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Photos by Dominic Ceraldi
Brittney just completed her second season with the Allen Americans Ice Angels. She joined us near the end of the Allen Americans season for PDC Meet the Dancers:
PDC: Talk about your dance background and what led you to being on the Allen Americans Ice Angels.
BRITTNEY: I started dancing when I was a freshman in high school. I was on the Lewisville Farmerettes on the varsity drill team. After high school, I went on to dance for the Dallas Vigilantes, an arena football team that played their games at American Airlines Center. Next up, I was on the Chargers Girls in San Diego for the 2014-15 seasons. Then I moved back here to the Dallas area and have been on the Allen Americans Ice Angels for two seasons.
PDC: For someone who grew up in the DFW area, how cool was it to live in San Diego?
BRITTNEY: I loved it! It was awesome. The weather was great! I’m an outdoorsy person so I liked that I could go surfing and two hours away I could go snowboarding.
PDC: What brought you back to North Texas?
BRITTNEY: The reason I moved back was because it’s home, I’m a Texas girl. I had four great years in California, but I have family here.
PDC: Probably a little cheaper to live in Texas too?
BRITTNEY: It’s A LOT cheaper to live here than in southern California. That’s for sure!
PDC: Shifting gears, what were some of the highlights of your first season with the Allen Americans Ice Angels?
BRITTNEY: Being a rookie as an Allen Americans Ice Angel, every dance team that I have been on is a new experience and every team has its own quirks and funny moments that you get to experience with your new teammates which I really enjoy. I made some of my best friends on this team last year including becoming roommates with Taryn last year and we became really close, so I think I value the friendships that I’ve made as the biggest highlight.
PDC: What about the auditions process coming back as veteran and knowing what’s at stake?
BRITTNEY: Coming back as a veteran, there is more pressure because Stephanie and Sasha do hold you to a higher expectation knowing that you do have a year under your belt so they take into consideration your work ethic from the entire previous season and if you’re a team player. Also, what are you going to bring to the team that’s different than last year, so you always want to give more and show that you’ve grown as a person. The stakes are high and it’s nerve-wracking for sure.
PDC: Now that you are back as a veteran, how is it different?
BRITTNEY: It’s very different, this year I am not only a veteran, but a captain so I have to lead by example and be more prepared and more aware of my surroundings. It’s not just showing up to do my dances, but there are so many things that go through my head on game day now that did not last season.
PDC: What is the biggest difference from your time in the NFL with the Chargers compared to dancing at a hockey game and do you see yourself on an NFL sideline again someday?
BRITTNEY: Being an NFL cheerleader is unreal. We had 75,000 fans at every game and it’s surreal. It is loud and there’s so much energy with everyone so excited to be there. I had never been to a hockey game until I became an Allen Americans Ice Angel and the fans here are great. The venue is much smaller and the fans are much closer, but there is still a great amount of energy here. I can see myself on an NFL team again, I miss the sidelines.
PDC: What is your favorite part of having Stephanie as a director?
BRITTNEY: She’s very personable and very fun so that you’re not nervous around her. She’s also very protective of us and cares about us as an individual and as a dancer and she wants what is best for us in and out of the dance world.
PDC: Would you say that Stephanie has helped you grow as a dancer in your time here in Allen?
BRITTNEY: Absolutely! The main thing she has helped me with is confidence because I lacked confidence as a dancer.
PDC: Is it more having someone believe in you?
BRITTNEY: In the dance world, I fell like universally we struggle with perfection and comparing ourselves to other dancers and we can be our own worst critic. I’d day owning what you have to offer and what sets you apart from other dancers whether it’s energy or anything else. Everyone has their own things they bring and it’s important to embrace that and find what it is.
PDC: Let’s shift gears again and let fans get to know you a little bit. What are some of your favorite foods?
BRITTNEY: I love sushi and I LOVE Oreos, but not together.
PDC: What are some of your favorite places to go out to eat?
BRITTNEY: I like RA Sushi. I also really like Texas de Brazil, I go there every year for my birthday.
PDC: What are some of your favorite movies?
BRITTNEY: I love “Horrible Bosses”
PDC: D you have any TV shows that you like to binge-watch?
BRITTNEY: I have a lot! “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Criminal Minds,” “New Girl,” “Scandal” and I just started “Suits,” that’s a good one.
PDC: Dream vacation, you can go anywhere in the world and why?
BRITTNEY: I have always wanted to go to Bora Bora and the little huts where they have the glass and you can see the water underneath where you are on top of the ocean, that just sounds amazing.
PDC: So you’re more of a beach person than mountains?
BRITTNEY: That’s where it gets complicated, because I would rather go snowboarding. I went to Breckenridge in Colorado last year and it was great. I’ve also been to Copper Mountain, Big Sky, Taos and Angel Fire, I try to go snowboarding somewhere new every year.
PDC: In addition to being an Allen Americans Ice Angel, do you also have a full time job?
BRITTNEY: I’m a head coach for Orange Theory Fitness and to be in that position, you have to be very organized and good with your time management skills, so I have a planner and I write my entire life in there from work to dance to practice and games. I am also working on my Masters, so I live and breathe by that thing and if I don’t write it down, it won’t be done.
PDC: Talk about annual Allen Americans Ice Angels swimsuit calendar and how you found out where you would be featured in the final product.
BRITTNEY: The calendar was shot locally here in the Dallas area at the NYLO Hotel and the Statler Hotel. The day I shot was really cold, in the 40s and it was really windy, but you’d never know it by looking at the pictures because they turned out great. We had a calendar release party after one of the games and it was held up in the Club level of the Allen Event Center. There was a behind the scenes video that they showed and then they announced who would be in which month and that was actually how we found out. I got to share February with Taryn, which worked out great because she is one of my best friends. I had my mom and some friends there and it was really cool because I’m a normal person and you get to feel like a celebrity. Including my time with the Chargers, this was my fourth calendar and it’s a really fun experience.
PDC: Dream job,what would it be and why?
BRITTNEY: This is going to sound crazy, but my dream job is to be a drill team director. I love helping people and I used to teach dance. Kids want to learn and I think that’s what I like about it.
PDC: On that note, how much fun is it to have the kids at the Americans games look up to you?
BRITTNEY: It’s so much fun. There’s a lot fo kids that will run up to us and you get to know their names and we did the Junior Ice Angels. We turn around in the stands and they wave their pom poms at us and that used to be me, I did junior Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I used to be just like them and now maybe some of them will grow up to be just like me.
Fans can follow BRITTNEY on Twitter @AAIA_Brittney
For more photos and videos from the Allen Americans Ice Angels, visit HERE
