Carluke’s Carole Anne Deeney on Scottish Rockettes tryouts

Apr 28 2010 by Robert Mitchell, Wishaw Press

CARLUKE’S Carole Anne Deeney will make or break the dreams of hundreds of girls desperate to become a member of the Scottish Rockettes cheerleading team.

If you thought the X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent was tough then you haven’t seen what it takes to become a member of the UK’s top pro-sports dance squad.

Carole Anne is the manager of the Rockettes and is looking for girls from Wishaw to go along to the team’s tryouts next month and see if they have what it takes.

She told the Wishaw Press: “It’s approaching that time of year that all the current Rockettes members dread – tryouts

“Every year around May we have our annual auditions, where we invite dancers and gymnasts aged 18 to 35 to audition for a place on the UK’s top pro-sports dance team.

“And you may ask why the current team members dread this so much. Well that’s because they have to fight to hold onto their place on the team! So you will understand why applicants experience fear, excitement and nerves throughout this event because it can be really make-or-break for some of our current dancers, as well as those looking to make the team for the first time.

“It’s usually a mix of tears and cheers as dreams are made and hopes are dashed. It makes The X-Factor look like The Sound of Music! It’s all very dramatic!

“How do we select the new team? We have a celebrity judging panel that join me in interviewing all the girls and scoring them on their dance performance, and together we select the team. It is paramount to get the right people, hence why even current squad members have to audition – at the Rockettes we want the best, and competition can be fierce.

“Anyway, we are hoping to encourage other dancers from Wishaw and the surrounding area to come along to tryouts and give it a go. I am just hoping that more girls of 18 and over from my local area, come forward for the tryouts.”

After making a name for herself as a cheerleader, Carole Anne now wants others to follow in her dancesteps. The Scottish Rockettes are the cheerleaders for the Scottish Rocks professional basketball team, and as well as performing at their games in Braehead Arena they dance at various sporting events across Europe.

The panel in charge of the try-outs will judge the girls on showmanship, dance technique, personal appearance, personality, energy and the very important ability of being able to ‘sparkle’.

She added: “As well as the basketball games, the squad are involved with plenty of promotion and modelling work.

“The Rockettes take great pride in the fact that they are the only squad in the country to meet the standards demanded by the Harlem Globetrotters and performed alongside the legendary basketball team on the Scottish leg of their world tour in 2003 and 2004.

“And being involved with the Rockettes is both a unique part-time job and an opportunity for the girls to gain further dance training in the best facilities. The present squad members have to re-audition for their place on the Rockettes, so the try-outs can be very tense.”

Someone who is looking to make it into the team for the sixth year in a row is Bellshill’s Allana Paterson. The 24-year-old is in her fourth year of study for a BA (Hons) in Psychology at the University of the West of Scotland, and plans a future career as a forensic psychologist based in the penal system.

She said: “I plan to become a forensic psychologist in a Scottish prison and hope to work with the prisoners. It’s a far cry from dancing and cheerleading, but I know I won’t be able to be a cheerleader forever.

“However, until I’m refused a place in the team, I will continue to dance and train hard as I love being in the Rockettes.”

Allana now helps the auditionees get ready and gives them advice on how to stay focussed.

The Rockettes Pro Dance Team are hosting open auditions at DW Sports Fitness, Glasgow Fort, Auchenlea, Junction 10 off the M8 motorway, on May 9, at 12.30pm.

They are auditioning for girls aged 18-35-years-old, who have a dance training and/or gymnast background to join their spectacular cheerleading force.

Allana added: “The auditions are fun but they are gruelling and will make you work to your full capacity. The Rockettes have no place for girls who just want to shake their pom-poms and pose a little. The dance routines and workouts, as well as the other tests, are all extremely demanding and difficult.

“The standards for getting through to the final stages are gruelling. Girls coming to audition should expect and be prepared to work hard.

“The auditions are held over a two-week period. In the first week, there is a full warm-up with D W Sports Fitness instructors, then onto fitness classes like body attack and kickboxing.”

Carole Anne oversees everything the girls are doing, as well as taking them through their flexibility tests, splits and an endurance test with the heart monitor. During the first week, the girls also learn the first part of a dance choreography.

If they are good enough to get through to the second week, they will do more fitness tests and learn the second part of the routine, which they will perform in front of Carole Anne and other specialised judges.

The final part of the auditions is that the girls will perform their full dance routine and then answer a series of questions on why they want to be a Rockette.

For an application form and more information call (0141) 334 4600 or visit www.scottishrockettes.com/tryouts