Bandette of The Week Kirsten

We start off our 2014 Bandette of The Week series with a look at 6th year vet Kirsten. She started off her career posing with the Champions Cup at the Open Practice in December of 2008 and is hoping to be performing when the Bandits win their next title. It says a lot about the Bandits championship drought when the longest-tenured Bandette has yet to experience a title with the winning-est team in Buffalo. A future physical therapist, she's originally from Long Island but came to Buffalo for college, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 3 years. She was thought of as sweet and friendly in high school and as much as people can change a lot over the years, Kirsten hasn't changed a bit since high school in those regards. Over the years, she's become kind of a big sister to the younger girls on the squad and has seemed to have strong bonds with most of the girls. She's definitely solid proof that the Bandettes are less like a group of girls and more like a family. You can see all of Kirsten's pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalobandettes.shutterfly.com/bandettesindividualpics/2781 Kirsten's secondary photo comes from the Opener vs the Wings and was taken prior to the game when the lines were greeting fans coming into the game. Shown from left to right, Kirsten's line, are Mandy, Chrissy, Stephanie, Kirsten, Brianna V, Danielle, and Lauren K.

Mandy, Chrissy, Stephanie, Kirsten, Brianna V, Danielle, and Lauren K

Bandette of The Week Kirsten

This week, we finish up the 2013 Bandette of The Week series with 5th year vet and 2nd year captain Kirsten in the spotlight. Like the reigning Jill of The Week, Kirsten isn't originally from Buffalo. Kirsten grew up on Long Island and came to Buffalo for college, and has even talked about her college experience on tv on occasion. Kirsten loves helping others and in addition to her responsibilities as a Bandettes captain, she's working towards becoming a physical therapist, helping people get back in shape after injuries. Right now the question is whether Kirsten plans to return to the squad next spring. One of the first photos I took of her as a Bandette was with the NLL Champions Cup following the Bandits' last title in 2008. Missing the playoffs had to have left a bad taste in her mouth and I'm sure she wants to be there for a Bandits title while she's on the squad. It was a surreal experience for the fans and as for the 2008 Bandettes, it was the most thrilling moment of their careers. You can read more about Kirsten at http://www.bandits.com/bbio.asp?bandID=Kirsten Kirsten's secondary photo comes from the Mammoth game where the squad was greeting fans and selling autographed lacrosse balls inside the arena. Shown posing for a photo are Brianna V and Kirsten.

Brianna V and Kirsten

Bandette Of The Week Kirsten

This week, we start off the 2012 Buffalo Bandette of The Week series with the longest tenured vet on the roster in captain Kirsten. This will be her 1st season as a full-fledged captain after spending the bulk of last year serving as a co-captain before taking the captain's role late in the season. Besides being the longest-tenured vet, Kirsten also has another big distinction. She's actually not from Buffalo as she grew up on Long Island but came to Buffalo for college, and earned her bachelor's degree in physical therapy in three years. She says her biggest strength is her willingness to help others and that fits both with her chosen career and with her role as a Bandettes captain. You can read more about Kirsten at http://www.bandits.com/bbio.asp?bandID=Kirsten
Kirsten's secondary photo comes from last fall's Blondes Vs Brunettes game held at Sweet Home High School. Members of the Buffalo Bandettes were on hand for the game to help with raffles and dance and cheer on the players. Shown posing for the photo are Kirsten, Ashley, Chelsea, Noelle, Lauren S, and Danielle.

Kirsten, Ashley, Chelsea, Noelle, Lauren S, and Danielle

Bandette of The Week Kirsten

This week, we take a look at 3rd year vet Kirsten as our Bandette of The Week. In addition to it being her 3rd season on the squad, it's also her 1st as a co-captain on Justina's line. Kirsten absolutely lives to dance and dancing seems to make her happier than anything else. In fact, after the big halftime performance in Toronto that she and the rest of the Bandettes joined the Jills for, she probably had a bigger smile on her face than I've ever seen before. The fact that she made co-captain in her 3rd season is no big surprise. As a captain of her kick-line in high school, she helped deliver some regional and National Championships to her school and even has a National Championship under her belt as a baton-twirler as well. Considering the Bandettes are well-regarded around the NLL as one of the premier dance squads in the league, she fits in very well here. Here in Buffalo for college from her home on Long Island, she's working towards her degree in physical therapy and hopes to open her own clinic. Considering the warmth and compassion she shows, she's going to be great at her job. Kirsten's secondary photo is from the Bandits Open Practice when the Bandettes came out to see the Bandits having a wrestling match. Shown smiling for the camera are Noelle and Kirsten.

You can read more about Kirsten at http://www.bandits.com/bbio.asp?bandID=Kirsten

Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week

This week's 1st Jills photo comes from 1st cuts and features 3 outstanding Jills dance veterans. From left to right are Murissa, Anna, and Stefanie. Murissa and Anna are both heading into their 3rd seasons on the squad while Stefanie is going into her 5th. Murissa's the type who loves the spotlight and the camera...as evidenced by the fact she strikes a pose more than any other vet on the squad. Anna was an early departure last season but the TV networks leaped for joy when she came back this year as the cameras seemed to love focusing on her. Stefanie contributes not only experience and beauty to the squad but some gymnastic ability as well as she's spent some time over the course of her Jills career doing some of the tumbling in Jills routines and performances.

Our 2nd Jills photo comes from an appearance in June at the West Valley-Ellicottville Alumni Football game. Appearing at the event were a pair of statuesque brunette Ambassadors in the form of Lindsay and Jessica W. Lindsay is going into her 2nd year on the squad and is known to overload herself with projects and schoolwork, something her fiance has been helping her to quit doing. Jessica is a rookie on the squad who also keeps herself very busy. She was one of two Jills to work both the Friday night and Saturday afternoon draft parties along with Loren, who also worked the Thursday event as well and after the appearance this photo was from, instead of going home, she went to cheer on her boyfriend in a softball tournament.

From the Bandettes, we feature a photo from the first home game against the Toronto Rock back in February. At the game, the Bandettes unveiled some new uniforms and after dancing in them during the 1st half, they posed for photos to show them off before they went out for their halftime performance. Shown posing here are Kirsten, Stephanie G, Lauren S, and Melissa. Kirsten and Lauren were in their 2nd seasons with the Bandettes while Stephanie flashed her pretty smile during her rookie campaign this year. Melissa, in her 3rd season as a co-captain, has been on the squad since 2005. Her 6 seasons makes her the longest-tenured veteran on the Bandettes.

Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week

Continuing our look at the beautiful young women who will be gracing the sidelines and tailgate parties this fall, we bring you a photo from the Open Workshop where prospective 2010 Buffalo Jills learned what they needed to know to make the squad. Captains, of course, didn't need to try out to make the squad and were on hand at the workshop to help the prospective Jills learn what they needed to and here is a pair of them. Omarlla and Eileen need no introduction to anyone who's followed the Jills this millennium as they'll be going into their 11th seasons together. I remember when they were cute rookies and now look at them. I thought women were supposed to lose their looks as they age...not get even better like these two have. Their 10th season together was a record-setter and the Bills posted up a nice story about them the day before the final game of the season. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Two-Jills-celebrate-ten-seasons/f02bf342-f924-466c-9426-591a2b3e7368

Our second photo comes from the Bills Open Practice held at the stadium a few weeks ago. Members of the Jills dance squad greeted fans as they came through the gates while handing them rosters and schedules as well as posing for pictures and signing autographs. After that, they took to the field for their 1st large scale performance on the Ralph Wilson Stadium turf as seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xqttC-RmtE Shown posing for a photo here are Natalie and Loren. Natalie is a rookie on the squad and was the girl the Buffalo Bills chose to write a blog about the audition process. You can check it out at http://buffalojills.net/article.asp?id=1761784. Loren is in her 2nd season on the squad and as seen on Sundays, is quite the energetic dancer. No big surprise given her 16 years in competitive dancing.

Your next chance to meet Omarlla, Eileen, Natalie, and Loren along with the entire Buffalo Jills squad is the 8th Annual Buffalo Jills Golf Tournament. This year's event is being held August 2 at Williamsville's Westwood Country Club. Check out all the details at http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=1834972&spid=34534

From the Bandettes comes a photo from after the April game against the Colorado Mammoth. Shown smiling for the camera are Kirsten, Alexis, and Chelsea. Kirsten and Alexis just finished their 2nd seasons on the squad while Chelsea was a rookie in 2010. Following each home game, Pearl Street Grill and Brewery has hosted a post-game party following every Bandits home game and several Bandits players as well as Bandettes dancers are in attendance every game.

Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week

While we wait for September to arrive with the start to the new season for the Jill of The Week series, with a change or two coming with that, we'll spend the next few months taking a look at the 2010-2011 Buffalo Jills squad and get to know the girls who we'll see on the sidelines at the Ralph as well as at the 97Rock and 103.3 The Edge tailgate parties before each home game.

First up is a trio of 2nd year vets. This photo was taken at the Jills Open Workshop at the Convention Center of Niagara Falls. Gabrielle spent last season dancing on Christina's line while Kristen and Nicole were on the ambassador squad. This year though, they'll all be dancing as Kristen and Nicole switched over to dance. We already know what a great dancer the beautiful Gabrielle is and judging from how well they've done so far, our two former ambassadors will do great as well.

The 2nd photo features 4th year vet Lisa with Billy Buffalo as well as one of her closest friends. Lisa and Lindsey were friends long before Lindsey became one of the newest dancers on the squad. Lisa was the 2007 dance rookie of the year...could Lindsey garner the award for 2010? It's way too early to speculate on an award like that, especially with all the other talented and beautiful dance rookies this year but Lindsey is definitely a great addition to the squad already.
The next time to meet the entire Jills squad will be at the 8th Annual Buffalo Jills Golf Tournament. This year's event takes place on August 2nd at Westwood Country Club in Williamsville, NY. Go to http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=1834972&spid=34534 for details.

From the Bandettes, we have a photo from before the season finale featuring the Buffalo Bandits and the Boston Blazers. The Bandits came through with a 13-10 win in a game they needed to win to get into the playoffs. Before the game, the Bandettes handed out team posters to the fans coming through the gates. Shown smiling for the camera are Kirsten, Lauren S, Amanda, and Jessica. Kirsten and Lauren just finished their 2nd seasons on the squad while Amanda and Jessica were in their 3rd.

Bandette of The Week Kirsten

This week's featured Bandette seems to be one of the biggest fans of the camera on the squad as she's flashing a smile for the camera almost constantly it seems. Kirsten is in her 2nd season with the Bandettes and has been dancing on Meghan's line her entire time on the squad. Almost never seen without a big smile, Kirsten is actually from Long Island, here in Buffalo attending college with plans of becoming a physical therapist. One of Kirsten's main qualities is her dedication and the fact that she moved far from home to pursue her degree, even planning on getting her master's. That also says a lot about how strong this young lady is as well. A lot of 18-year olds may look forward to moving away from home to go to college, but many get too homesick to throw themselves into something as time-consuming and challenging as a professional dance/cheer squad. Kirsten did it and it probably helped calm the homesickness enough that she's back for a second season and hopefully many more. But besides what it says in her bio, something to be noted about Kirsten is how warm-hearted and caring as well as very easy to talk to. You can read more about Kirsten at http://www.bandits.com/profileB.asp?bandetteID=200913

Bandette of The Week Kirsten

This week's Bandette of The Week is the youngest member of the squad and a native of Long Island who came to Buffalo to attend college. Kirsten is a former national champion in baton-twirling and, while captain of her high school's kick line, won not only local championships, but National titles as well. Currently, Kirsten is a freshman in college working towards a doctorate in physical therapy and hopes to one day own her own clinic. Don't let the end of Bandits season and the spring college semester let you think she'll be bored. She's an extremely hard worker and will likely be spending her summer working to make her sophomore year in college come easier whether she stays in Buffalo or goes back home to Long Island for the summer. If she does wind up staying, she's already got one thing to keep her busy as she's been teaching dance during her time here in Western NY. You can read more about Kirsten at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-09-kirsten.cfm Also, she was named NLL's Girl of The Week back in April and you can read that article at http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=3921

NLL GIRL OF THE WEEK - KIRSTEN

Kirsten, a rookie member of the Buffalo Bandettes Professional Dance Team, is a native of Long Island who came to Buffalo to attend college. She is a disciplined dancer that is no stranger to national championships.

Kirsten has a strong and very unique dance background which adds flair and diversity to the Buffalo Bandettes. She started taking tap and ballet lessons when she was just three years old. At age five, Kirsten began twirling baton and won her first national competition when she was only six. She returned to dancing in studio at age eight, where she stayed for 10 years studying ballet, lyrical, pointe, tap, jazz and acrobatics.

http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=3921

Vote for Kirsten!

This week, rookie Bandette Kirsten is up for NLL Girl of The Week and she needs your votes to help her get an article written about her for NLL.com. She's up against one of the Knightingales and one of Philadelphia's Angels dance team. As nice as the Bandettes bios are, they don't go nearly as in-depth as the NLL.com articles written by Melissa of the Bandettes. Just go to NLL.com, scroll down to the Community section and click on the Girl of The Week tab where you can cast your vote for Kirsten. http://www.nll.com/