Congialdi gets Soulmates prepared
by Fran Stuchbury
October 13, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul
OurSports Central correspondent Fran Stuchbury recently sat down with Philadelphia Soul Dance Team choreographer Marla Congialdi at a recent Soulmates dance tryout. Marla is entering her third season with the Arena Football League team.
FS: What interested you in getting involved with the Philadelphia Soul?
MC: Basically my love of dance is always just as important to me as my full time career. When this team developed I thought it was a great opportunity to start ground up and start the team from scratch. I was very excited about that.
FS: What do you have installed for the Soulmates this upcoming season?
MC: This year we are taking it to a new level. We are definitely doubling the size of our squad this year. We are going to select a squad we are proud to have represent us at the Philadelphia Soul.
FS: How many Soulmates from last season's squad are tying
out this season?
MC: It's probably about eight to ten. A lot of times girls will change their minds as the open call comes in, if they're planning on not coming back, they get to open call and they get that rush of excitement and they want to come back in. So that always happens, too. I would say about eight to ten girls will be re-auditioning.
FS: With the expanded roster will the Soulmates be more involved in the community?
MC: Absolutely, we had just a great week this past week in trying to book appearances between CBS and the 10 show, and Angelo Cataldi Show, we were all over the place. We really need those mass numbers to cover all the appearances and these girls are going be in demand nest season.
FS: During one of those appearance there was a mention the Soulmates calendar will be coming out. When will it be available?
MC: Actually, you can look for that later this fall. For the first time ever we are actually doing our own calendar shoot that is a swimsuit calendar. We hope to get that published sometime in January and February, it's right at the start of our season.
FS: Will it be a tasteful calendar unlike the Eagles lingerie calendar?
MC: Absolutely, we are top class. We do not have to remove our clothes to stay sexy. Our girls are top notch. We don't want girls that would pose nude, we're not looking for that type of caliber to represent our organization. We have pride in our girls, and we love the fact our girls are classy ambassadors and role models for our children out there who are watching our games.
FS: The past two seasons you have sent Soulmates to represent the All Star Cheerleader squad at the ArenaBowl. How is that decision process made?
MC: The decision process is very simple, the girls' vote who goes to the ArenaBowl. It goes through my approval just to make sure from a coach's prospective that person is meeting all her appearance requirements. After they pick the girl, I will make sure that selection is appropriate for the number of appearances that they have done because that is really important to me.
FS: What educational background do you have?
MC: I'm almost a masters prepared registered nurse. I'm very proud to have that education to back up the beauty and the talent. We are not going to the local bars or strip clubs to find girls to fill our needs. We're looking for the top quality girls that are out there, girls that are educated who are out in our community and have professions, even if they are not a professional yet, but they are aspiring to be that so they are in college.
FS: When you're not involved with the Soul, what are you doing?
MC: I was in education as a registered nurse, teaching in a LPN and RN program. I currently moved to the pharmaceutical industry, so I'm a representative for a pharmaceutical industry.
If you have any questions or comments about this interview feel free to drop me an email at arenazone@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to get back to you.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from October 13, 2005
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
