tewes (Julie from “The Love Boat.”) There’s a million story lines here. There’s the reporter sent to write an expose on the team (that’s Jane), the former runaway who’s trying to put the past behind her and BE SOMEBODY (that’s Lauren), the shy housewife whose husband is way more into her making the team than she is (creeper!), and the aspiring starlette who wants to use the DCC as a stepping stone to Hollywood.
Guess which one doesn’t make the team?
The story also focuses on a veteran cheerleader who is all angsty about earning her spot back. If I recall correctly, she goes so far as to show up at the director’s office like “Oh ma gawd, I would just DIE if I don’t make the team again.” (Have some pride, woman!) And on top of that, she goes skulking around the stadium during the open call, to see “how many pretty ones there are.” She reeks of desperation.
Meanwhile she is being pursued by a guy who is trying out for the Cowboys football team. His best days are probably behind him, but he could make the team. And you know what will happen if he does. No
fraternization! Somebody’s getting the axe.
Most of the actresses in this movie couldn’t dance if were getting paid to do it. I mean that literally. They were getting paid to do it, and they could. Not. Dance. (Not as bad as Tina Yothers in the Laker Girls movie, but not much better than that either.) Jane Seymour had some classical ballet trainig, so she had some rhythm at least, but the others were a completely lost cause.) This is why there’s barely two seconds of any of them dancing with the group. But that’s part of what makes it fun. (Sidebar: did you know Jane Seymour’s birth nane was Joyce Penelope Willomena Frankenburger? No really. She changed it when she was in her late teens.)
The most famous cheerleaders from that era are all in the movie, and they do the heavy lifting when it comes to the choreography. I’m sure you’re all familiar with Tammy, the girl with the long blonde ponytails on either side of her head.
If I ever met Tammy in real life, I’d want to ask her if she regretted that ponytail thing. I mean, it made her instantly recognizable, but having worn my hair like that on many occasions as a child, I know she must have had couple of real sore spots on her head after those home games.
Thinking about this movie leads to an inevitable comparison with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. Makes me wonder when they started the training camp thing, because they for sure were not doing that in 1979. No boot camp, no swimsuit calendar, no jump splits, either. I wonder when they picked up those jump splits? I’m pretty sure that started with the Kilgore Rangerettes. Somewhere along the way, the DCC choreographer caught wind of that and was like “ok, we’re doing that now.”
Oops. Off topic again.
Movie #2 aired in January of 1980
It doesn’t have any famous people in it. I think they tried to get actresses who could actually dance this time. In this sequel, the Cheerleaders are in the midst of preparing for a big Super Bowl performance, when some famous character acter from that period shows up in a fake army uniform and says Uncle Sam needs to take the Cheerleaders on tour. Only he can’t take all of them, so they have to audition to see who goes. And by the way, they have to leave in a week. More Angst!
Tammy-with-the-ponytails takes the spotlight again because she SO wants to go on this trip to Japan and meet up with her brother who is stationed there. “Please, Mr. Important Army man, can’t we visit my brother? Pleeeeaaase?” (Maybe it was her boyfriend, not her brother. I don’t remember.)
She also appears in one scene sans-ponytails. I wonder if she had to negotiate for that?
Besides that, there is a sub plot involving cheerleader having an intense inner struggle about whether to go to med school or marry her man, quit cheerleading, or all of the above. Somethings like that. The
details are fuzzy. Alls I remember is her moms telling her to focus on her education, and Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome being all supportive and whatnot.
In addition to that, there’s another sub plot where a DCC who is a pediatric nurse by day struggles to stay emotionally distant from her young charges. An over-involved doctor pulls her aside to tell her that she needs to soften up a little. (Condescending jackass.) What he doesn’t understand is it isn’t that she doesn‘t care, it’s that she cares too much. (snort) That’s why she wears her professionalism like a suit of armor. (Or some crap like that). Eventually she – in a moment of spontaneity – promises one of her patients (Hannah, with the big sad eyes) that she’ll bring her teammates over to the hospital for a performance. When she gets around to checking with DCC Director, she is reminded that oh yeah, they’re busy with Super Bowl. And the trip to Japan, or wherever it is they’re going. So instead of going back to the hospital and telling the kids they’re out of luck, she gives her teammates a sob story and they volunteer to do the performance on their own time. (They don’t show the sob story part, but I’m pretty sure that’s how it went down. It probably started like this “OMG, y’all. I am so, so screwed…”) The movie ends with a rousing DCC performance at the hospital. Hannah with the Big Sad Eyes learns to smile again.
Meanwhile, Tammy is chosen for the Japan tour and her boyfriend/brother is assigned to the group as an official tour liaison. (How convenient) They didn’t show the trip to Japan. I think it was one of those
“everybody gets on the bus…and fade to black” situation. I can only assume everyone lived happily ever after.
I may have to buy these movies myself, if only to see how (in)accurate I was. And to marvel at those shorts. I bet those 1979 shorts look like culottes compared to the current DCC uniform. And I distinctly
remember one of the cheerleaders dancing in socks during the hospital performance. I’d like to know if I was right about that, or if I just made that up. Because if I made that up, probably a lot of this is made up.
For what it’s worth, I definitely did not make up the theme song. I remember that song like yesterday.
“Sunday! Here comes that fee-vah. Here comes that fee-vah that’s going around.
Sunday! And you’re a belie-ee-vah. You’re a belie-ee-vah in what’s going doooooown!”
A new dance team is coming to the City of Angeles! The National Spring Football League (NSFL) is a brand new professional outdoor football league that will begin play in the Spring of 2014. The inaugural season will include twelve teams.
March may seem like eons away, but it will creep up on us fast, and there’s a lot to get done. One of the first items on the agenda for the For the LA Xplosion is to host auditions for the brand-spanking-new
Los Angeles Xplosion Dancers!
Under the direction of crazy-talented dancer/choreographer Vanessa Martin, (fierce!) and sponsored by International Dance Academy Hollywood, this NFL-style dance team will bring entertainment and excitement to halftime at Citrus Stadium in Glendora, CA. The dancers will also represent the Xplosion off the field and in the community. If you want to take your dance career to the professional level, this is your chance!
AUDITION DATES
Open call: Saturday, September 14, 2013, 9 am
Finals (invitation only): Sunday, September 15, 2013, 9 am
Parking is on the street, so plan accordingly. (You know how it is around here. You may have to walk a bit)
LOCATION (both rounds)
IDA Hollywood
6755 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 200 Los Angeles, CA 90028
PREPARATION
Walk-ins are ok, but do yourself a favor and email Vanessa for the forms in advance
Bring your strongest hip hop and jazz skills, and bring those high kicks. (Start stretching NOW.)
Wear booty shorts and a bra/sports bra top
Bring your headshot and ID to prove you’re 18+
For more info, questions, or registration forms, email: vmartin@laxplosion.net.
Those of you who don’t live in Southern California, keep your eyes peeled for audition notices for the other 11 teams:
- Arizona Racers (Phoenix, AZ)
- Boston Freedom Fighters (Boston, MA)
- Florida Tide (St. Petersburg, FL)
- Georgia Blaze (Atlanta, GA)
- Kentucky Thoroughbreds (Lexington, KY)
- Ohio Pride (Columbus, OH) Dublin
- Oklahoma Wolves (Tulsa, OK)
- San Antonio Defenders (San Antonio, TX)
- San Jose Rush (San Jose, CA)
- Texas HeatSeekers (Houston, TX)
- Virginia Beach Stingrays (Virginia Beach, VA)
Four additional teams will join the league in 2015:
- Arkansas Renegades
- Las Vegas Gold
- Portland Aggression
- Rhode Island Navigators
Click here to check out the Spurs’ photo gallery from this year’s open call. One thing you will notice straight away is the new dress code.
I thought at first this was a mix up and these were photos from prep class. Nope. So is this a new conservative move for the team? I have no idea. But it is so interesting that the tank top has become The Great Equalizer. Not only is the tank top more conservative by virtue of the fact that it covers the midsection, but it means almost no cleavage, and way less razzle-dazzle. There goes the advantage of that custom made, uber-sparkly two piece.
This is one of the few who still managed a cute, coordinated ensemble.
Most of the other girls look like the tank top was an afterthought.
By Sarah Tressler
MySanAntonio.com
August 10, 2013
More than 100 young women showed up at the Freeman Coliseum Expo Hall early Saturday for the chance to snag one of 13 to 19 spots on the Silver Dancers, the squad that performs in front of tens of thousands of fans at Spurs home games.
For the first portion of the tryouts, Silver Dancers choreographer Raquel Garcia taught routines to aspirants of all sizes, shapes and skill levels.
“We have a lot of amazing dancers showing up — a lot of technical dancers, a lot of diverse dancers. It’s really exciting to see all of the talent,” said Katarina Harding, who was on the squad last year. Dancers have to re-audition each year if they want to hold their spot.
A handful of women evidently got cold feet before their turn to audition — nowhere to be found when they were called to perform for the panel of six judges.
“There are a number of different scenarios where ladies will show up, and either before advancing or after advancing, they’ll be a no-show,” said Chris Garcia, Spurs director of game operations and special events.
Each of the young women on the judges’ list had registered on-site Saturday morning, and Garcia chalks the disappearances up to “a combination of nerves and people that might not have thought they could get to the next round.”
In addition to the day of performance, the audition process includes three days of interviewing for those who make the first cut.
“We look for quality, well-rounded ladies,” Garcia said. “Not just people who look good on the outside, but truly for people who have that same character and value on the inside as well.”
Hopefuls had to learn a fast-paced, rigorous dance routine in just an hour. The pirouettes, high kicks and step-ball-changes had heads spinning, but for some of the chosen, the interview may be the hardest part.
“Dancing in general just comes naturally to me from the start, and performing is just taking on a whole other character and step outside yourself to perform for people,” said Kelsey Wildman, who made the day’s cut.
“When you have to be yourself, like in an interview where you have to talk about yourself, it just gets a little bit more difficult, for me at least,” Wildman said.
The interviews are set for Wednesday through Friday. Glory awaits.
Alas, there was no Carlton Dance this week. But it wasn’t the right music for that. And besides, is it me, or were the Texas Cheerleaders a little more subdued than they’ve been in past weeks?
