The New Orleans Saintsations held their 2011 tryouts Saturday April 2 at the Saints Training Facility. Over 160 hopefuls auditioned for a coveted spot on the 2011-12 New Orleans Saintsations team.
The candidates, ranging in age , from 18 to 40 began the audition process at 9:00am. After submitting their resumes, the applicants had their first photo shoot and then began the dance audition. The girls personally introduced themselves to the judges and then performed the first dance routine. After the first round, the judges selected 99 applicants to advance to the second round of the audition process.
The 99 lucky ones were taught another dance routine at a quicker pace by team choreographer Blair Buras. Once again candidates performed for the judges in groups of eight. After all performed, 45 applicants were called back for a second look. The judges took their time analyzing their resumes and dance evaluations before determining the 61 girls who would advance to the interview round of competition. As the numbers were announced, the facility erupted in screams. Each semi-finalist received a Saints throw towel to commemorate making it to the next step in the audition process.
"We are overwhelmed by the amount of talent that applied for a position on the team. The candidates are very impressive in terms of talent and intelligence. I'm honored to have such a great pool of applicants compete for a spot on the team." stated Lesslee Fitzmorris, Team Director.
The second round of auditions will be held Tuesday. This round consists of the professional interview, photo test shots and the NFL football test. Each semi-finalist must test their knowledge of the NFL and how the game works. They must also meet with business professionals to measure their level of composure in interview situations.
The Saintsations, who in addition to performing on gameday, also serve as ambassadors throughout the city. Last year, they made over 450 appearances in numerous events throughout the year. While serving as representatives of the Gulf Coast region, they have attracted national and international exposure, performing in London when the club played a regular season game in 2008 in Wembley Stadium, representing the club at Super Bowl Week events, in Mexico on an NFL tour, in the 2010 Madden commercial as well as in Super Bowl XLIV and traveling to United States military bases overseas. Tremendous opportunities in the media are also present as they have appeared in national publications and also are part of an annual swimsuit calendar and regionally televised "behind the scenes" television show about the making of the calendar.
After the interview portion of the competition, the field will narrow again. The third and final round will be held Thursday, April 7. The 32 team members will be posted on Friday, April 8th at www.neworleansaints.com.
