| The Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders will go on their first tour with Armed Forces Entertainment from January 23 to February 3, performing for military personnel and their families stationed in Guam and Okinawa.
The group, celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, performs at 300 community, charity and corporate events each year. Fourteen dancers will join the Minnesota Vikings’ official mascot, Viktor the Viking on tour. The show they’ll perform for the troops will feature hip-hop dance routines, musical theatre elements, multiple costume changes and other aspects of game day performances that keep crowds entertained. They also include some crowd participation segments that incorporate trivia and physical exertion contests.
“We’ve realized through our travels that there are Vikings fans all over the world,” says Tami Krause, Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders head coach and coordinator. “We like to bring a little bit of the Metrodome and the flavor of game day with us wherever we go.”
“The Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders are a great group of very talented performers,” says Armed Forces Entertainment circuit manger for the Pacific, Marine Corps Captain Jamie Fleischhacker. “We’re happy to welcome them on our Armed Forces Entertainment tour, and know our troops and their families will enjoy the show.”
A self-described Navy brat, Krause holds a “huge respect and honor” for the military, and helps her team appreciate that as well. The group realizes a responsibility to get out into the community as much as they can, and Krause has also led Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders on tours to military bases in Florida, Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan.
While they all love to perform and dance, the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders also welcome the chance to thank military families and personnel while bringing some entertainment to their stays abroad. “Their performances really make a difference,” says Krause of her team. “It’s so much more than a job for them; it’s a big deal to the people who come to see us.”
Krause also wants her team to come away from this tour knowing they’ve left a positive impression on their audiences. As ambassadors for the Vikings and skilled entertainers, Krause says the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders like to present “the whole package,” as well as “bring a little bit of the flavor of Minnesota and America with us.”
One thing that makes their performances extra special is that they’ll have an opportunity to tour the bases and get a hands-on education about what it’s really like behind the scenes on base. “We’re looking forward to engaging with them and hearing their stories,” says Krause. “It’s different when you really go there and see what it’s really like.”
“We’re go, go, go all the time,” says Krause. “We’ll want to get everything out of every moment while we’re there, and it’s so much more about everybody else than about you.”
For more information on Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders visit http://www.vikings.com/Cheerleaders.aspx.
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Armed Forces Entertainment is the lead Department of Defense agency for providing entertainment to U.S. military personnel serving overseas, with priority given to those in contingency operations and at remote and isolated locations. The Department of the Air Force is the executive agent of Armed Forces Entertainment.
Founded in 1951, Armed Forces Entertainment brings a touch of home to more than 500,000 troops annually, embracing the best of Americana that stretches across all genres of entertainment. Visit www.armedforcesentertainment.com for more information.
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