Preliminaries

SOOOOOOO, as many of you know, the preliminary round for the Seattle Sea Gals was yesterday! I arrived 45 minutes early to Century Link Field, & quite a few girls were already there stretching/warming up, so I joined them. I recognized a handful of girls from last year- a little less than 200 auditioned at preliminaries last year, & this year was around 150. 

We didn't get started with registration until around 11:15am when we were supposed to start at 11am. Oh well, not a big deal. Registration took until right before 12pm. To get your audition number, there are small pieces of paper flipped upside down with numbers on the other side. Last year, I was #170-something. HOWEVER, THIS YEAR, I drew #8!!! I was SO EXCITED to be going in one of the first groups rather than having to wait forever, watching everyone & psyching myself out. 

My audition went off without a hitch & I was proud of the routine that I performed for the judges. I watched the other girls audition & was impressed by a few, but not many. Some girls were so bad, I thought, "Is this a joke?" One woman looked to be in her 40s-she wore a coin skirt-& looked like she was doing Zumba (badly). Kudos to her for having the courage to audition, but REALLY?!

2 hours (and a back-ache from sitting on the hard ground) later, those invited back to semi-finals were announced. All of my friends & I advanced to semi-finals!! We were so excited :) About 10 minutes after semi-finals were announced, we started learning the routine we will be performing next Sunday. It's 8-8 counts that repeats to the song "Starships" by Nicki Minaj. If you haven't heard that song, it's pretty awesome! I love dancing to music that I know and pumps me up, so luckily our routine this year is to a song that fits that description :) Last year it was to a song called "Hot Mess" that I had never heard before-NOT the one by Cobra Starship. 


The choreography isn't complex, it just seems difficult when done to the quick beat. I had one of my friends video me doing the choreography after we were done learning it so it was fresh in my mind & I would have something to go back & reference if I got stuck. After finishing the video, about 4 girls whipped out there phones & asked me to do it again. I know it's a competition and all, but I believe in Karma, so I repeated the routine for the ones that asked. I practiced the semi-finals routine a few times when I got home last night after I had gotten the correct cut of the music from the Sea Gals coach drop-box. 

Semi-Finals aren't until next Sunday (April 29th) at 1pm, but I'm already feeling confident about making it into Finals again this year :-)

100%

I want to make it VERY clear to everyone that I am going to be 100% OKAY if I don't make the team again this year. BUT- I will also be 100% OKAY if I DO make the team :-)


I was convinced I was going to make it last year, as were a lot of you. When my number wasn't called at Finals, I didn't allow myself to cry until I got into the car & even then, it was only for about 5-10 seconds, then I got over it- texted everyone on my list that I didn't make the team (whether they were watching the LIVE stream or not) & went straight to McDonald's for a double cheeseburger AND FRIES. 

I appreciated everyone's support and words of encouragement last year, but I do have a request for this year:

PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEEEEEEASE, don't tell me "it's their loss" or "you should've made it".

Tell me, "you did great" (if I did) or "you worked so hard" (because I did).

There is a reason for everything that happens in our lives whether we realize what it is in the moment, or later in the year. I didn't make the team last year for a reason. I doubt they recognize not having me on the team as a loss. There's a lot of FABULOUS girls that made the team last year, & a lot of FABULOUS girls that didn't. (Something to remember, is there are about 50 other girls that look JUST LIKE ME at the audition.)


Preliminaries are this Sunday the 22nd at 11am. Wish me luck if you like, I will be posting on Facebook and Twitter if/as I advance to each round.

As if I didn't want it enough before...

This past Saturday, I attended a 3 hour long NFL Cheer Intensive Workshop lead by Sea Gals coach Sherri Thompson. As the title says, "as if I didn't want it enough before", I want to be a professional NFL Cheerleader even MORE now!! 


We started out with a basic warm up/stretch & then went into some technique work (turns, kicks, leaps). In doing so, I was reminded of how much I LOVE & have missed doing leaps across the floor. We also worked on choreography learning 3 routines, & also on public speaking, ie-introducing ourselves to the judges. 


We went in groups of 2, saying our full name, where we were from, & what we do for a living. If any girl was too quiet or didn't sound confident enough, Sherri would make them repeat what they had said until they were both loud & confident. After I said, "Hello, my name is Christine Burgett. I live in Seattle-Washington & am a Group Fitness Instructor," she pointed at me and said, "She has the kind of confidence that comes through her voice making me WANT to listen to what she has to say." Which made me very excited that she had thought I had done a great job. She also pointed at me & another girl later on, recognizing us from making it to Finals last year.

Towards the end while we were waiting for the Sea Gals makeup artist to get there, I approached Sherri to ask if she had noticed anything I could improve on for the auditions starting in 2 weeks. She replied, "Honestly, no. You looked great today." 

I REALLY WISHED SHE HAD NOTICED SOMETHING THOUGH!!!!

I'm ecstatic that she said I looked great, but since I made it so far last year-& not onto the actual squad, I was hoping she would give me some constructive criticism. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiince she didn't, I suppose I will keep doing what I'm doing & hope that this year it's enough to make it all the way.

She said making it onto the squad will -really change your life-. I'm ready. 

BRING IT ON.