Former Spartanette Joins New Orleans Honeybees
By Michael Tortorich
Weekly Citizen
Amanda Chapman, a former East Ascension High School Spartanette captain and LSU Golden Girl, is creating a buzz as a member of the New Orleans Honeybees.
The Gonzales native joined the New Orleans Hornets dance team just a year after another former Spartanette, Angele Abington.
As Abington made the transition from the New Orleans Saints dance team, the Saintsations, Chapman joins the Honeybees after a stint with the LSU Golden Girls.
A team of nearly 20, the Golden Girls perform with the 400-plus member LSU Tiger Band during football games.
Chapman was a member of the 50th anniversary team last year.
She plans to transfer to the University of New Orleans in the spring, where she will work on a marketing degree.
When it comes to her career plans, she said she hopes to work in the sports business.
“I would love to work for the public relations department of a major sports team such as the New Orleans Hornets,” Chapman said.
While dancing takes a lot of her time, she doesn’t mind putting in the long hours.
“Dancing is definitely a big part of my life,” she said. “On Honeybees, we are constantly working out and learning new dances. But when it is something you love to do it hardly seems like a chore.”
As a dancer, she has experience in a variety of styles. She said the Golden Girls and Honeybees have distinct arrangements.
“The dancing styles are definitely different,” she said. “With the Golden Girls we focused more on the marching and the drill team aspect of things, whereas with the Honeybees we primarily do hip hop. Although the styles of dancing are different, both teams have a very talented group of girls and it’s an honor to have been on both.”
Honeybee auditions were held July 11 at the New Orleans Arena.
Judges look for showmanship, energy, personality and commitment.
“The auditions were definitely like nothing I had seen before. It was a week-long process where they put us through several activities,” Chapman said. “We had to learn two routines which we performed for finals. And we also were judged on how we performed for a boot camp, an interview and a photo shoot.”
Spending lots of time around the LSU Tigers and New Orleans Hornets, it also helps that her two favorite sports are football and basketball.
“I am a huge sports fan!” she said.
“My favorite NBA player would probably have to be (Hornets guard) Chris Paul of course. But I am also partial to Marcus Thornton since he is from LSU,” she said, when asked if she had any favorite players.
When the Hornets hit the hardwood next month, Chapman will be eager to join them.
“I have never danced for a basketball team before and it is going to a new exciting thing to try,” she said.
While the Honeybees are known mainly for their dance routines at Hornets games, they also make frequent appearances throughout the greater New Orleans area.
“We do appearances sponsored by the organization in the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas, but we also do appearance requests. If anyone wants to get the Honeybees to make an appearance, they can log on to Hornets.com, click on Honeybees, and fill out an appearance request form.”
All of the Honeybees bring their own unique style to court.
“We all get along really well,” she said. “Everyone brings their own little flavor to the mix. But when you spend so much time together you start to feel a strong bond between all of the members on the team.”
And that bond doesn’t stop at the team, it also extends to the fans and the residents of the area.
“All of the people in New Orleans are such loyal fans,” she said. “I am excited to get to be a part of a city that is so supportive of its sports teams and its citizens.”
