Jills Open Workshop

On March 30, the Buffalo Jills held the first part of the tryout process for the 2008 squad at Carol Joy's Fusion Dance Studio in Buffalo. On hand were about 115 hopefuls looking to make the squad, both as dancers and as ambassadors. Also on hand was Lydia from the CW23, who will be filming parts of the tryout process over the course of tryouts.
In past seasons, only the captains were chosen prior to tryouts. This year, the co-captains were also selected, which helped keep things running smoothly at the workshop. To the tune of a remix of Break The Ice by Britney Spears, choreographer Kelli Wagner demonstrated a new sexy routine to the hopefuls with the assistance of Omarlla, Eileen, Nicole, and Christina. Meanwhile, Jills director Stephanie Mateczun went over what was expected of everyone trying out with the assistance of Jills Alumnae President Lori Marino as well as Jamie, Katie K, Kelly, and Danielle.
The sad part of this time of year is the realization that some Jills won't be returning. Already, we've reported that longtime captain Aimee is leaving the squad but there were others who left as well. Thankfully, Autumn, Natale, and Kaitlin B were at on hand to help with the workshop today. But beyond them, it appears the following Jills may be moving on as well: Amanda P; Emily; Jessica D; Jessica Z; Joy; Kaitlin V; Laura; Melissa; Rachael; and Stefanie J did not make the workshop today and, unless they make the optional workshop on Thursday with approval from Stephanie, we won't be seeing those beautiful faces on the sidelines this fall. While it's sad to see familiar faces go, we must keep in mind that if not for familiar faces leaving in the past, we might never have gotten to meet see these ones in the first place. And we had 18 new faces last season in total.
The positive, though...a number of vets are not only trying out, but bringing along some beautiful friends to try out as well. It seemed like about 1/3 of the vets that were trying out had a friend with them today. Also, we may get a returning face as well. While her reason for being there was primarily to bring one of her dance students to tryouts, 2004-2005 veteran Elizabeth learned the routine as well and who knows, maybe we'll see her bright smile back on the sidelines this fall if she decides to actually try out.
Regarding pictures and videos from the workshop, there were some camera difficulties that are preventing me from accessing them at the present time but hopefully (keep your fingers crossed) they aren't completely lost and after some technical support, they may be recovered. Stay tuned on that.
Update: Laura is still hoping to make it to auditions as the Jills archery master was out of town during the workshop.
Also, thanks to Sony Customer Support for a program that recovered our pics and videos which you can check out at http://buffalojills2008.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8AcOGrFo2buWUx&notag=1 and http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2008/Open%20Workshop/

Jessica serves Bandettes well

Jessica B. commits 15 to 17 hours a week for the right to dance at Buffalo Bandits home games.
That’s in addition to holding down a job, attending college and spending time with her husband.
So why isn’t the 23-year-old Niagara Falls native having time management issues?
“I call her the military sister of the group,” said Erin Jackson, manager of the Buffalo Bandettes dance team. A moniker well-earned.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bandits/story/310499.html

Bandette of The Week Melissa

This is her 4th year with the Bandettes but she's been dancing for 19 years all totaled. Melissa is currently an advertising and PR intern but, as we saw last week in a pair of articles, she started off her college career pursuing a career in journalism. Not one to leave that completely behind her, she reported on the Bandettes' visit to Stone's Buddies and also put together the NLL Girl of The Week article for Erin Y. Whether she'll one day land a spot on one of the local stations one day soon remains to be seen but it's hard to imagine her straying far from Buffalo. She's a total Buffalo sports nut and has been known to take in a Bills game from time to time as well as the Bandits.

Melissa's contributions to the Bandettes go beyond dancing and writing however. This season, the Bandettes still have Erin H and Erin Y as their captains but now Melissa is Erin H's co-captain. This addition has allowed the squads to vary their routines a little bit as well as allow someone to develop their leadership abilities while helping the current captains on a regular basis. You can read more about Melissa at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_melissa.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Vincenza

This week, we take a look at one of the rookies on the Ambassador Squad with Vincenza. Her main profile pic here is from the Jills Golf Tournament when she was actually a curly-haired blonde. It got darker over the course of the season but seems to be lightening again now. Part of being an Ambassador Jill is having the ability to professionally mingle and converse with others. Vincenza can actually be kind of on the shy side as she admits to in her bio but in her stint with the Jills so far, she's shown the ability to overcome that shyness in situations that require it. Part of that may come from her experience competing in a number of beauty pageants over the years. Being able to overcome any shyness a person may have is a necessity in those. Still, her shyness is something she's working on overcoming more completely, something that remaining with the Jills should definitely help her with. When she has not only guys, but little girls, wanting to meet her and get her autograph, it's kinda hard to be too shy. You can read more about Vincenza at http://buffalojills.net/bios/vincenzia.html

The Buffalo News video takes you to a night in 'Banditland'

Check out this video that Buffalo News Video Editor Jesse Koch took at last Saturday's game against the Rock. Gives a decent overview of the overall experience and includes a few looks at the Bandettes as well as some info from captains Erin Y and Erin H.
Check out the video at http://video.ap.org/v/Legacy.aspx?g=94b93400-3b08-4c19-9a87-8422d5831cec&f=nybue&fg=copy

Rock game pics

One would think that a well-rested team would perform well while a team coming in on very little rest would look lethargic and play an uninspired game. This, however, was exactly opposite what happened in HSBC Arena Saturday night as the visiting Toronto Rock ended the Bandits' 4-game winning streak in front of 15,230 fans by a score of 13-9. Even the return of 2006 1st overall draft pick Brett Bucktooth couldn't help the home team beyond the opening minute of the game.
The Rock wasn't the only team performing well on a lack of rest. The Bandettes squad spent a total of 11 hours at the Arena starting off the day working with their Jr. Bandettes squad getting them ready for their performance in 4 weeks when they accompany the Bandettes on the field for some of their routines. By 6, the Bandettes were ready to spend some time signing their posters for the fans and even got some company in the form of 2006-2007 Bandette Jenna M before heading into the game to perform for the fans, and give them something to cheer about since the Bandits gave them so little to cheer for.
http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/bandettes/2008/Rock/



1st quarter routine was choreographed by Casey

Bandette of The Week Sarah

There's a girl in every group that not only enjoys getting pictures taken, but plays to the camera and gets in as many pictures as possible. With the Bandettes for 4 seasons now, that girl has been Sarah. But being the subject of lots of pictures isn't the reason Sarah is here. She's been dancing since the age of 5 and just loves getting to show off her dance abilities to all the Bandits fans. Besides that, she loves meeting new people, something she gets to do quite a bit at Bandits games, especially before the game when she and her squadmates are signing their posters. You can read more about Sarah at

http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_sarah.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Christina

Christina is on a fast track to stardom in the pro cheerleading ranks. She was the 2006 Jills Rookie of the Year and was the only rookie on a select group of Jills who put on dance performances at all the big Jills events. She finished off the season in Miami Beach competing, alongside some of her squadmates, in a competition with other squads called the Beauties on The Beach competition. In 2007, she performed on Omarlla's line between rookies Stephanie and Jessica L and grabbed the attention of CNN/SI photographers in the preseason http://buffaloprocheer.blogspot.com/2007/08/buffalo-jills-on-cnnsicom.htmlYou can read more about 2008 co-captain Christina at

http://buffalojills.net/bios/christina.html

Check out CW23

While we're not usually going to promote one Buffalo station over another, CW23 is airing little snippets of info about the upcoming Jills tryouts. If you miss it on TV, you can check it out at http://www.cw23.com/Global/story.asp?S=8042252&nav=menu584_5_1 as Lydia, the CW23 girl, shares info with the viewers on Jills tryouts.

Bandettes Visit Buddies

The Buffalo Bandettes visited members of Stone's Buddies on Saturday for a St. Patrick's Day party at Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo.
Stone's Buddies is a unique network of support for seriously ill children and teens that are patients at the hospital. The Bandettes made a special appearance and spent the day working individually with the children and their families.

Story by Melissa at http://www.bandits.com/newsarchive.cfm?id=652

Photos at http://www.bandits.com/multimedia.cfm?id=88&media=photo

NLL GIRL OF THE WEEK - ERIN

Erin, a fifth-year veteran of the Buffalo Bandettes, is a true leader on and off the field.

The Buffalo native is in her fourth season as team co-captain and always strives to better herself, her team and her community.

Erin spent 15 years dancing at a studio in her hometown. Her extensive training includes participating in numerous dance conventions and competitions. Erin continued her passion for dance throughout college. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an Associates degree in Business Administration.

http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=3372

profile written by Melissa

2 Weeks until Jills tryouts!!

2 weeks from now, the Buffalo Jills will be holding their open workshop, the first step towards making the 2008-2009 Buffalo Jills squad. Will you be one of the hopefuls looking to land a spot in this exclusive group?

Dancers & Non-dancers needed! Do you like to perform and/or meet new people? Are you outgoing and personable? Do you enjoy being physically fit? Do you like being challenged? Are you interested in learning how to be your personal best? Would you like to be at all of the major events in WNY? Do you like to travel? Would you enjoy the benefits of free tanning, free gym memberships, automotive discounts, plastic surgery and dental preferred customer status, hair salon discounts, laser eye surgery preferred customer status? If you answered, “yes” to these questions, “The Jills” may be for you! Series of audition dates begin Sunday, March 30th at 10am at Carol Joy’s Fusion Dance Studio, 1584 Kenmore Ave, Buffalo, NY 14216

*Must be a minimum of 18 yrs old by March 30th, 2008. Visit http://www.buffalojills.net/audition.html for further information and application or call 716-888-9798 Once auditions begin, you must make it through each audition date in order to move to the following audition date. Other dates are: Thurs, April 3rd –evening (optional learning workshop), Sun April 6th -daytime, Tues April 8th -evening & Thurs, April 10th -evening.

What else can you gain from joining the Jills? More new friends, the chance to dance on one of the largest stages imaginable (where else in WNY can you perform for over 70,000 fans?), the chance to travel around the world on troop visits or to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii in February, and memories to last a lifetime. Sure, you could play it safe and not try out...and not try a new experience or further your dancing. But then you'll always wonder what could have been. Don't be one of those girls who, 20-30 years from now, will look back and wonder why you didn't give it a shot. Everyone has something in their past they wish they'd done differently. Don't let not trying out for the Jills be one of your regrets.

Be advised, all audition dates are closed to the public.

Bandette of The Week Jessica

In the earlier days of seafaring, it was thought of as bad luck to have women on a ship. Superstitions finally gave way to common sense, and the US Constitution in 1978 when the US Navy finally started allowing women to serve on ships. Now why is this coming up in a post about a cheerleader? Our current Bandette of The Week, rookie Jessica, spent 4 years in the US Navy working on an aircraft carrier. One has to speculate that her shipmates were happy that she was on board. The fact that she's incredibly cute isn't the main reason, however. She's a very detail-oriented young lady with big goals in life. And anyone who's had a lot of success in life can attest to the fact that attention to detail and determination are major factors in achieving success. You can read more about Jessica at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_jessica.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Katie C

After spending some time with the vets the past few weeks, it's now time to take a look at one of the rookies from this past season's squad. If you made a game and didn't see this dancer on Aimee's line (between Aimee and Katie K), then it's past time to get your eyes checked because this 5' 11" blonde bombshell is hard to miss. Katie C is always smiling because she's a natural dancer getting to do what she loves at a high level and, as of the recent Jills fundraiser, was planning on returning for another season on the squad. Her favorite actress is Cameron Diaz and I suppose that's only fitting. The fact that Cameron is a tall blonde knockout isn't all that I'm referring to, however. Anyone who's seen Cameron as Natalie Cook in the Charlie's Angels movies should know that Katie and Natalie are pretty similar personality-wise...they're both known to get pretty hyper, something that Katie wants to curb. Honestly though, if she did that, she wouldn't be the Katie we know and love. You can read more about Katie at http://buffalojills.net/bios/katiec.html

Swarm game pics from March 8

Three weeks prior, the Minnesota Swarm came into HSBC Arena as an undefeated team and left with a loss to the hometown Buffalo Bandits. The Swarm came back hoping to avenge that loss. However, the Bandits had other plans and sent the Swarm packing with an 11-7 win over their hated rivals.

What should be noted is that Buffalo was in the midst of the worst winter storm of the season, including travel advisories which led many fans to wonder (and call the Arena repeatedly) if the game would even be played. The hearty souls of Western NY showed up from near and far, however, to the tune of 12,312 fans there to cheer on their team.

The question is, however; did the fans show up just to see the game, or was the fact that the beautiful Bandettes were signing their new posters before the game a big reason? The line to get autographs kept pretty strong from 6-7 while the Bandettes, all of them tougher than they look and able to brave the storm to make it to the game, signed for their adoring public. They didn't stop with the autographs, however, as they put on some inspired dance routines and helped heat the Arena up while the weather outside tried to cool things down.

http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/bandettes/2008/Swarm2/

Bandette of The Week Kimberly

She's been in the public eye as a Bandette for 5 seasons now and has been a fan favorite for pretty much the entire time. Her girl next door looks and her easy-going demeanor are a big reason for that. A member of the NLL's official message boards even created a pair of sigs with Kimberly as the focus.

But the fan support hasn't gone to Kimmy Jo's head as she still acts like your kid sister (who you actually like having around) and has been dancing in some form for 19 years now. The fans can only hope she keeps it up for many years to come. You can read more about Kimberly at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_kimberly.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Jamie

This week, we take a look at one of the Jills captains in soon-to-be 7th year vet Jamie. This beautiful brunette has been gracing the sidelines of Ralph Wilson Stadium since 2002 and, following the 2004 season, her first as a captain, she was the Jills' representative in the Pro Bowl. In addition, she's spent a lot of time meeting the men and women of the military over the course of her career. In her Pro Bowl season, she went on a tour with the USO and about a year ago, she was the captain of the Phantom Angels, the nickname given to the Jills that went to Iraq by the troops they visited. And those are just the bigger tours. She also headed up a group that went to Miami Beach for the Super Bowl just over a year ago that competed against other groups of NFL Cheerleaders in a competition called "Beauties On The Beach." You can read more about Jamie at http://buffalojills.net/bios/jamie.html

Also, it's been noticed that for some reason, Buffalo Jills age remarkably well...they seem to get better looking the longer they're on the squad. Jamie's a good example....she was cute in 2002 as seen in the top right at http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2002/__hr_GroupShot.jpg and look at her now.

Wings game pics

Two weeks ago, an undefeated Minnesota Swarm team came into Buffalo and was handed their first loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bandits. This week, an undefeated Philadelphia Wings team showed up at HSBC Arena hoping to avoid the same fate. A 4-0 start to the game made things look bleak for the hometown Bandits but after a goalie switch, the Bandits roared back to take a 13-9 lead going into the half and finished off the hated Wings by a score of 21-12.

The crowd was rocking all night long and a good part of the reason why was the dancing and beauty of the Buffalo Bandettes. They started off the evening signing their new posters for the arriving fans before dazzling the crowd with their dance moves, including a routine after the 3rd quarter choreographed by Casey. They finished off the night at the official post-game party at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery where some fans got to meet them and they got a well-deserved dinner. Check out these pics from the evening.

http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/bandettes/2008/Wings/

Also, be sure to check out these pics submitted by BanditsInsider photographer Lynnie Burak who filled in getting some Bandettes pics since I was across town during the early parts of the game.

http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/bandettes/2008/Wings/Lynnies%20pics/

The Bandits and Bandettes are next in action at HSBC Arena on March 8th as the Minnesota Swarm return to town aching for revenge for their defeat 2 weeks ago.

2008 Swimsuit Calendar Shoot Fundraiser

In past years, when the Jills have gone on the road to shoot their swimsuit calendars, the girls themselves have had to put up some of their own money up front to help cover the costs of the trip. This year, in an attempt to reduce those costs, the Jills put on a party at SoHo as a fundraiser. To help out, sponsors and Bills players put up prizes for a Chinese auction and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller donated an autographed hockey stick for a silent auction to help out the Jills in their endeavor.Judging by the turnout, the event was a huge success as SoHo was packed for the entire evening including a pair of former Jills showing up to assist their former squadmates in Kelly Ann (2003-2004) and Danielle M (2005-2006).Next up for the Jills is the Open Workshop on March 30th, the first step in tryouts for the 2008-2009 squad, a squad that will feature Pro Bowler Nicole P taking over as captain for the departing Aimee while Christina and Danielle S step up as co-captains.

http://buffalojills2007.shutterfly.com/action/?=8AcOGrFo2buWUg&notag=1

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2007/2008%20Calendar%20Fundraiser/