Laker Girl Auditions: Director’s Blog (cont’d)

Lakers.com:
Director of the Laker Girls Lisa Estrada is keeping a daily diary of the audition process for Lakers.com, starting with a summary of a full Saturday as over 400 hopefuls came to the Toyota Sports Center to show off their skills. Estrada will be checking in with updates throughout the week, covering individual interviews, final auditions and a wrap up once the final 22-odd girls are selected.

(Click here for part 1)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20: INTERVIEWS COMPLETE

Well, the Laker Girls interviews are all done. Today was the last day – it sure was neat to meet everyone.

Just like I said before, I was very impressed with all the finalists. They all are really are nice, educated young ladies. I can honestly say that every one of them being a good fit for our dance team, but unfortunately I cannot take them all. It will be a hard decision from here on out.

So, tomorrow evening is the “dance call-back” for all of these young ladies. I look forward to being able to see the 31 dancers left perform together. I will have judges there as well, they will decide which dancers move well together or which dancers move together as a unit. This because, of course, the Laker Girls dance on the court and are required to move in unison.

I am excited for tomorrow now! Alrighty, moving on to one more stage in this audition process.

Until then, goodbye for now.

~ Lisa

THURSDAY, JULY 21: DANCE CALL-BACK
Tonight was the final call-back for the group of 31 finalists! It was their “dance call-back”……which means we get to see them all dance together. It was a very fun evening!

I taught a real short dance combination to the group – it was different from the other dances they learned at the audition. This was a little more funkier. I did this because the Laker Girls dance squad will perform routines that are all sorts of styles during the upcoming season, so it was nice to see if they can adapt to learning that type of style of dance as well (and quickly).

It was interesting to say the least. It actually helped the judges a bit more. It seemed the judges were able to separate some of the girls from each other because it helped to understand each dancer’s capability of learning and performing that style of dance.

I know I said this all week but again, I was very impressed with all the finalists in so many different ways. To finish up with the audition process, now, I will take the next couple of days to check out the references of the dancers. In addition, we will take each individual’s score from Saturday, score from their job interview and score from tonight to see how the chips (votes) fall!

Doing this will help us to come up with the new Laker Girls dance team for next season.

YAY. How exciting!

I really hope these finalists have had a good experience participating in this audition process. This group of 31 dancers should be very proud of themselves – I mean, heck, they made it to the finals, out of 400+ young women. I told them tonight that making it this far is an achievement in itself (and I truly believe that!)!

Well, they will be notified on Sunday afternoon on whether they made this year’s dance team or not. This is always a hard job for me … I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love offering someone a new position as a Laker Girl!!! But, it’s the phone call notifying someone that they did not get the position – that’s what is hard to deliver, especially, after they gave it their all.

My fingers are crossed that hopefully they will come back next year though, since they made it this far!

I am sure I will fill you in later on how the notifications go…….again, thanks for checking in.

~ Lisa

MONDAY, JULY 25: MAKING THE CALLS
Well, Sunday went well … I mean, I was either the bearer of “good news” or “not so good news” for the finalists.

Only 22, out of the 31 finalists, were notified if they made the 2011-12 Laker Girls dance team. Those girls were just over the moon with excitement when they heard me offer them a position! However, the ladies that I did not have a position for this year were very understanding and handled the news with positive attitudes. I was so happy; some of them said “Thank you for the memorable experience,” or “I had a positive experience going through the Laker Girls audition process – you made us all feel very comfortable. I will be back next year!” Those are just a couple of examples.

It was nice that all the candidates seemed very positive about the audition process they went through with our organization. Hopefully they will come back next July to give it another try!

Alrighty, just like we started off last season, the new 2011-12 Laker Girls squad will consist of 22 members. As I mentioned before, at the beginning of the auditions – this is a job for our organization. So, pending some administration paperwork, we will give you a sneak peak of these members sometime at the beginning of August……..YAY! I hope you will check back then!

Thanks again for checking in with Lakers.com, me and the Laker Girls!

Mavs Dancer Auditions

Hundreds of women showed up with hopes of being a member of the Dallas Mavericks Dance Squad

 

By Amber Fisher
The 33 News

Saturday was Jennifer Smoak’s second time trying out to be a Dallas Mavericks dancer, a goal she’s had since childhood.

“I think a lot of people just look up to them as a whole and as a team,” Smoak said. “It’s amazing, especially with them coming back from such a great season.”

The pressure was on as dancers were put through three rounds of competition.

First, dancers had about 30 seconds to wow judges with a freestyle routine.

Elijah Jackson said, “It is very nerve-wracking, because you’re in a line and you see all the other girls and they’re so good. I kind of stumbled a little bit. But, if I make it to the second round, I’ll show them I can dance once they teach me.”

In the second and third rounds, dancers had to prove that they could keep up with difficult choreography.

“Everyone wants to get noticed,” said Whitney Greeney. “So, the best way to do that besides dancing big is to wear something bright, something that makes you stand out.”

Between each round, cuts were made.

Leslie Dyer said, “It makes you nervous. Now, we just kind of wait and it’s out of our hands. So, I hope I make it through.”

As dancers nervously waited between each round, a panel of judges made the difficult decision of which dancers would not move on in the competition.

Out of the 220 dancers that tried out on Saturday, only 70 moved on to Sunday’s final round, when 20 dancers will be chosen to make the team.

Dyer said, “I’ve always watched the Mavericks. I’ve seen them on the court and I’ve always wanted to be down there.”

“I teach the little kids on my block, so it would mean a lot to me for them to see me on TV. It would mean a lot,” Jackson said.

Thunder Girls Return; Auditions Coming Up

The Thunder Girls have wrapped up their trip to China, traveling as a part of the NBA Lenovo Pavilion Tour 2011. Catch up on the last part of their trip by reading the THUNDER GIRLS BLOG.

 

If you’re thinking of trying out for the squad, auditions is Saturday August 6th and prep classes have already started! Go here to sign up for prep classes; and for more information on auditions,

Galactic Dancers: Open Training + Audition 2011/2012 in Frankfurt (Germany)

The Cheerleaders GALACTIC DANCERS are looking for new talents on Aug 14th 2011 Cheerleaders Audition in Frankfurt at Main.

The hottest cheerleaders team in Germany Frankfurt at Main the GALACTIC DANCERS are looking for new members. The GALACTIC DANCERS are well known from German TV Shows.

In order to meet the rising demand there will be a audition on Sunday Aug 14th 2011 in the Wintersporthalle in Frankfurt at Main. Cheerdance is to be considered as a professional sport with the focus on abilities to work in a team and the enjoy dancing. The minimum age of the candidates is 18. American dancers who work and live in Germany are welcome too. The Galactics speak English as well.

The candidates will be tested during the casting and they will have to learn and perform a specific choreography in a short period of time.

The VIP jury will cast the candidates.

The new GALACTIC DANCERS will be trained and led by the top choreographer Jasmin Felsenheim. Furthermore they will have professional photo shootings and performance at big sports events like the games of the table tennis league in Hanau and during the American Football Finals in the Commerzbank arena in Frankfurt am Main.

Date: Aug 14th 2011, 10 a.m.
Location: Wintersporthalle, Street: Otto Fleck Schneise Frankfurt at Main

jasmin.felsenheim@galacticdancers.de
Berkersheimer Weg 58, 60433 Frankfurt
Tel.: 0163 / 466 3852 Fax: 069 / 509 528 103 9

If You would like to apply for this casting and become one of the GALACTIC DANCERS
It is necessary to apply in advance on the website www.galacticdancers.de
or just call the following number:
Germany +49(0)0163 / 466 3852.
In case of questions don´t hesitate to contact us.

Jasmin Felsenheim
Dance Team Director

Ashley Benson Wanted to be A Laker Girl!

JustJared.com
July 22, 2011

The 22-year-old actress, wearing Sutra earrings and a Katharine Kidd cocktail dress, opened up to the host about how she got into acting, Pretty Little Liars and how she really wanted to be…a Laker girl? Yep!

Ashley’s sister is actually on her way to becoming one and she shared, “She got to the final cut and goes tomorrow (today) for her final interview. I hope she makes it because I’m obsessed with the Lakers and if they win the championship this year — which they will — she gets a ring, and I’m going to steal it (laughs).”

She added, “I’ve always wanted to be a Laker girl because not only do you get the best seats in the house, you see them everyday and you get a ring at the end of the day.”

Check out the rest of Ashley’s interview here!

****************************
Sasha here: ok, so I googled and found Ashley’s big sister Shaylene on IMDB. Click here to check out her profile and learn a little about her. Like the rest of the Laker Girl candidate, Shaylene will be cooling her heels until Sunday, when she finds out whether or not she made the team. Best of luck, Shaylene!

Ashley and Shaylene Benson

Checkmate Auditions Set For August 14th

2011-12 Checkmate Auditions begin August 14th at Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail, N.C.

The Charlotte Checkers are looking for highly motivated candidates to become part of their interactive cheer team. Candidates should be at least 18 years of age, must commit to a full year of rehearsals, games, (including preseason and playoffs) and be prepared to support the Checkers in their second American Hockey League season!

The schedule is as follows:

Sunday, August 14th – Preliminary Auditions at Extreme Ice Center, Indian Trial, NC
Registrations at 11 a.m. auditions noon-5 p.m.

Those who advance past Sunday prelims will be asked to continue through “finals week.”

MUST be available Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th from 7-10 p.m. for finalists rehearsals. MUST be available for a 30 minute business interview at Checkers main office (located in downtown Charlotte) on Monday (8/15) or Tuesday (8/16) afternoon. Final auditions will be held at XIC on Wednesday (8/17) from 6-8 p.m.

All candidates must arrive at auditions wearing midriff top and long, fitted dance pants. If you can ice skate please come with skates to showcase skating ability. If you are not yet a skater, please be prepared to learn skating techniques before the start of the Checkers season.

Please pre-register by sending your name and contact information to checkmates@gocheckers.com.

Come be part of the most exciting sports team in town!