It all started with a small ad in the Bucks County Courier Times. The year was 1998. I was a freshman in high school. This was before craigslist was anything more than maybe an inventory of grocery items for some guy named Craig. When you were looking for a part time job, you had only word of mouth and the newspaper to rely on. A little box in the local classifieds beckoned, “Dancer Auditions”.  After assuring my horrified father, “No, daddy not that kind of dancing,…” I asked my mom if she could drive me to the Street Road Holiday Inn try outs for a company called Cutting Edge Entertainment.

They were looking for dancers with BIG personality, energy and enthusiasm.

I made it through the Cutting Edge Entertainment auditions and officially became a CE dancer. I’d come to find out that dancing was only a fraction of the job description. It was my job to make sure others’ special day was truly an EXPERIENCE. Not only was it gratifying to see the genuine smile of a kid who had a blast…but it was fun!

While at CE, I got the itch to try out for a second dance job. I started cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles my freshman year at Temple. I made Dean’s list and proved to my parents I could hack college so I figured it was time to take on an extracurricular activity. I missed dancing and again, it was a little ad in the Courier Times that tempted me. “There are 3.8 million women in the Greater Philadelphia Area…we’re looking for the Top 36.” I guess I’m a sucker for a challenge (or who says  newspapers are dead?!) I didn’t tell anyone I was auditioning, including my parents or Craig, until I made the final cuts and thought I actually had a chance. Subsequently, I made the most of my four years and had the time of my life; I became captain, did numerous national media appearances, performed at the SuperBowl, was fortunate enough to be chosen as the 2005 Pro Bowl cheerleader and experienced a domestic military tour.

Being a Cutting Edge dancer got me started on the right foot to working a room, starting a conversation with anyone and everyone, and exhibiting my enthusiasm unabashedly and with vigor! That helps when you’re entertaining 65,000 fans in a stadium or securing a client signing a check for a big sale. As a marketing and PR professional full time now, the skills I learned as a CE dancer come into play. Make people feel comfortable, genuinely enjoy the interaction (and they will too!), satisfactory communication, and…most all -have fun!

I’ve tapped CE for my consulting gigs too. We recently used CE studios for the background for a photoshoot for Me Phi magazine. It’s an internal cata-zine based out of the Scottsdale, AZ store Me Phi. NFLer Javon Walker and his best friend, owner Derek Bourque, run the unique east coast streetwear boutique in old town Scottsdale. Check out their blog: www.me-phi.com. We brought some very hot east coast flavor with models Maxim cover girl Ali Ciotto, LA Clippers dancer and Beyonce tour dancer Ashley Seldon , and up and comers Derilyn Devlin and Dana Schliep…check out the photos! Skratch Makaniks DJ Adam Bomb was gracious enough to show up and spare some time for photos (and fun). The 6 degrees of CE connection never ends…

From shimmying around the dance floor with the proud grandpop, to chatting up the tween girls on who likes who, to jumping around on the dance floor with the shy little boy (who an hour prior wouldn’t even leave his mother’s side or  crack a smile) marked my Cutting Edge Entertainment experience.

Yes, well that…and mini clown bikes paired with Rastafarri hats. It’s a CE signature. Don’t ask-just sign up!

Our team is truly a family and our job was really just to be make sure others enjoy the ride…and maybe make you do the Cotton Eyed Joe too.

-Monica Devlin

Follow Monica on Twitter – http://twitter.com/KestrelChick

www.cuttingedgedjs.com

 In the last two months more than a dozen people have asked me about Brianna Taylor, a former Cutting Edge employee who appeared on the most recent installment of Mtv‘s ‘Real World.’  The answer is yes, she did work here for about two years before and after her stint on American Idol.  Unfortunately she didn’t get as far as our first Cutting Edge American Idol contestant Justin Guarini (another former employee), but she certainly has the voice and the talent.

Another former employee (and the greatest choreographer I have ever known), Mike Gamble, is currently in the heat of competition on NBC’s ‘American Gladiator.’  So far, Mike seems to have things very much under control… as he typically does.  Since I know Mike personally I am confident that he has more than a good chance of winning, but my gut also tells me that the show – and the outcome – are already taped and simply waiting to be aired.

Naturally, having semi-famous former employees is nothing new at Cutting Edge Entertainment.  Our first foray into pop stardom was with Angela Trimbur, who was one of the original competitors in the Mtv show ‘Popstars (2),’ as well as on the Mtv show ‘Road Rules.’  Also, Monica Devlin - who still does work for us from time to time – was a Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader for four years, serving as captain of the squad when they went to the Superbowl and also cheering in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl.

One of my most recent discoveries has been that former dancer Lyndsay Chauveau is working at the Lincoln Center in New York City for none other than Wynton Marsalis, one of my all-time favorite Jazz artists.  Lyndsay has promised that I can meet Mr. Marsalis in the fall if I make the trek to N.Y.C., so I look forward to taking in some cool jazz in the near future.

Lastly, and I think one of the most interesting and unique ‘semi-celebs’ from Cutting Edge, is Katie Sah, known on YouTube as ‘katiesopinion.’  Katie is what some might call an e-celebrity, with over 15,000 subscribers to her videos on YouTube and over a million video views.

Is Cutting Edge Entertainment a star-maker? Hardly.  It’s a simple formula… hire talented people and they inevitably do remarkable things.

-Craig

www.cuttingedgedjs.com