Philadelphia Eagles Blog

Season Starting Aldready?!?

Hey Eagles fans!  So, even though it feels like the off-season for all of you die-hard football fans, we cheerleaders are already getting geared up to begin our season again!  It’s hard to believe since we were just cheering at a home game in January, but believe it or not, it’s time to get started.  Tomorrow night, we are having our Mock Audition Workshop at Lincoln Financial Field beginning at 6:00 PM.  Any women out there who are interested in becoming Eagles Cheerleaders, you should definitely come out tomorrow!  We current cheerleaders will be there to help run the workshop.  We will be helping to teach the audition dance, giving advice on beauty and hair tips, helping with the physical fitness portion, and answering any questions that the hopeful cheerleaders might have.  The workshop definitely gives anyone who is interested in auditioning a big advantage, because they get to see how the open call auditions are run, and they also get to learn the dance that will be taught at the open call audition on March 24^th.

On Wednesday evening, we are having our end of the season banquet at Lincoln Financial Field.  The banquet is a lot of fun and a really great way to end the current season and begin a new one.  Of course, I wish that every cheerleader was able to return next season, because it’s always sad to see some of our teammates go, but the banquet is a really nice way for those cheerleaders to say their good-byes.

During the past 2 months of down-time, I have been working very hard at the dance studio, choreographing lots of dances for our recitals and also preparing for our spring ballet Giselle.  This is always a very busy time of the year at work, but it’s also very rewarding when I get to see my hard work pay off as I finish my dances.  I have also been working hard at the gym to make sure I’m staying in shape for auditions.  Physical fitness is a big part of the audition, and I always want to make sure I am doing everything I can to be in the best shape for auditions.

Well, speaking of staying in shape, I’m going to head out to the gym before I have to go to work later.  I’m looking forward to the beautiful weather that’s supposed to be coming later this week!  I’m hoping to take advantage of it and go jogging outside with my dog!  Until then, I hope you all have a great week!  I’ll be sure to catch you up on the workshop and banquet!

Go Eagles!

Jen

Hi Eagles fans!  So, I left off at Friday January 27th, with our day full of appearances.  Fast forward to Saturday January 28th…Ohana Day!  Ohana means “family” in Hawaiian, and this event was exactly that.  It was a fun family and friends day at Aloha Stadium.  We cheerleaders at our usual team breakfast at 7:00AM that day (that was late for us compared to the rest of the week!), and then we headed to Aloha Stadium for Ohana Day.  The event was basically a practice at the stadium that was open to the public.  My boyfriend Jesse went with another cheerleader’s boyfriend, and he was able to get lots of pictures!  It was a great opportunity to us to get a feel of what game day would be like.  We got to introduce ourselves on the field and perform a bunch of our dances for the fans.  You Eagles fans are familiar with this type of event if you have ever been to Eagles Flight Night.  It’s a very similar event in that it’s a great way to see the players practice and cheerleaders perform, while participating in fun games and activities for the whole family.

After Ohana Day, we had to stay at the stadium for our pre-game rehearsal with the band Hot Chelle Rae.  We were all exhausted from performing outside in the heat all morning, but once the band and the stages were set up, we all got a bit more energy and had a great rehearsal.  Later that evening, we participated in the Pro Bowl All-Star Block Party, which was tons of fun!  An entire main street called Kalakaua Avenue was closed to traffic, and there were tons of stages set up for meet and greets and performances.  The streets were PACKED with fans!  We went around to about 5 different stages throughout the night and performed some of our Pro Bowl dances and also helped aucition off NFL items for the Special Olympics.  One of the cheerleader’s calendars sold for over $100!  It was so much fun getting the fans pumped up for the big game, and you could really feel the energy in the entire town!

Sunday January 29th…Game Day!!!  On Sunday, we all woke up early, had breakfast together, and went right over to Aloha Stadium for our final rehearsal before the big game.  At 2:30 PM (Hawaii time), we were ready to go!  All of our hard work had paid off, and we were ready to just go out there and have a blast.  I can remember our directors telling us to have as much fun as possible out on the field and not to worry about how we stand, when we move to another part of the field, etc.  They told us to just interact with the fans as much as possible and have a great time, and  that’s exactly what we did!  The game tons of fun, even though the NFC lost   Jesse got lots of great pictures at the game too!  I can’t wait to get the photo book that I made online with all of the Pro Bowl pictures!

After the game, all of the cheerleaders and our directors were treated to a delicious dinner at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse.  It was a beautiful restaurant with VERY good food.  What a wonderful way to end our big day!  While all of the other cheerleaders got ready to hit the town after our late dinner, I decided to stay in and start packing, since I was on the first flight leaving Hawaii   I had to be ready to go to the airport at 5:00AM on Monday morning.

I was so sad to say my goodbyes and miss our final breakfast together when I was being driven to the airport bright and early on Monday morning.  As soon as I checked in for my flight, I was told that my flight was delayed and would possibly be canceled.  About a half hour later, it was confirmed that my flight was canceled due to plane maintenance.    The next flight that they were able to give me was not until Tuesday evening.  At first, I was panicking, because I had to be at work on Tuesday morning.   Once I was able to find a substitute to cover my classes on Tuesday, I was sooo happy to have an extra day and a half in Hawaii!  Luckily, Jesse was not scheduled to fly home until Tuesday night as well, so we were finally able to spend some great quality time together, lay on the beach, do some sightseeing, and even go to Pearl Harbor.  It was the PERFECT way to end my trip in Hawaii.

I took a direct flight from Honolulu to Newark (12 hours!), and then from Newark to Philadelphia.  I arrived back home in Philadelphia at 1:30 on Wednesday afternoon and was back to the dance studio to teach class at 4:00!  Talk about jet lag!  I was extremely tired for the next 3 days, but I got right back into work and even did a few fun appearances for the Eagles.  I haven’t had a day off since!  As much as I miss Hawaii, it’s also good to be back home   I can’t wait to see all of my teammates at our end of the season banquet in a few weeks and share my Pro Bowl experience with them.  I hope you all enjoyed it!!  Take a look at a few more photos!  (I’ll be sure to most more soon).

Aloha!

Jen

performing at Ohana Day

Ohana Day

performing at the block party

posing with John, one of our directors, before the block party

Game Day!

SWOOP and I at the game! One of my favorite photos

performing on the sidelines

 

sightseeing with Jesse after my flight got canceled!

 

what a beautiful view!

 

Jesse and I visiting Pearl Harbor before leaving Hawaii

Catching You Up On Pro Bowl!

     Hey Eagles fans!  So, as promised, I have a lot more to tell you about my Pro Bowl experience.  I’m pretty sure I left off after my long day of rehearsals followed by a fun luau on Wednesday.  By  Thursday January 26th, I was FINALLY adjusted to the time difference in Hawaii.  We cheerleaders all met at 6:ooAM for our daily team breakfast and then headed to Aloha Stadium for our first rehearsal on the field.  It was so much fun rehearsing the pre-game dance and our sideline dances that we had been working so hard on.  The long rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday really paid off when we got to the stadium, because we felt very prepared and were able to just let go and have fun.  I must say, I wasn’t used to rehearsing in the hot weather though, since it was so cold back in Philadelphia when I left!  I love the hot summer weather though, so I definitely was not complaining! 

     After rehearsal, we went back to our resort and had different appearances to go to.  My squad (NFC 1) did an appearance at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, which is a beautiful restaurant near our resort.  Wolfgang’s Steakhouse was generous enough to provide all of the cheerleaders with a delicious dinner after the Pro Bowl game, so it felt good to be able to do an appearance there and thank their owner and staff ahead of time.  The Pro Bowl trophy was on display there, so we took some great photos with fans in front of it.  Later that evening, we had a team dinner at Dave and Busters.  It was nice getting to have some dinners together and have fun and relax with each other after very longs days or rehearsals and appearances.

     On Friday January 27th, we all met for breakfast at 7:30 AM (that was our chance to “sleep in” haha).  Friday was a day filled with appearances, but it was tons of fun!  After breakfast I had about a 2 hour break, which was a lot compared to the rest of the week!  I took full advantage of that down-time and hung out by the pool to get in some sun :)  Then I had the pleasure of teaching one of our sideline dances to a group of Japanese dancers with fellow cheerleader Lindsay from the Seahawks.  Since I’m a dance teacher, this was right up my alley!  The Japanese cheerleaders were my age, and even though most of them didn’t speak English, I felt that we really bonded and had a great time together.  They were terrific dancers too!  They performed their dance later that day at a nearby shopping mall and did a great job.  

     After teaching the dance clinic, I had a little more free time and was able to meet up with my boyfriend Jesse for a little bit.  I didn’t get to see him very much up till this point, since our schedule was extremely busy.  That night we had an amazing appearance at an event called Sunset On The Beach.   The event was open to the public, so Jesse was able to come and watch our performances.  At Sunset On the Beach, a big part of the Waikiki beach is closed off and there is a huge movie screen and a stage set up for performances.  The movie Remember The Titans played on the beach after we cheerleaders did a few performances.   Hundreds of fans came out to watch us perform and get autographs.  At one point, I was signing my photo cards and posing for photos, and I stopped for a minute to take a look around and realize that I was in the middle of so many fans flashing their cameras at me and asking for autographs, and the whole thing seemed so surreal.  I could not believe that all of those people were really there to see us.  It was such an amazing feeling and something  that I will never forget!

Enjoy some more photos, and check back soon for the my next update!!

Aloha!

Jen

Rehearsal at Aloha Stadium

Getting some down-time with my teammates!

 

Posing with the Pro Bowl trophy at Wolfgang's Steakhouse

 

Another photo taken at Wolfgang's Steakhouse

 

Performing at Sunset On The Beach

 

NFC 1 Squad at Sunset on the Beach

 

Back from Hawaii!

Hey Eagles fans!!  It’s been a while since my last blog, but I have a great excuse….I’ve been in Hawaii for the last week to perform at Pro Bowl!  What an incredible experience it was!!!  Instead of writing a super long blog to tell you about my trip, I’ll write a few shorter blogs.  Before I begin, I just wanted to give a special thank you to our director, Barbara, for giving me this amazing opportunity.  I am so honored to have been chosen to represent my team at such an unbelievable event. 

So, where do I even begin?  I guess I’ll start my explaining how I was chosen to go to Pro Bowl in the first place.  It was so interesting meeting the other cheerleaders from the different NFL teams and finding out how they were chosen as well.  Most of the other teams take a vote, so they are chosen by their teammates.  We don’t vote for our Pro Bowl cheerleader though.  We had to fill out an application and write an essay about why we wanted to go to the Pro Bowl, and then we are chosen for a number of different reasons such as dance ability, leadership ability, involvement in community events, public speaking ability, etc.  Many of the women on my team would have been deserving of going, but I’m so incredibly honored and thankful to have been selected.

I left for Hawaii on Monday January 23^rd, and the 12 hour flight was totally worth it!  On the day I arrived I met the majority of the other women from the different teams and we started bonding right away.  On Tuesday morning, we jumped right into our first rehearsal at 9:00AM.  We had breakfast together each morning, which was a wonderful tradition and a great opportunity to continue bonding with one another.  Since we only had 5 days to turn 26 women into one “team,”  we knew we would need some long rehearsals.  We rehearsed for about 7 hours on Tuesday and then had a team photo shoot by the hotel pool followed by a meet and greet and autograph session with the fans.  I met a few Eagles too!  Our team poster came out so beautiful!   

We started our day on Wednesday at 7:00AM, and boy was I sore!  After 7 hours of rehearsal, my back and neck were incredibly sore, but we had another 5 hours of rehearsal to get through.  We spent most of the day learning our pre-game dance, which we performed during the pre-game show with the band Hot Chelle Rae.  It was such a fun, high-energy dance, and I loved learning it!  After our long rehearsal, we got to attend a luau for people that were involved in the Pro Bowl.  It was so much fun to get a little dressed up and enjoy spending some down-time with my Pro Bowl teammates.  Enjoy the photos from these first few days, and be sure to check back in for my next blog.  I’ll be filling you in our rehearsal at Aloha Stadium and lots of other fun events that took place on Thursday and Friday! 

Getting off the plane at Honolulu International Airport with 4 more cheerleaders

Having fun with the other NFL Cheerleaders as soon as we got to Hawaii!

Meeting up with my boyfriend for a little while

taking a quick photo in the lobby with my roommate Kim from the Colts

One of the many wonderful gifts we got at breakfast! An awesome Pro Bowl bag with iPod speakers, a beach towel, hat, and football

The end of a VERY long day of rehearsals! Exhausted and ready for bed, but loving every minute of it!

Some of the cheerleaders at the luau on Wednesday night

Aloha!

Jen

Fun Activities and Big News!!!

     Hey Eagles Fans!  I feel like I have a lot to catch you up on!  The past 2 weeks have been packed with fun events, since I had 2 weeks off from work for Winter Break. 

     Let’s back up to New Year’s Day at the Eagles vs Redskins Game.  This was a very special day for me, because it was announced that I was the Eagles Cheerleader who was selected to go to Pro Bowl!  I can honestly say that I’m still in shock!  I’m so happy that my mom, boyfriend, aunt, and uncle were all able to attend that game to watch as Swoop came onto the sidelines to put a flower lei around my neck and the announcement was made that I would be going to Hawaii to perform in the Pro Bowl!  It is truly an honor to be selected out of the 38 beautiful and talented women on our team.  Any one of us would have been deserving to go, so I feel extremely privileged to be selected to go to Pro Bowl to represent our team.  I leave for Hawaii on January 23rd and spend the week leading up to the Pro Bowl rehearsing, taking part in charity events, and participating in numerous activities for the fans.  In the meantime, I have been working extremely hard to learn all of the dances that we have to know before we arrive.  I was given a DVD of 13 dances, and I have been giving myself long rehearsals every day to make sure I know every dance.  I actually just finished learing the last dance today!  With 10 days left until I leave, I feel that I’m right on track.  I now have the next 10 days to practice the dances and know them really well.  Wish me luck!!  In case you missed it, check out the image that was on the homepage of philadelphiaeagles.com! 

      After the big game, I wanted to continue to make the most of my break from work, so my boyfriend and I took a short trip to Vermont.  It was actually his Christmas present from me, because I thought it would be tons of fun to get away for a couple of days and enjoy each other’s company during the holiday season.  We stayed at an adorable bed and breakfast in West Dover, Vermont, which is only about 1 mile from Mount Snow.  Our room at the bed and breakfast was adorable and even had its own fireplace.  The breakfasts were absolutely delicious too!  (A little fact about me: breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day, and I could swap every meal with breakfast food )  During our 2-day trip, we went ice skating on an outdoor rink, went snowmobiling at Mount Snow, and I even treated myself to a wonderful massage!  It was tons of fun and very relaxing.  I chose not to try skiing for the first time, since I didn’t want to risk getting any injuries a month before Pro Bowl!  Even without skiing, we kept busy with other fun (and safe) activities haha.  Check out some of the photos from our trip!

Jesse and I at Mount Snow (of course I'm supporting the Eagles!)

We had the whole outdoor rink to ourselves!

Snowmobiling at Mount Snow! I had a blast riding on the back while Jesse drove!

 So, remember how I told you that we got my mom, sister, and brother-in-law tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway?  Well, we went into New York City last Sunday to see the show, and it was FABULOUS!!  It was extremely entertaining, and the performers were incredible.  It was such a nice way to spend my last day off. 

my mom, sister, and me before the show

     Well, now I’m back to work and working extra hard at the gym to prepare for Pro Bowl.  I feel very motivated, and I want to prepare myself in every way possible to make sure my Pro Bowl experience is a success   Be sure to check back to for updates!

Jen

Happy New Year!

Hi Eagles fans!  How was everyone’s holiday?  I had a wonderful Christmas with my family.  It’s so nice that my family lives close by, so I don’t have to do any traveling during the holidays.  Every year, my family goes to my Uncle Tom and Aunt Marie’s house for Christmas Eve to do the Italian tradition of the seven fishes.  It is truly one of my favorite nights of the year, because even if we are going to different places on Christmas day, we are all always together on Christmas Eve.  There is always lots of great food, and we stay up really late playing games and talking with one another.  My uncles usually end up telling some funny stories about when they were younger and living in Italy.  I’m always so amused haha!  My boyfriend spent the holidays with me for the first time this year too, which made it extra special.  His extended family lives in Pittsburgh, so he always travels there during the week of Christmas.  This year, he stayed in New Jersey with me and fit right in with the family   On Christmas day, I went to my sister and brother-in-law’s house, which is only about 5 minutes away from mine.  I’m extremely close with my sister and can’t imagine spending a Christmas without her, so I feel very lucky to live to close to her.  We ate homemade ricotta gnocchi (which my mom and I made) and chicken parmesan.  Yumm!!  I also waited in line for at least a half hour at my favorite Italian bakery on Christmas Eve morning to get cannolis for Christmas dessert.  They are my favorite!  We all exchanged gifts, ate an amazing meal, and had a wonderful time on Christmas day.  My boyfriend and I got my mom, sister, and brother-in-law tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway, and I can’t wait to go!  We are all going next Sunday, and it should be lots of fun.  It will be the first time that my mom and sister have ever seen a Broadway show!  I think my boyfriend and I did a great job picking out presents this year!    Check out some of the photos from the holidays!

My sister, 2 cousins, and me on Christmas Eve

with my mom and sister on Christmas day

with my boyfriend Jesse on Christmas day

Can you believe the holiday season is coming to an end so quickly??  It feels like we prepare for the holidays for months, and then it’s over so fast.  And even more surprising…it’s almost the end of the Eagles season.  I can’t believe that tomorrow is the last Eagles game of the season.  This is one of the few years that the Eagles haven’t been in the playoffs, and it feels so strange.  I think everyone can agree that the Eagles had an extremely talented team this year; they just started off with too many losses, which caused them get knocked out of the playoffs too soon.  They have been playing extremely well lately, and they have been super exciting to watch.  I can only imagine how great they will be coming into the season next year.  I’m still very excited for tomorrow’s game on New Year’s Day against the Redskins though.  I know our fans will still be out there supporting our team as always and that everyone will be in that wonderful holiday spirit.  I certainly consider the Eagles Cheerleaders to be like a second family to me, so it will be really nice for everyone to be together on New Years Day doing what we love to do.  Well, I’m sure I will see a lot of you amazing fans out there tomrrow!  Make sure you’re cheering along with us!  E-A-G-L-E-S…EALGES!!!  Have a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve!

Happy New Year!

Jen

A Successful Performance Weekend!

Hey Eagles fans!  Well, I know I told you that I was getting very busy recently since the ballet theater company that I work for is performing The Nutcracker this weekend.  I wanted to give you an update before the last show tomorrow!  So far, the shows have been very successful.  I have received lots of feedback from the dancers’ friends and family telling me that the show looked beautiful.  That makes me so happy to hear, since I’ve worked so hard behind the scenes to make the shows a success.  The dancers are extremely talented, and even though I teach them in class all year-long, I’m still blown away by their dancing on stage.  We have performed three shows so far, and tomorrow is the last one.  That last show is always a little bittersweet, because many of the dancers are high school seniors who have been dancing in The Nutcracker since they were little girls.  It’s always sad to see them perform in their last Nutcracker with us, because I feel like I’ve watched them grow into such beautiful dancers and young ladies over the last several years.  Aside from the emotional aspect of the last performance, it’s also a bit of a relief when it’s over.  I can finally get a little bit of time to relax and enjoy the holidays!  Here are a couple of photos from the shows.

Okay so is everyone excited for the game tomorrow!?!  Of course I am!  I think the Eagles vs Jets will be a terrific game, since both teams are very talented.  But of course I’m going with the Eagles for the win!  Especially since they have home field advantage, and you incredible fans will be cheering them on as usual.  I must say, the Eagles really do have the best fans in the NFL!  That’s one of my favorite things about being an Eagles Cheerleader…dancing in front of such enthusiastic fans!  Well, make sure you’re either at the game tomorrow or have a front row seat on the couch!  We’re all hoping for an early Christmas present tomorrow!  GO EAGLES!

Jen

Holiday Season with Friends, Family, and Cookies!!!

Hi Eagles fans!  Happy Sunday!  I hope you are all having a great weekend so far.  My weekend has been very busy, but I was lucky enough to get to spend some quality time with my closest friends and family last night.  This is one of my favorite times of the year, because everyone always makes it a priority to spend some time together.  We are always so busy all year-long with different work schedules and family life, but the holidays usually allow us to slow down a bit and enjoy each other’s company.  Every year, my mom and cousins always meet at my sister Chrissy’s house to bake lots of Christmas cookies.  My sister and brother-in-law rescued a German Shepard puppy recently, so we had a new addition to our cookie tradition this year!  This year, my boyfriend Jesse, my cousin’s boyfriend Kevin, and my best friend Joe also got in on the baking!  (Well, at one point, the guys decided that they didn’t have to be exact when measuring the ingredients, so they got kicked out of the kitchen and the ladies took over!)  We made TONS of cookies!  My favorite are the peanut butter cup cookies, the Italian ricotta cookies, and the pizzelles.  I must say, the most difficult challenge for me is not letting myself eat the cookie dough!  I love cookie dough!  I did try a few cookies last night though, and they were delicious!  I am always so disciplined during the week, eating very healthy foods and exercising every day, so I don’t feel too bad when I let myself have a treat every now and then, especially during the holidays   Check out a picture of some of the ricotta cookies and peanut butter cup cookies!

Yum!!

Meet Cody!

 

Well, now I’m back to a busy day at work today.  The ballet theater company that I work for is performing The Nutcracker next weekend, so today is our last day at the studio to have rehearsal.  I will be directing rehearsal from 12:00 – 6:00 today.  Then we start rehearsals at the theater this week.  On Wednesday and Thursday, we have our technical and dress rehearsals from 4:00 – 11:00.  Talk about longs days in the theater!  And then Friday night is opening night!  We have one show on Friday, 2 shows on Saturday, and our last show is on Sunday.  There is so much hard work that goes into putting on these productions, and I’m always so exhausted by the end of it all.  It is also extremely rewarding to see my hard work pay off though, and that is what I’m looking forward to the most. 

 

Well, make sure you’re schedule is free this afternoon to watch the Eagles play the Dolphins!  I’ll be getting updates while I’m directing rehearsal today.  Whenever the Eagles score, I’ll be sure to let all of the dancers know!!  Have a great Sunday, and I’ll catch up with you soon.

 

Go Eagles!

Jen

Happy Halloween

Hi Eagles fans!  Are you all getting ready for Halloween weekend?  I normally don’t make a big deal out of Halloween, but this year I thought it would be fun to go pumpkin picking and carve a pumpkin to put out on display.  I haven’t carved a pumpkin in a few years, and I must say, I felt like a kid again!  On Tuesday afternoon I was able to squeeze in a trip to a local pumpkin patch with my boyfriend.  It was a perfect, sunny, fall  day for pumpkin picking too.  We picked out our favorite pumpkin, bought a fun carving kit, and got to work carving a haunted house.  Take a look at the finished product!

All finished carving my pumpkin!

It looks much better when the lights are out!

Well, even more important than Halloween preparations is the Eagles game this Sunday!  We are playing the Dallas Cowboys, which is always an exciting game.  Plus, it’s a Sunday Night Football game this weekend!  The fans are always even more enthusiastic during the Sunday night football games.  We cheerleaders have been working very hard at rehearsals to prepare three new quarter break dances for this game.  They are really great, and I know you will enjoy them!  In the meantime, stay warm this weekend.  Can you believe it’s supposed to snow on Saturday!?!  I was really enjoying the beautiful fall weather we’ve been having; I’m definitely not ready for winter weather so soon!  Enjoy your weekend, and help us cheer on our Eagles on Sunday night!

Jen

A Successful “Dance-a-Thon”

Hi Eagles fans!  Are you all enjoying your weekend so far?  This has been a very busy weekend for me, as I have been working the entire time.  On Saturday I had to teach dance classes from 9:00 AM  – 4:00 PM, and then I was in charge of a fundraiser from 5:00  - 7:00PM.  The ballet theater company that I am the business manager for is a non-profit organization, so we rely heavily on fundraisers and ticket sales to support the company.  Since the company will be performing The Nutcracker in December, we needed to start raising money to pay for the many expenses that come with putting on a large production.  I thought it would be fun to have a “dance-a-thon” fundraiser for the dancers in the company.  The point of the dance-a-thon was to have everyone dancing non-stop for two hours.  I made a pledge form, similar to a pledge form for a fundraiser walk or run,  and told each dancer that they were required to raise a minimum of $100 in donations.  I also went to many local business and asked for donations to be used as prizes for those who went above and beyond the $100 minimum requirement.  Many of the dancers’ parents also got a lot of prize donations from businesses, and some of them were really great.  Some of the dancers who raised above and beyond $100 won gift certificates to salons, restaurants, and local dancewear stores.  I asked parents to bring food to the event, and we even had lots of pizzas donated from a local pizzeria.  I decorated the dance studio, found a DJ to provide the music and entertainment, set up all of the food, and organized all of the prizes.  And I’m so happy to say that the fundraiser was a big success!  We raised a total of $9,750 for the ballet company.  By the end of the night, I’m sure you can imagine that I was completely exhausted.  After teaching dance classes all morning and afternoon, it was pretty tiring running a dance-a-thon with about 80 young dancers, but it was worth it in the end.  It always feels great when your hard work pays off!  Below is a photo of me with one of my younger students at the dance-a-thon.

Posing with one of my young students at the end of a long, but fun day!

Well, today I wish I could relax at home and cheer on the Eagles as they play the Redskins at Washington.  However, I have another long work day ahead of me.  I will be running rehearsal for The Nutcracker today from 12:00 – 6:00 PM.  Everyone at the dance studio knows that I am an Eagles Cheerleader and a true, die-hard fan, so the dancers’ parents are always good at giving me updates on the score while I’m running rehearsal!  I’m confident that the Eagles can have a great comeback this season and pull off a win today.  That would make our next home game against the Cowboys even more exciting!  Well, I hope you all have a great Sunday and enjoy the game.  GO EAGLES!

Jen