Tampabay: Got rhythm? Got a leotard? You could dance in Super Bowl

TAMPA -- Want to go to the Super Bowl? Join the club. Unless you have friends in high places with coveted tickets, you will watch from home like everybody else in the country, even if this year's game is in your own back yard.

To get into Raymond James Stadium, you will have be a little creative. With some pep, coordination and a full-time smile, you might just dance your way onto the field.

On Saturday, producers of Super Bowl XXXV's pregame show will hold auditions to select 300 dancers from the Tampa Bay area. Anyone 15 or older by Oct. 7 is eligible, male or female, short or tall, fat or skinny, said Elizabeth Portwood, a spokeswoman for American All-Star, the company that has produced the past 15 pregame shows.

And even though the press release calls for all "young dancers in the Tampa area," dancers in the past have been as young as, say, 40.

In fact, the only kind of people American All-Star does not welcome to its auditions are the undedicated. All eight rehearsals, some of which last nine hours, are mandatory.

"You miss a rehearsal and you're going to get booted from the show," Portwood said. "We don't have much time here."

Auditions will be this Saturday in the Bob Martinez Center at the University of Tampa between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Portwood said dancers should show up two hours before they want to audition to complete a registration form. Everyone should wear a leotard, or a T-shirt tucked into shorts, and tennis shoes and bring a picture ID.

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