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For the 49ers, a changing of the pompoms


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Mar. 24--Do you dream of a double life, perhaps as a mild-mannered employee by day and a cheerleader by weekends (and the occasional Monday night)? You can take this high-kicking fantasy to open auditions Saturday for the Gold Rush, the cheerleading team of the San Francisco 49ers. "It gives you a chance to live a different life," says Tiffany Burnett, who is retiring from her multitasking career as a cheerleader and career woman. Burnett, who is 24 and lives in Roseville, has been a Gold Rush member since she was 18, with one year off. People in the Sacramento area are more likely to know Burnett as the director of a Kindercare Learning Center in Sacramento. At her day job, she wears business casual - no sequins in sight. Off work, she's likely to be wearing jeans, a sweat shirt and flip-flops. But in her cheerleader mode, it's another story, with go-go boots, short skirts and crop tops. "It's like playing dress-up, like when you're a little girl and you want to be a princess," she says. With the cheerleader title there comes a certain sometimes baffling celebrity, Burnett says: "People are asking for your autograph, and you're like 'Why?' " The job also provides a chance to travel; Burnett has been to Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii and Japan, for photo shoots and games. The Saturday auditions are the first of several rounds that will wind up with a final dance audition on March 28. Burnett will be there to help, which should be handy as more than 500 cheerleader hopefuls are expected to come to the initial tryout for the 40-member team. There won't be room to accommodate a public audience. The 49ers organization won't reveal how much the dancers are paid, but they don't make enough money to quit their day jobs. Some segue from cheerleading into other careers. "Desperate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher was on the Gold Rush squad, as was News10 traffic reporter Julie Durda, according to her online bio on the News10 Web site. Because practices are generally on weekends only, Burnett was able to juggle pompoms and homework, earning a degree in child and adolescent development, with a minor in deaf education, at San Jose State. She took off one season during her graduating year. This past season, she commuted from Roseville to have a last fling with cheerleading. Courtney Beaudreau, who is 21 and lives in Natomas, has commuted from the Sacramento area for two seasons as a member of the Gold Rush. Like Burnett, she has decided to hang up her go-go boots this year but also will help out with the auditions. She decided to quit so she can concentrate on working at a salon in Vacaville (she just finished cosmetology school), and earning money as a cocktail waitress. Beaudreau says she was pleased (and a little surprised) by her parents' support of her cheerleading. 

"My dad growing up was really strict," she says. "He came to a show, and I was like, 'I'm hardly wearing anything and he's here and that's crazy.' " Both retiring cheerleaders advise those trying out to smile and relax. And, well, yes, you might want to hold in your tummy. "Me, personally, I suck it in; of course I do," Burnett says. ------------ GOLD RUSH AUDITIONS WHAT: Open auditions for the 2006 cheerleading team of the San Francisco 49ers. WHEN: Check-in from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Auditions begin at 10 a.m. WHERE: Maples Pavilion, Stanford University. REQUIREMENT: Must be 18 by May 1\. Wear a two-piece leotard and flesh-colored hose, jazz or athletic shoes, and bring a 5-by-7-inch photo. REGISTRATION: $20 INFORMATION: www.49ers.com or (650) 838-0820 

----- Copyright (c) 2006, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

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