Meet Hedy Lu Neidigh and Melissa Smith, Co-Directors of the Colorado Eagles Chicks

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hedy Lu Neidigh and Melissa Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hedy Lu and Melissa, what do you attribute your success to?
Melissa: The most important factor behind the success of the Colorado Eagles Chicks program is the support from our fans and organization.

Without our fans, we wouldn’t be here, doing what we love and doing it with others who share that love. The Colorado Eagles have a 118 consecutive sellouts thanks to our incredible fans. Without a fan base for the Colorado Eagles organization, there would be no place for dancers to continue their professional dance training in Northern Colorado in an entertainment/game day setting. Many dancers look for opportunities to pursue dance outside of school and many more wish to continue training to reach their “dream team,” either in the NFL or NBA.

Our program is designed to teach young dancers how to enter the professional sports and dance world, engage with fans and explore their options as performers. Many come straight from high school and others have been part of different professional teams. We have a unique opportunity in Northern Colorado to bridge the gap between here and the Denver professional sports scene for young dancers looking to gain professional dance experience.

The Colorado Eagles Chicks have been a part of the Colorado Eagles organization since day 1. We’re proud to say we’ve been seen at all Colorado Eagles home games since 2003, and have witnessed this organization grow into the juggernaut it is today. Every season we are encouraged and emboldened by members of the organization to continue to grow, to find new ways to keep the entertainment within game day exciting and move forward to new heights. Now as members of the AHL, our organization continues to find new ways to expand our program and reach new dancers and people in the community. We are forever thankful to have them in our corner.

Hedy Lu: Along with what Melissa said, our program has also been quite blessed to have various partnerships and sponsorships from the Denver area and northern Colorado community. Without these community partnerships, I can confidently say our program would not have been able to attain the standard we are at currently. For our dancers to go out in the arena for game day or into the community for promotional service events, it takes an exorbitant amount of resources to provide our fans with the entertainment quality we have today. From printing, to choreography, to salon services… our program has every need met through the partnership of the Colorado Eagles and the generosity of our community sponsors.

These partnerships change out every so often depending on the needs of our program or the needs of the businesses, but we have some faithful partnerships that have been around since day one. Pioneer Press of Greeley is the Eagles Chicks official sponsor; they’ve been supporting the program since our inception in 2003. Choreography Wire is a choreography website and is our primary sponsor for game day choreography. The Eagles Chicks are the demo team, so we film all the routines ChoreoWire puts on their site. In return, we are able to provide our dancers with a variety of genres, game day styles and great music mixes that gets the crowd (and themselves) hyped!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Melissa: I believe I have a unique situation in that co-directing the Eagles Chicks is not my full-time job but rather a second job. My full-time, “day job” allows me to work from home and keep hours that support the Colorado Eagles hockey season and our practice hours. My supervisor with my full-time job has always encouraged her staff to pursue their lives outside of work, because work will always be there and the “work” isn’t our life. I’m forever thankful for her view and support that we pursue what we love. I’ve always said my day job pays the bills and coaching the Eagles Chicks fills my heart.

Pursuing dance as a professional career was something I never thought I’d see happen. Historically, jobs in the arts do not provide well so I knew I’d need to double-up somehow. I have been with my full-time career for 11+ years and somehow, the Eagles Chicks program unfolded beautifully in front of me to pursue right alongside it.

After I graduated from Colorado State University with my B.A. in Dance, I joined the Colorado Eagles organization in 2013 as a member of the Eagles Chicks. I was a Chick for 3 years, left for a year, and returned to co-direct with Hedy Lu. We’ll be finishing our 8th season coaching together and I wouldn’t see it change for the world.

We’ve made quite a few mistakes over the years, gained incredible experience, built relationships we are forever thankful for and learned what type of leaders and mentors we want to be to our team members and within the dance community. We’ve seen professional dance increasingly expand into Northern Colorado over recent years and are so excited to see how it continues to grow.

Hedy Lu: Like Melissa, I too have a regular day job. I am an educator, and have served in various roles in education in northern Colorado for the past 11 years. I currently teach at a private Christian school and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love the community and culture of my school, I love the students and families, and I love being able to share my faith freely without any repercussions.

Dance was always a passion of mine growing up. I trained in numerous styles with different studios, dance teams, and companies between grade school and college, but fell in love with the pro dance style when I joined the Eagles Chicks for my rookie season in 2014. After dancing with the Eagles Chicks for two seasons, I danced for the Denver Outlaws for two seasons. By the time my second season with the Outlaws was over, I was fortunate enough to be offered the position of co-director for the Eagles Chicks, along side Melissa. I have since hung up my boots and poms for my own dance career, but love that I am able to still be involved and intertwined with the dance community through our program.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Melissa: Some of the most fun, interesting and exiting places or things to check out is (naturally) a Colorado Eagles home game! Join us at the loudest arena in the AHL, get the freshly baked donuts from behind Section G (don’t skip the frosting dip) and hang out on the Voodoo Ranger lounge – maybe you’ll catch an Eagles goal on that end!

I’d also encourage anyone visiting to enjoy Downtown Fort Collins. There are so many great shops and eateries so walk slowly, grab ice cream from Old Town Churn and make your way to New Belgium brewery if it’s an especially nice day. If you enjoy the arts, check out Bas Bleau Theater and the Lincoln Center for any upcoming plays and performances!

Hedy Lu: My newest favorite restaurant in town is Pizza Vino! It’s conveniently located not even 5 minutes from our game arena, and the food is delicious!

For any visitors who enjoy a good outdoor adventure, Estes Park is the closest mountain town, about 45-60 minutes west of Loveland. Estes Park is home to the infamous Stanley Hotel (if you’re interested in a good ghost tour), and the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. My favorite hike is going up to Sprague Lake, especially in late summer / early fall. The aspens in the area are stunning!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Melissa: I want to shoutout Phil Gladden, Gavin Riches, Reno Boyd, Jessica Butterly, the entire front office staff within the organization, and all my previous Eagles Chicks team members. All of you have been an integral part of this program growing and flourishing and I cannot thank you all enough for your patience, encouragement, guidance and desire to see it succeed. A million times, thank you.

To all of our current and former sponsors, your commitment to our team is invaluable. Our appreciation for you knows no bounds!

An extra special thank you to my family and friends. Thank you for your grace as my weekends and weekdays are taken up with practices and hockey games 8+ months of the year. You mean the world to me and your support as I chase this dream is in a class of its own.

Most importantly to my Co-Director, Hedy Lu. I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for being my best friend and the most amazing partner in all that we’ve experienced here, for growing with me and learning together as we navigated something new and watched it bloom. I love you to the end!

Hedy Lu: Oh my goodness, there may not be enough time in the world to mention all the people, businesses and partners who have helped along this journey!

Zach Miller, Ryan Bach, Joey Gargano and Emily Ostapovich, and all other Eagles front office staff – we wouldn’t have survived without you!

To all our sponsors past and current, thank you for donating your resources, time, and energy to helping us make our program the look and feel the best it could possibly be. We appreciate you!

To any and all Eagles Chicks alumni, thank you for your years of dedication to the program and for helping to build the legacy it is today.

To my husband (Coach Ben) and my kids for always supporting me and for being as invested as I am in this program, thank you. I hope your love for hockey never stops growing!

Finally, to my co-director, Melissa: I can’t imagine these past 8 years with anyone else but you. I love the teams we have built and all the relationships we have. I love how we share a brain cell and how well we have grown into this season of life together. Thank you for being the best business partner, a gentle leader, and the comic relief when it’s needed most. I love you!

Website: https://www.coloradoeagles.com/

Instagram: @coloradoeagleschicks, @coloradoeagleshockey

Facebook: Colorado Eagles Chicks, Colorado Eagles

Image Credits
Melissa Smith
Ashley Potts
Avery Coates