Meet the Lady 716ers-part 3

We finish up our look at the 2015-16 Lady 716ers by meeting Katrina and Arlisha as well as coach and choreographer Loren.

Katrina, Loren, and Arlisha

Katrina started dancing at 2 yrs old, taking tap at the Miss Barbara Dance School . Following the Miss Barbara Dance School she went over to The Dance camp, where she learned Tap, Jazz and Ballet. Her favorite dance genre is Jazz. She was a member of McKinley High School dance, cheer, and drill team.

Growing up in Buffalo, Loren started dancing at the age of three. After transitioning to Eugenia's Dance Studio at nine years old, Loren became a part of the studio's competition team and travel dance company, the Talent Express. Her love of dancing helped her attain assistant teaching and teaching roles at the studio until leaving in 2009 to pursue her dream of becoming an NFL Cheerleader where she spent 4 seasons, including 2 as a co-captain.


Buffalo born and raised, Arlisha started dancing when she was 12 years old at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts. She has been dancing ever since! Arlisha also likes to read and shop.

From the Bandettes comes another photo from last month's Bandits Open Practice. There is a total of 9 new faces on the squad that weren't there last year and pictured here are the rookies who are dancing on Stephanie's line. Shown posing for the camera are Karley, Deanna, Jessica, and Sarah.

Karley, Deanna, Jessica, and Sarah

From the Jills comes a photo from the 2006 game against the Jets. Before they went out to accompany Billy Buffalo around the field, these two beauties were signing calendars and posing for photos inside the Fieldhouse. Shown posing for the camera are Kelly and Danielle M.

Kelly and Danielle M

Meet the Lady 716ers-Part 2

We continue our look at the 2015-16 Lady 716ers by meeting Brittany and Shannon as well as getting to know coach/captain LaToya again.

Brittany, LaToya, and Shannon

Brittany is a dance teacher and student, studying dietics and nutrition.

Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Latoya was destined to be a dancer. As a child she would record music videos on VHS and teach herself the choreography. During her teen and early twenties she danced with local dance groups such as Prestige and distrikt7. She has danced in several promotional videos for local choreographer Zeke Titus and also booked a gig as a backup dancer in an opening act for a Miguel Concert.

Shannon started cheerleading at the age of 7, and continued throughout high school. She graduated from Buffalo state College with her Bachelor's, and recently graduated from Medaille College with her Masters in Psychology. She loves to dance and hang out with her pets and family.

From the Bandettes comes a photo from the recent Bandits Open Practice and features 4 newcomers to the squad. Shown posing for the camera are members of Mandy's line, Amanda, Megan, Angela, and Rachel. If Amanda looks familiar to you, she should. Amanda is actually an alum who was on the squad in 2013.

Amanda, Megan, Angela, and Rachel

Since we're still in the holiday season still, from the Jills comes a photo from the 2007 Christmas game. The weather was extremely nasty that morning with rain and high winds so the girls who were to be at the 97Rock tailgate were inside the Fieldhouse with Kelly and Keisha. Shown posing for a photo are Jill R, Keisha, and Kaitlin in their Santa outfits.

Jill R, Keisha, and Kaitlin

Meet the Lady 716ers-part 1

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Lady 716ers Dance Team had been shut down for the season. However, we thought you might like to meet the ladies who made up this team. Hopefully we'll be seeing them again, whether it be on a new incarnation of the Lady 716ers, or on the Bandettes, Red Zone Cheerleaders, or Jills when they return to the sidelines at the Ralph.

Alyssa, Tia, and Dolly

Alyssa is 24 years old and from Dunkirk NY. She has been dancing and cheering for 16 years including at College Performing Arts Center for 8 years. There, she competed nationally with the NY Majestic Dance Team and Hot Shot Cheerleading Team. She also attended Broadway Dance Center in New York City.

Tia has been dancing since the age of 4. She attended Performing Arts High School as a dance major.  Tia has participated in many performances in the community! She was also on Buffalo's Queen City Classic Dance team. She loves learning new things and is very outgoing.


Dolly recently graduated from the University at Buffalo with a degree in Health and Human Services and a minor in Anthropology. She's danced at Steppin' Out Dance Academy and has also choreographed for a local theatre group. Outside of dancing she enjoys spending time with family and friends.


From the Bandettes comes a photo from the Bandits Open Practice a few weeks ago. Mandy's line was stationed near the top of the east bank of escalators greeting fans as they came in and took a moment to pose for this photo. Shown posing for the camera are Amanda, Angela, Megan, Janelle, Mandy, Rachel, and Syidah.

Mandy's line

From the Jills comes a photo from 2010 and the Bills' Christmas game against New England. Several Jills dancers were out in Lot C performing for the fans and posing for photos. Shown posing for this photo is a pair of real stunners, Murissa and Reena.

Murissa and Reena

Lady 716ers shut down for the season

I got some unfortunate news today from the ladies running the Lady 716ers. Effective immediately, the Lady 716ers Dance Team is shut down for the remainder of the 2015-16 PBL Season.
While I can't go too into detail on the reasoning behind the move, I can say the following. There are several reasons for the move but chief among those is the fact that the 716ers Organization has little experience with dance teams and little knowledge about how they are run. Unfortunately, sometimes those in power don't always take the advice of the experts. Rather than compromise their standards and not produce a product they could be proud of, Loren, LaToya, and the ladies on the dance team chose not to go forward with the team for this season.
While it's clearly disappointing that the dance team has been shut down, it truly is for the best at this time. I met LaToya a year ago and I've known Loren for 6 1/2 years and I know that they wouldn't get behind a decision this big if they didn't have to be. When they signed on to run the squad, they had a specific goal in mind...to run the best dance squad in the league. Without the support of the parent organization though, they are unable to achieve that goal and felt they would've been ashamed of the finished product.
It's our stance here that pro cheerleaders should not only be recognized and appreciated for their hard work, but proud of what they've accomplished. Hopefully in the future, the Lady 716ers can be reformed and run in an appropriate way for the fans, the organization, and the dancers involved.

The Lady 716ers at the 716ers season opener

Pro basketball has been back in Buffalo for a few years now but this year, they've got a fully-fledged dance team to cheer them on. Led by Jills alum Loren K (2009-12) and Bandettes alum LaToya (2015), they make community appearances and perform at all home Buffalo 716ers games at the Flickinger Center.

LaToya

Katrina, Tia, Loren, and Shannon

Saturday was the regular season opener for the 716ers and featured a tribute to the Buffalo Braves teams that represented Buffalo in the NBA  in the 1970s. Former Braves Ernie DiGregorio, Emmette Bryant and Gus Gerrard were on hand for festivities all weekend. I got there about a half an hour before tipoff and shortly after getting my ticket, some of the Lady 716ers came by, accompanied by Loren. After catching up with her for a few minutes, it was off to work getting photos, after catching up with LaToya for a few minutes. After getting photos of everyone, I went in to get a good seat for the game. Shortly before tipoff, I had a pair of beauties take seats nearby in the forms of Jennifer and Syidah of the Bandettes.

The Lady 716ers in action

The 716ers took an early lead in the game and never looked back, with the Lady 716ers performing at 1st intermission and a few minutes into the 2nd half. Halftime was filled with performances from the 716ers Street Crew and the 716ers Kids dance team as well as a guest performance by dancers from the King Center Charter School.
See all the pics at https://lady716ers.shutterfly.com/pictures/8
Coming up next for the Lady 716ers, the 716ers are back in action on January 9th at 7pm when the Jamestown Jackals invade the Flickinger Center.
A few notes of interest.

• There have been some schedule changes since it was first released. It's updated on the Blog's schedule and you can find the full schedule  at http://www.buffalo716ers.net/#!schedule/cfvg
• The Lady 716ers have a bio page up so we'll be working on features on the ladies similar to our Bandette of The Week and Jill of the Week features.

Some updates...Jr Bandettes and Lady 716ers Ambassadors

JUNIOR BANDETTE DANCE CAMP
Ages: 6-17
Rehearsal Date: Learn/practice choreography Saturday, Jan. 30.
Performance Date: Feb. 6 on field with the Bandettes when the Buffalo Bandits play the New England Black Wolves
New: Junior Bandette warm up jackets!!!
Register: Send an email with junior's name, age, T-shirt size, warm up jacket size (please indicate child or adult), and parent contact name and email to beabandette@yahoo.com.

Attention Ladies 18+! The Lady 716ers are looking for a poised, professional group of women to join our team as Game Day Ambassadors! Girls will participate in appearances, contests, and photo opportunities before and throughout each home game this season. No dance experience is necessary! To schedule an interview or to learn more information, please contact our team director LaToya Horton at Lhorton2859@gmail.com or our team choreographer Loren Kuwik at l.kuwik@buffalo716ers.net ! Our ambassadors will debut at our BIGGEST event of the season, the Buffalo Braves Throwback Night on December 12th!

New squads being announced!

With tryouts finished for the 2 teams we're currently covering, the new members of the squads are being introduced to the public!
First up is the Lady 716ers, who had tryouts a little over 3 weeks ago. Coached by Bandettes alum LaToya and Jills alum Loren, they're taking to social media to introduce the ladies to the public. So far they've introduced us to three of the lovely young ladies who will be performing at Buffalo 716ers games starting on November 28th. Like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lady-716ers-383773911753996/timeline/ and follow them on Instagram at https://instagram.com/lady716ers/ to meet Tia, Shannon, and Dolly so far with the rest of the squad being introduced over the next couple of weeks!
Bandettes tryouts were held over the weekend and they've already posted a photo of everyone at https://www.facebook.com/Buffalo-Bandettes-610024352385837/timeline/ Sadly, many familiar faces chose not to return but we have a lot of fresh new faces to get to know and love. Captaining the squad will be Mandy and Stephanie. Behind them, only 4 vets return with MaKenzie, Janelle, Jennifer, and Syidah being the familiar faces returning and 9 brand new rookies!