Charlotte Ross, Dean Cain and Taylour Paige star in series about cheerleading squad for pro basketball team
New York Daily News
May 27, 2013
“Hit The Floor,” VH1’s new scripted series about the cheerleaders for a fictional pro basketball team, reconfirms one of the great truths of our time: We never really escape high school.
Except for the age of the actors, “Hit The Floor” could be a Disney or Nickelodeon movie about the obstacles that face every kid who just wants to get through high school alive.
Only now it’s those same kids a few years later, trying to survive in the glamorous and treacherous world of big-time pro sports.
The show plays its position well, establishing the lineup quickly and efficiently.
Taylour Paige plays Ahsha Hayes, who has just quit her job at a bank to try out as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Devils.
Turns out her mother was one of the original “Devils Girls,” some 25 years earlier, and Ahsha apparently got the gene.
But “Devils” is not just a random nickname for the team or the people involved with it.
Ahsha has entered a world of guy complications, girl dramas and agendas she can’t imagine.
High school, anyone?
Jelena Howard (Logan Bryant) is the head “Devil Girl,” also known as the mean girl.
Kyle Hart (Katherine Bailess) is the girl who lives on the edge and plays by her own rules.
Olivia Vincent (Charlotte Ross) is the Devils Girls coach, hardline but fair. Dean Cain plays Pete Davenport, who coaches the basketball team and has secrets that also involve Ahsha’s mother Sloane (Kimberly Elise).
This world has been the subject of reality shows, and “Hit The Floor” shows why scripted shows are almost always more interesting. But the high school connection never recedes in a place with so much déjà vu they even have lockers.
Considering the fact that the Laker Girls are the most famous dance team in the NBA, it’s surprising that there’s so few photos of them on the Lakers website. They hardly ever have photos of the team performing. Not to diss the LGs, but other teams have so much more than that. If I could make up any job I wanted to do, I would totally take over the Laker Girl section of the Lakers website. And their twitter. And I’d totally set up an official LG page on Facebook. And it would be awesome. I’m talking photos, videos, downloads, cool graphics, and all sorts of other goodies. But until that day comes, I am content with finding good, current photos of the team. I found this set on Flickr. I don’t know where they are or why they’re there, but it’s this year’s team, and that’s good enough for me! Click here to check it out.
Rookie Laker Girls Melissa and Rebekah
Columbia native and Memphis Grizzly Girl Kelly Rash performs a dance routine at a game.
Columbia Daily Herald
May 25, 2013
A Columbia woman sashayed her way from a small dance studio to the FedEx Forum — home of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies are in the NBA Western Conference Finals, and Columbia native Kelly Rash is primed to hype up the crowd as part of the “Grizzly Girl” dance team.
Rash graduated from Columbia Central High School in 2009. Her appreciation of dance began when she was 3 years old at the Columbia Dance Academy, where she continued lessons through high school.
After high school, Rash attended the University of Memphis where she joined the college’s Pom Squad. The team won a national title in the Universal Dance Association’s hip hop division.
That title gave her the confidence to try out for the Grizzlies in summer 2012.
“Auditioning was definitely nerve-racking,” Rash said. “The college world of dance is completely different from the professional NBA world of dance.”
After several tryouts, she made the team and is in her second season as a Grizzly Girl. One of her favorite parts is performing in the “Grindhouse,” the nickname given to the FedEx Forum by Grizzlies guard Tony Allen.
Rash said Memphis is “going crazy” right now because of its playoff appearance — high fives and camaraderie abound throughout the city.
Jim Rash, Kelly’s father, simply described his daughter as “amazing.” He credits her hard work and dedication for getting her to the professional level.
“We are really proud of Kelly for a lot of reasons,” her father said. “She is a go-getter.”
Kelly Rash currently is taking courses in dental hygiene at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She is slated to graduate in May 2014.
Juggling school and work is all about time management, but she is still able to find time for both.
“School is during the day, and the Grizzlies are at night,” Kelly Rash said.
The Grizzly Girl comes home to visit family when she gets a chance. Rash said she misses her dance studio — the place that started her on the right foot — most of all.
“Even though I get to perform for 18,000 people at the FedEx Forum, I still miss having recital at Columbia State and dancing in my small studio,” Kelly Rash said.
Click here to see what the MDC were up to at the annual celebration of Latin culture and music at Sea World in Orlando, Florida.
Photobombed by Shamu?
I stumbled across this video just now. It’ was produced by a photography company as an example of their work, and shows a few New England Patriots Cheerleaders doing an appearance with the team mascot on the football field. It plays in fast forward, and in less than a minute you can see what it’s like to stand there while hundreds of Patriots fans pass through to have their photo taken with you. It kinda makes you go “whoa.” That’s a lot of smiling and being friendly, and – depending on how many little kids are in the line – a lot of up and down. You have to be just as friendly and approachable for fan #201 as you were for the first guy in line. Watching this video, you have to wonder what it’s like to do all that when you’re tired, or sick, or bloated, or in a bad mood, or when all of your friends are off somewhere doing something awesomely fun without you. Then again, sometimes you have to do this while you’re an exotic locale for a swimsuit shoot, and I bet in those cases, you have a whole other attitude.
NE Patriots Cheerleaders (Photos on the Field) from Photos In A Minute on Vimeo.
Rachel Swanson named to 2013 squad.
Jeremie Smith
The Napa Valley Patch
April 3, 2013
After a six-week audition process, the New England Patriots Cheerleaders have chosen their squad for the 2013 season.
Rachel Swanson, a Napa Valley native, made the cut. She is one of 25 chosen for the 2013 squad out of 36 finalists.
Swanson is currently completing her final semester at San Diego State University in the Didactic Program of Dietetics to become a Registered Dietician.
“Rachel brought her vivacity and charisma to the San Diego Charger Girls 2012-2013 season,” the Patriots’ staff said.
“Rachel is planning to move to Massachusetts to work with some of the most prestigious medical doctors in the country, working on the forefront of disease prevention and dietary implications with programs like the Clinton Global Initiative and Capitol Hill legislation,” they added.
“This is Rachel’s rookie year as a Patriots Cheerleader,” the staff said.
Swanson made it through the finals to participate in the annual Patriots Cheerleaders Boot Camp – the final phase of the audition process.
That was after she passed through the preliminary auditions in March .
The boot camp portion of the audition was completed on March 30.
After the completion of the final boot camp session, the squad chose 25 women from the field of 36 finalists to comprise the 2013 team.
By JARETT WIESELMAN
Entertainment Tonight
May 22, 2013
The Laker Girls are famous the world over and now a new VH1 scripted series will reveal to the world what it takes to earn — and keep — a spot on the team!
Hit The Floor, premiering on May 27, explores the lives and loves of The Devil Girls (dancers who support The Los Angeles Devils basketball team) and ETonline scored an exclusive clip from the series premiere that introduces you to wannabe Devil Girl Ahsha (played by Taylour Paige) and her mother, Sloane (played by Kimberly Elise), who knows this treacherous, tempting world all too well having been a Devil Girl herself.
Hit The Floor premieres May 27 at 9 p.m. on VH1!
By David Raterman, Correspondent
Sun-Sentinel.com
May 24, 2013
A Miami Dolphins cheerleader for three years, Andrea Ocampo-Haley is now involved with a different sport: as the arena host for the Florida Panthers.
The lifelong dancer does Zumba a few days a week, burning up to 600 calories per class. A native of Colombia who grew up in South Florida, she also weight trains, focusing on her lower body.
As she says, “I’m Latina so I definitely have the hips I want to keep in check.”
Q: Why do you keep fit?
A: It’s really important to take care of our bodies when we’re older, and important to start when we’re younger. But performing is the No. 1 reason … I also want to be healthy for my family, to do my best as a wife and future mother. And the whole self-esteem thing. That’s an uphill battle sometimes.
Q: What’s your workout routine?
A: Dance fitness is my go-to. It’s what I know I can commit to, get excited about, since I have a background as a dancer. At least three times a week I dance, doing Zumba classes for one hour. You can lose up to 500-600 calories per class, depending on how hard you push yourself. And salsa dancing is an amazing workout.
I like to do free weights at home and at the gym. Two to three times a week I go to Busy Body of Boca Raton. I concentrate on lower body. I’m Latina so I definitely have the hips I want to keep in check. Lunges and squats, lunges until I cannot walk anymore. And floor exercises as well. I also do upper body: biceps and tris and shoulders.
If I get really busy and can’t make it to dance, I get a run in. I hate running, but I have to do something. I’ll run at least 30-45 minutes to get my heart rate up.
Q: Was it tough being a Miami Dolphins cheerleader?
A: Yes. When I got recruited for the team, I was 19 and not educated on how to stay lean and healthy. It was an uphill battle where I had to be skinny all the time. Little by little, I started educating myself about fitness. We practiced three or four hours a day, and I learned eating chicken nuggets is not the best diet.
We had conditioning on top of dance routines. First hour was optional conditioning. Then we practiced high kicks — the famous kick line. We had a total of 15 dances per season.
Q: Does your family keep fit?
A: My husband has always been into fitness. And my parents are relatively healthy. My mom lost a lot of weight a year ago. Nice to keep [fitness] in the family and motivate my mother.
Q: Do you have any physical problems that hinder exercise?
A: My back is something I fight with because of my dance background. I try not to push that during workouts. It’s not a problem but something I’m aware of.
Q: Do you smoke or have any other health vices?
A: I definitely don’t smoke. I don’t drink much — a glass of wine from time to time. Only thing I battle is chocolate. I have a sweet tooth. Chocolate is my love-hate relationship. I crave it so much but try to have it [only] on weekends.
Q: What’s your typical daily diet?
A: It varies, but throughout the week I try to be organized with my food. Smoothie for breakfast Monday to Friday … protein bar or almonds around 11. Lunch at 1 or 2, maybe a turkey sandwich. Protein with everything I eat. Maybe an egg-white omelet with spinach that I’ll bring with me. Then a protein bar around 4 o’clock. For dinner, I try to stick with chicken, fish. I love red meat so I’ll have that, too. Brown rice or salad with it.
Q: What do you drink?
A: I try to stick with water except the smoothie. For that, I use Silk Fruit & Protein juice and put in spinach, banana, strawberries, soursop — that’s a Hispanic fruit.
Q: Any advice for South Florida residents looking to get fit?
A: To create a healthy lifestyle, you need to educate yourself regarding types of food that are best for you.
Andrea Ocampo-Haley
Age: 31
City of residence: Delray Beach
Height/weight: 5 feet, 2 inches; 108 pounds
Occupation: Florida Panthers arena host
By JAY BETSILL
Special to DFW.com
May 21, 2013
What began two weeks ago with close to 500 women from all over the world in Arlington for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders preliminary and semifinal auditions culminated in the Finals Auditions on May 18 at the home of the five-time Super Bowl champions.
The action officially got under way when Mr. Phil Whitfield opened the Cowboys Stadium doors at 8 a.m. and welcomed the 86 ladies (54 from the auditions and 32 returning vets) inside the $1.2 billion football palace.
The hours ahead would be a rollercoaster of emotions for many of the ladies who followed their dreams to become a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and were one last, agonizingly long step away from advancing to training camp.
The day began with the individual talent portion, which gave the competitors 90 seconds to impress the judges and could include singing, dancing or even dramatic interpretation. The ladies performed their solos to musical choices ranging from AC/DC’s Back in Black to the Broadway classic Singin’ in the Rain to multiple Britney Spears songs such as Stronger, Circus, Oops!…I Did It Again, Toxic and …Baby One More Time.
Following a short break to change from the solo outfits into DCC audition attire, the candidates made their way down to the field to perform the dance routine they learned at call-backs and the signature DCC kickline.
The judges’ panel was seated in the stands directly under the owner’s suite for a fan’s perspective and a direct view of the massive 160-ft wide and 72-ft high HD video board.
Returning veteran Danielle Marie had to overcome a painful foot injury that occurred three weeks earlier during a practice session for her solo performance just to be able to walk into the stadium. As she battled through the pain to finish her second kickline, the returning vets were cheering her on as if she was about to cross the finish line of a marathon. As each group of five took their place on the Cowboys star at the 50-yard line, it became very apparent how close the group of returning veterans were as they rooted for one another like they were all apart of a big family.
“The whole football season is my favorite time of the year,” Brittney Schram, who just finished her second season with the DCC, said. “Gameday is so amazing that I get goosebumps just thinking about it, and I can’t really even put it into words. It’s adrenaline mixed with emotion and a complete awe factor, and you are getting to experience it with some of your closest friends who become like your sisters.”
The judges began deliberations shortly after 3 p.m. with the results expected to arrive between 6 and 7 p.m. In the meantime, the ladies, who couldn’t leave the stadium, were awaiting word if their dreams were coming true or their hearts were going to be shattered.
Just after 9:15 p.m. the big announcement came. The CMT cameras, filming for the eighth season of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team , were rolling as DCC Director Kelli Finglass returned along with Judy Trammell and Charlotte Jones-Anderson.
“This has been the most talented group of finalists ever,” Finglass said before announcing the names of the 47 ladies who would be advancing to the two-month long training camp.
When she called the final name, the veterans on stage dealt with the bittersweet emotions of celebrating their own success while having their family dynamic changed: three of the ladies who had re-auditioned from last season were not invited back to training camp. But 29 of the 32 returning veterans did advance, and will join 18 of the 54 rookies who survived the semifinals. Among those who will be in training camp are the winner of the DCC Fan Vote, Vivian and veterans Jackie Bob, Sydney Durso, Brittney Schram and Chelsea Elizabeth.
“Being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader has been better than I ever dreamed,” Chelsea Elizabeth said, of her experience in her rookie season. “Game days and appearances are incredible, but there is something special about being able to make someone’s day. When we visit people in the hospital or when we visited West (following the tragic explosion), I have been put in a position where I can make people happy and that is what I was born to do.”
The ladies who make the final squad out of training camp will not only be at the 10 Cowboys home games, but are ambassadors for the organization all over the world from visiting U.S. troops overseas to corporate functions to swimsuit calendar photo shoots in exotic locales and, of course, waving at little girls in the crowd who dream of growing up and someday be a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
