Real Jersey Girls Ready to Fight off Snooki Stereotypes

After the onslaught of the Snooki's, the J-Woww's and the Real Housewives, New Jersey's image could probably use a little upgrade. So a group of real Jersey girls are seeking to show off some of the talent and class possessed by residents of the state that is often lost in the world of reality television.

Dayton resident Ashley Delgado, a 2003 graduate of South Brunswick High School, is part of a vocal performance group called the "Jersey Follettes," who seek to show off what New Jersey is all about.

"One of the things we've talked about is giving people a real representation of New Jersey, and getting away from the Jersey Shore and Real Housewives stereotype," Delgado said. "We all like the fact that this is a nice, classy way to represent Jersey girls, instead of the big-haired stigma. The best part about it is that it's an all girl group, that's also a fun way to get to meet new people and perform."

The Follettes are comprised of 11 girls from all over the state, who perform song and dance numbers that include mash-ups of some musical standards combined with contemporary pop acts.

"We rehearse on average about three times a week for about four hours each time," Delgado said. "It's definitely a big commitment and there's a lot of rehearsal hours that go into it. It's incredibly demanding vocally."

Delgado, who also serves as choreographer for the Follettes, developed her acting and performance skills during her time at South Brunswick High School and through her work with the local New Jersey Repertory Theatre.

"My experiences in South Brunswick have been everything, I learned at South Brunswick High School and with the NJRT," she said. "I gained great management experience from being a director and helping out managing in different areas of the productions. I learned everything about singing and being in the choir from my involvement in community theater in South Brunswick and all round New Jersey. I've also studied with vocal teachers in New York, which gave me an eye into the theater world."

The "Jersey Follettes" are having their official opening performance on Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. in Summit, N.J. Delgado said she hopes the performance is the first step for the group to branch out into different areas, including working with kids.

"Right now we have the opening show and then a few more in November, so we want to create different types of shows for each performance," she said. "We're looking into giving some acting workshops, and some choreography classes. We also want to do some work with special needs students. I work as a special needs educator, so we want to bring parents and children together with some dance and music classes, and want to focus on doing charity and getting involved in the different communities we're from."

As they continue to combat the spray-tanned, big-haired demons of reality television, Delgado said she hopes the group will soon be able to take their show on the road to give other states an example of the talent that a real Jersey girl has to offer.

"In a perfect world we'd be able to hit the road on tour and give some other states a taste of what real Jersey girls are like," she said. "We also want to get involved in community outreach and educate future performers. There are a lot social pressures, especially for girls, so we want to empower young children and show them how great performing can be."

The opening performance for "Jersey Follettes" is scheduled for Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. at The Oakes Center, 120 Morris Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901.

Learn more about the group at www.jerseyfollettes.com. The Follettes are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jerseyfollettes and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@jerseyfollettes.