The opportunity to cheer for a team coming off a third-consecutive division title brought a record 420 women to the University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion Sunday morning for preliminary auditions for the 2009 Charger Girls.
By the end of the day, 68 talented finalists were selected to compete for a spot on the 28-member team.
Later this week, the 28-member 2009 squad will be introduced Thursday on Chargers.com.
“It’s great to see the program continue to grow in popularity,” Charger Girls Director Lisa Simmons said. “The Chargers also came off another great football season, and everybody reaps the reward of that.”
Of the 420 candidates, 27 previously danced for professional sports teams, some in the NBA and some with NFL teams other than the Chargers. Eighteen of the finalists fit in that category. Women came throughout Southern California to audition. The candidates also included women from Washington, Utah and Arizona, and one finalist traveled from Japan to participate.
“With the Chargers being the only NFL team in Southern California, our talent pool pulls from Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and throughout the region,” Simmons said. “We have candidates that don’t currently live here but will relocate if they make the team.”
Preliminary auditions began with registration at 9 a.m. Sunday morning as women made their way to San Diego to audition. Once the women hit the gym floor at 10:30 a.m., the competition began. Choreographer Jeannine Sabo, who has previously worked on Broadway plays and with artists such as the Backstreet Boys, kicked off the morning by teaching the women a 32-beat routine.
The women had approximately 45 minutes to learn the steps before performing them in front of a panel of judges. Then, three at a time, the women had the opportunity to perform what they’d just learned. While dancing ability is a priority, the judges were also critiquing attitude, appearance and showmanship.
“We’re looking for the total package,” Simmons said. “We want women who have a strong cheer, dance and performance background as well as overall charisma. It’s also important to us to have powerful, intelligent and educated women to represent the program well in the community.”
After each girl had their opportunity to perform the short routine, the judges huddled for nearly one hour to cut the list to 160. Those advancing to the second round were taught another routine Sunday afternoon and went through the same audition process as they did in the first round.
Girls from last year’s team are required to audition again. However, veterans are given a bye through the first round and join the audition in round two.
The women making it through the second round will go through a series of interviews on Tuesday. Wednesday night, the finalists will perform a final dance routine and at the conclusion, the judges will select the new squad.
