Remembering the AVP Dancers

Coed Magazine
4/9/2012

Even though beach volleyball has been played by nearly everyone who’s stepped foot on the sand, many of you might not have known that there was a professional beach volleyball league called the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals). Fun fact: AVP athletes won at least one gold medal in every Olympics since beach volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1996. Unfortunately, the league had to cut its 2010 season short due to financial instability but as of April 5, 2012 the league is going to be back in action. If you thought that the female volleyball players are hot, wait until you see the AVP dancers. Check ‘em out [here].

Natalie

Another alum goes bridal

Kortney Yarbrough is getting married. I discovered this over the holiday weekend when I scrolled through my DVR list and came across a couple of forgotten episodes of TLC’s “Brides of Beverly Hills.”

First, I want to make it clear straight away that I do NOT watch this show. I love costumes and fancy dresses, and I will admit to watching every episode (and numerous repeats) of “Say Yes to the Dress.” But “Brides of Beverly Hills” isn’t my cup of tea. I set up a season pass for it, and I watched the first couple of episodes, but couldn’t take anymore after that. The show’s star, Renee Strauss, owner of Renee Strauss for the Bride in Beverly Hills is both two-faced (for talking smack about her clientele behind their backs) and a moron (for doing it on camera), and her friend Kevin Lee (an obvious alum of the Bobby Trendy School of Trying Way Too Hard) makes me cringe. Literally. Every time he says the word “FAB-uh-luss!” my shoulders go up, my back hunches over, and my face gets all scrunchy. He is SUCH a tool. And if this show lasts past this season, I will be very surprised. (Especially due to Renee Strauss’ recent financial issues, but you ain’t heard about that from me.)

Anywho, I was about to delete the show when the episode synopsis caught my eye. “Episode: 12 – Kourtney/Mariflor. A former professional football cheerleader comes in to Renee’s salon with her mom and friends in search of the perfect wedding dress.” I had no idea who this “former cheerleader” might be, so yeah, I sat down and watched it. I took one for the team.

I immediately recognized Kortney. How could I not? She’s a total knockout without even trying. Kortney, a cool chick, by all accounts, is an alum of the Long Beach Breaker Girls, Chivas USA ChivaGirls, San Diego Charger Girls, and AVP Dancers (in that order). I don’t know her directly, but I’ve got one degree of separation through several different people.



Kortney was a ChivaGirl for 2 seasons


Kortney was a Charger Girl for 1 season


Kortney was an AVP Dancer for 1 season


Depending on when the show was taped, Kortney is either engaged, or already married, to a pro surfer. This guy, whose name I can’t find anywhere:

Let me just say that I don’t blame Kortney for being on this awful show. This is the first season. She couldn’t have known. In any case, she found her way someway, somehow, to Renee Strauss’ bridal salon, mother and best friend in tow, and she tried on a few gowns, including the blue St. Pucchi creation in the clip below.

It’s a unique dress. It’s an expensive dress ($17,000!!) And I really hope Kortney didn’t buy it. I really hope she took her hard earned money and spent it somewhere else, but I’ll never know. (To date, I still haven’t made it all the way through an episode of this show.)

In any case, best of luck-slash-congratulations to Kortney and her fiancee. I’m sure either was, or will be, a beautiful bride, no matter what dress she chose.

Natalie is a Survivor

On Tuesday, CBS announced the cast of Survivor: Redemption Island, the 22nd installment in the Survivor Franchise. This time around, the show returns to Nicaragua, where the Ometepe and Zapatera tribes will face off to determine who can outwit, outlast, and outplay all the others.

One member of the Ometepe Tribe is Natalie Tenerelli, a professional dancers from Los Angeles. Natalie is an alum of the AVP Dancers and is currently one of the inaugural L.A. Matador Knockouts. Click here to check out her bio on CBS.com. The show premieres Wednesday, February 16th. Good luck Natalie!

[AVP Dancers on Facebook]

[Matadors Knockouts on Facebook]

AVP Dancers Kick off the season

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The AVP Dancers are back! They kicked off their second season on the sand last weekend in Santa Barbara, at the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball tour opener. The ladies have spent the last few months rehearsing, working out, and working hard to get ready for the summer. Click here to see their first performance of the season.

Stay tuned for more on this team. Because I care so deeply about all of you, I’m willing to sacrifice my personal time to hang out work hard at the beach this summer to bring you all the scoop on the AVP Dancers. Who are they? Where are they going? What are they up to? I’ll find out. Pass the sunscreen!

[Check out the 2010 edition of the AVP Dancers on Facebook]

2010 AVP Auditions

Auditions for the 2010 AVP Dancers were a big success! A lot of talented dancers showed up for the opportunity to spend their summer entertaining fans at the annual AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Tournament. Whitney Frink, a former Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader, had conceived of the AVP Dancers after seeing the dancers at the Volleyball games at the Beijing Olympics. Last summer was the league’s inaugural season.

The AVP Dancers, led by Whitney, are preparing for their second year on the sand. Expectations were higher this year and it was clear that the audition process wouldn’t be an easy one.

As the girls arrived, at the Spectrum Club, they signed in at the registration table and made their way inside to wait.

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Dancers warmed up while they waited for the process to begin

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Whitney and her second-in-command Cachita explain the plan for the day. Candidates would learn an across-the-floor combo and a dance combo and perform both for the judges.

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Whitney taught an across the floor combo

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Dancers took turns high-kicking their way across the room

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Kali

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After the across-the-floor, Whitney got down to teaching the dance combination. The AVP style of dance is a little different from other pro leagues because the girls dance barefoot on the sand. It’s an unstable surface, so turns and leaps can be dangerous! On the other hand, there are unexpected benefits to the beach environment. Whitney’s choreography included a few moves that involved playing around with the sand. The dancers had to use their imagination with the pretend sand. I’m looking forward to seeing what the dance looks like on the beach!

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Jenna (left) and Bailey

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Jen is an alumni of the Los Angeles Clippers Spirit and Anaheim Arsenal A-List Girls

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The girls had time to rehearse

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Once the judges arrived, it was on.

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The dancers really performed

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Leigh Ann, a former Denver Broncos Cheerleader, was determined to defend her spot on the team

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The judges chatted briefly after each group of three performed.

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The dancers were brought back to perform the dance combo again. The judges mixed them up into new groups.

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Natalie

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Jenna, Leigh Ann and Cheryl

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After two cuts, Whitney gathered the remaining girls together. The plan was to do a few quick interviews.

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Whitney and Cachita interview Brittany

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The finalists wait outside for their turn to interview.

Stay tuned for more photos and to find out who made the team…

AVP Dancer Auditions tomorrow!

One last reminder: auditions for the 2010 AVP Dancers are tomorrow! So if you live in the Los Angeles area and you can dance, you might want to put this on the agenda for mañana.

Orrrrr…you could spend the summer NOT having fun performing at the beach. Totally up to you.

Audition details [here].

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AVP Dancers Video

As I mentioned last month, the auditions for the AVP Dancers are coming up quicker than quick. (Jan 30th. More info here). The video below will give you a glimpse of some of the team’s performances last year. Check it out!

For those who don’t know, the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) hosts a huge beach volleyball tournament each year where the best competitors in the country face off to win big money prizes. The tournament begins in April, and extends through the end of summer.

Behind the Scenes at the AVP Dancers Photoshoot

Here’s your chance to see the making of the AVP Dancers’ 2010 swimsuit calendar. In early July, six members of the team traveled to the Dreams Resort and Spa in Los Cabos, Mexico for their very first calendar shoot. Over the course of a week, photographer Bruce Herman captured the beautiful images that now appear in the brand new calendar. After watching the video, you might want to check out the calendar for yourself. Click here to buy one.

AVP Dancers at the Lakers Tournament

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The Los Angeles Lakers inaugural 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament was a big success last weekend. They had basketball, celebrities, game booths, giveaways, and lots of other fun for Laker Fans to enjoy. There was a variety of entertainment for the event, including the AVP Dancers, who were on hand all weekend to perform, sign autographs, and talk with Laker fans. Whitney, chief chick-in-charge of the AVP Dancers gave me a heads-up that they would be there, so I stopped by the tournament on Saturday to catch up with the girls. I’d not seen them perform before, so I was excited to go.


**I took a bunch of photos as usual. As always, you can view them in my Flickr gallery. (Click here.)**

Half of the team was there: Whitney of course, as well as Monica, Leigh Ann, Analuz, and Cachita. Cachita’s parents were there, fresh off the plane from Lincoln, Nebraska. The two of them couldn’t have been prouder. While her dad manned the video camera, her mom was beaming and pointing Cachita out to everyone in the vicinity. Cachita was lucky to have her fan club with her, snapping photos and telling everyone how proud they were! Their excitement was infectious. Honestly, they were two of the sweetest people I’ve met.

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Leigh Ann

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Cachita

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Analuz

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Monica

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Whitney


The Lakers organization really kept the AVP Dancers busy! I was there for half of the day, and during that time, they performed twice (once on center court, once on stage), did two autograph sessions, and participated in a dance exercise demonstration with the crowd. It was a lot to do. Cachita even managed to her her Mom in on the act a couple of times.

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The girls with Cachita’s mom and dad

The AVP tour is on the road right now, so you won’t get to see the girls perform at a game, but you never know where they will turn up next. This is the team’s first season and they have been a big success. Even now, Whitney is working on plans for next season. This year, she hand picked a terrific group of talented dancers. Next year, they will probably have auditions, so keep that in the back of your mind, So-cal girls!

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Monica, Analuz, and Whitney

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Performing at center court

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I bullied these two into this photo. It was wrong. I’m sorry.
(If looks could kill, I’d be toast by now.)

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Signing autographs

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Analuz, Leigh Ann, and Monica

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Cachita and Monica onstage