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NLL GIRL OF THE WEEK - LEISEL

Portland State grad re-joins Jax Dancers for third season

01/21/2008

Leisel, a third-year member of the Jax Dancers, is busy preparing for the LumberJax second home game of the season at Rose Garden Arena, a rare Thursday night battle against the Colorado Mammoth. Along with her duties with the Jax, Leisel is also a member of the NBA's TrailBlazers dance team and choreographs and organizing camps for kids of all ages around the Portland area as part of the Northwest Dance Company. The Portland native recently graduated Portland State University with a degree in Community Health.

When she's not dancing, Leisel works at Red Bull North America on their Portland marketing team. She also stays very active in the Portland community, working with various charities for both the Jax and Blazers, and previously served as a Young Life Leader for three years. Her experience working with kids of all ages in the past has helped make her current duties at Northwest Dance -- working with kids from 18 months old through High School -- an extremely rewarding experience.

"The babies are absolutely adorable," said Leisel. "I also enjoy working with the older students because you can get involved in their competition and interact."

Leisel started dancing with the TrailBlazers four years ago, and after a brief hiatus to dance on Princess Cruises, rejoined the squad. After seeing LumberJax billboards around town, she heard through a Blazers photographer about the formation of the Jax Dancers, and attended a tryout shortly after.

"Lacrosse is brand new to the West Coast, but it's such an addicting sport so I was able to become a fan really quickly," she added. "The fans are much more into the game, it's a completely different crowd compared to the NBA. It makes it so much fun to perform."

Leisel and the Jax Dancers will hit the turf on Thursday when the LumberJax host the Colorado Mammoth at 10:30 PM EST at Rose Garden. The game is the first of three meetings this season between the two teams.







For more photos, visit Leisel's NLL.com Profile!