Soulmates tryout a success
by Fran Stuchbury
Published on November 7, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul
I attended the Philadelphia Soulmate tryouts at the Wachovia Center this past Saturday. Over 120 girls tried out for the squad. A $25 registration fee was all that was required for a chance to dance for a professional sports team, not a bad deal at all.
I had the opportunity to talk Soul Dance Team Choreographer Marla Congialdi to see what it takes to be a Soulmate.
"What I am looking for is talent,
personality, physical appearance, the ability to dance
and publicly speak," she said. "Basically I_m looking for some
good all-around girls. We strive
for professionalism all the way around. It's very
important to us that the girl as a person is able to
present herself to people and act in the most
professional manner possible."
The Soulmates practice two nights per week for six to eight hours. Not only do they work games, they make public appearances and get involved with the community.
Congialdi was thrilled to be part of the Soul in its inaugural season.
"Last year's experience was
absolutely wonderful, and watching this organization be
built from ground up and being part of that was
phenomenal," she added. "I think this year we're going have an even
better year than we had last year. Philadelphia is a
football town. We had a lot of fun at the games last
year, and the girls were phenomenal."
Eight out of the eighteen Soulmates from last year's squad will be trying out for the team again. One of them is Lisa Corsello, who was one of eleven cheerleaders named to the ArenaBowl All-Star dance team.
At last years ArenaBowl in Phoenix, Arizona, I was able to ask Lisa how she felt about being part of the Soul in its inaugural season and she made these comments: "It's been such an honor to be a part of the inaugural season of a sports team. I had such a fun time, and being able to represent Philadelphia here at the ArenaBowl was great."
There were around six judges at the tryouts. One of them was Soul WR/DB Keita Crespina, and he feels the Soulmates are an important part of the team.
"It's the teams other extension, reaching out to the fans, keeping them entertained during breaks and timeouts," he said.
During the Soul introductions, Crespina does a cartwheel flip to get fans pumped when his name is announced. I asked him if would he be willing to help the girls with that maneuver.
"I'm pretty sure they
already know how to do that, but if they need some
assistance I would be able to help with them out with
a couple of things," he answered.
Before tryouts I spoke to one potential Soulmate, Kristina, and I asked her what interested her in trying out for the Soul.
"It's a Philadelphia sports team, that I_m sure will win," she said. "It's a new experience for me and will be a learning one as well."
Kristina danced for four years with the Major Indoor Soccer League Philadelphia KiXX and having that experience paid off as she made the cut down to about 40 girls.
The remaining girls will attend a final dance audition on Wednesday, November 9th, and the Soul will soon after decide who will be the lucky 18 Soulmates.
If you have any questions or comments about this article feel 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 November 7, 2004
- Soulmates tryout a success - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury
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.
