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Saturday, January 13, 2001 Teen gets exposure at Super BowlFACES OF NOTE | By Anne Geggis Fifteen-year-old Amber Jenkins will appear in front of an estimated 75 million TV viewers for the kind of exposure that would make any wannabe starlet emerald with envy. Regardless of which teams make it to Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, the Ormond Beach teen-ager is guaranteed a place on the field -- for the mega-event's pre-game show. She'll be dancing while rock superstar Sting is singing. The outfit for that number hasn't been announced -- except that she'll be barefoot. For another part of the show -- billed as a Spring Break scene -- she'll have a position on the field wearing a bikini. Part of the routine involves young men holding up rating cards for each nubile form they pass. The Mainland High School sophomore beat out 1,100 other hopefuls to become one of 300 providing Super Bowl entertainment. She's not getting paid for the performance or any of the three days of practice she'll endure, but being chosen for the role represents a dream fulfilled, Jenkins says. "I remember talking to my dad about it when I was little -- wanting to be one of those dancers," Jenkins says, recalling herself at 7 years old just becoming aware of high kicks and synchronized stepping. "It was the glamour, watching them on TV. I just wanted to do it." Jenkins' mom, an elementary school teacher, appears more concerned than her daughter that the family doesn't know what rating the girl will receive on the field. "That'll be scary," she says, as her daughter shrugs. Willowy, long-legged and blond, Jenkins has more practical concerns: "It's going to be cold." The aspiring lawyer contends that ambition has nothing to do with her Super Bowl role. In spite of 12 years of dancing lessons and devoting about 20 hours a week to jazz, ballet and modern dance, show biz beckons only if she marries someone rich, Jenkins says. "I wouldn't do it for a career because it doesn't pay enough," says Jenkins, who is the youngest officer for the Mainland High School dance team. "But I always want to do it for fun." Her mom had initially been reluctant to make the trip to Tampa for the tryouts that Jenkins' grandmother had read of in a Tampa-area newspaper. "At first she said, I'm not driving all the way to Tampa,' " Jenkins recalls. "The night before the tryouts she asked, Do you really want to go?' I said, Yeah, I really want to go.' " And away they went. Jenkins has singular talent and the passion that distinguishes her in a crowd of dancers, according to the teacher who's coached her since her toddler years. "She's always been really dedicated -- very focused in her dance," says Germaine Bledsoe, director of the European School of Performing Arts. "A lot of times, students will drop out for the summer, but Amber comes in for all her classes." Trying out for the Super Bowl was an education in itself. Jenkins says she had been convinced she didn't make it because she hadn't been called back after the first round of try-outs. Her mother and she had been sitting around, somewhat resigned, when the sheets of names were posted. That's when Jenkins saw that her name was one of those highlighted. "My mother kept saying, Are you sure you made it?' " Jenkins recalls. "She didn't believe me, so she pushed through the crowd and saw it." The thrill of victory set in: "We started jumping around," says Jenkins. But the agony of defeat was also apparent. "People were coming out crying," Jenkins says. HICI Special Report — Sports: Hometown Heroes |
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