Sun Goddesses – Game Day with the Phoenix Suns Dancers

Friday, April 1st 2011.  The Los Angeles Clippers were in town to play the Phoenix Suns and so was I.  I was there to cover one of the hottest dance teams in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns Dancers.

If you want to cover the Suns Dancers, you get there early and I arrived at the US Airways Center at 3:30 pm to photograph their pregame rehearsal.  Tip off wasn’t for another 3 ½ hours, but game day starts early for the Kari Herrick and her girls. Things are never the same from game to game, so they get in early and put in the work to ensure that everything runs seamlessly when the fans arrive.

The Suns Dancers rehearsed for an hour, blocking out their formations for player intros and performing their court routine several times.  One dancer, Lauren, was injured and it wasn’t certain that she would be able to perform this night, so this was the time to mix things up and get everything down in the event Lauren was unable to dance.

At 4:30 pm, it was time to retire to the dressing room and get ready for game night.  The girls had one hour to fix their hair and make up and eat dinner.  And though these girls are naturally beautiful…this was time well spent!

Kari used this time to confirm the entertainment schedule and posted it on the white board for the girls to see.

The Phoenix Suns put on a great show.  There are many activities going on through out the night in addition to the play on the court.  And every activity must go off as planned because each game has a tight schedule.  On this night, the Suns dancers were performing along with the Dancing Dads, the Solar Squad and The Gorilla.

At 5:30 pm, Kari sent half the squad up to the concourse to greet the incoming fans.  They were there to hand out promotional items and sign autographs for the guests in attendance.

Of course, the Suns Dancers posed for photos with their many adoring fans.

I snapped a few photographs as well.

Okay, it was more than a few photos, but the girls didn’t seem to mind.

After about twenty minutes, the other half of the squad made it up to the concourse.  They too signed autographs and posed for photographs.  Once again, I felt compelled to snap a few photographs for our readers.

It was Go Green night at the US Airways Center, so many fans dressed up in green…perhaps one fan took it a just a bit too seriously.

At 6:30 pm, it was time for the girls to head on back to the dressing room. They would change into their Go Green tank tops and black hot pants.  This was also the time to go over last minute details and then take a moment for a pregame prayer.

Kari then sent her girls court side. It was game time.  Five lucky kids are selected each game to run onto the court before player introductions.  They are greeted by the Suns Dancers, just like the players…so it’s a neat experience for the kids, to share in the excitement of an NBA game.

7:00 pm and game night officially begins with the national anthem, player introductions and a short performance by the Suns Dancers

After the player introductions, the Suns Dancers weren’t scheduled to perform until the fourth quarter, but they were always nearby to cheer on the fans.

Soon, the girls changed into their second outfit of the night and returned in time for the under three minute break.  The Suns Dancers sought out a few young fans to be on the video board for smile cam.

During the second quarter and part of the third, there was a little bit of down time for the Suns Dancers since there were other entertainment units performing during the time outs.  But they were still there, in the tunnel watching the game and waiting.  The US Airways Center is a very intimate arena and the Suns Dancers don’t sit court side during the game, so they hang out in the tunnel.

And you see some interesting things inside the tunnel, like The Gorilla and his electric Humvee.  He was going green as well, as you can see.

Like I said there was a little bit of down time, so I took a few photos of the Sun Dancers, some posed and some candid.

During halftime the Suns Dancers changed uniforms once again.  This time, into a sexy purple and black outfit.  During the one of the third quarter breaks, they shimmied along the baseline to the delight of the crowd.

Then at the end of the third quarter, it was back to the dressing room to change into their fourth quarter performance outfit, green tank tops and dance pants.  At the under nine minute break, the Suns Dancers were on the court to dance to the Ludacris song, “My Chick Bad”.  Lauren was healthy enough to perform on court.

Then a quick change back into shorts as some of the Suns Dancers were to be on court for the T-shirt toss at the under six minute break.  That’s three minutes of game time to change and if there are no fouls during that time, three minutes passes quickly.

At the under three minute break in the fourth quarter, the Suns Dancers were back along the court for their box formation, which is a dance routine along the baseline and sideline.

It was a rather festive dance because the game was well in hand for the hometown Suns by this time.  And soon the game was over.  The Suns had easily defeated the visiting Clippers.  And as the Suns Dancers took the court again to celebrate a well deserved victory, I snapped a few more photos

The Suns organization allows kids to come down onto the court to shoot a free throw after the game.  If they are successful, they win a certificate for a small prize from a sponsor.  And as the kids run onto the court, they get to run through a line of Suns Dancers, just like the players do during player introductions.

I don’t know how many other NBA teams, other than the Suns, let the kids come onto the court after the game…most other places, the court is cordoned off as if the President of the United States was giving a speech.  And there were many kids coming on down to queue up.  More kids than I have ever seen at an NBA game.  I guess the Suns are truly family friendly entertainment.

As things began to wind down, I wanted to take some fun and interesting photographs of the Suns Dancers.  So, I shot Bethann doing a jump.  I got the feeling that she didn’t think I could catch her in mid jump, but I did.

I guess the other girls saw what we were doing and wanted in, so I snapped this photo of the entire squad jumping.  Heck, it was a long day…a successful day…why not have some fun.

For me, it is customary to take a squad photo at the end of the day.  And here are two squad photos…one serious and one not so serious.

This just goes to show you that these girls are really nice and fun to be around.  That’s the general vibe with the Suns organization….everyone, from the ushers to the game management people to the performers…they are all very nice and make you feel welcome when you come out to a Suns game.

It’s the people.  It’s the Suns….and the Sun Goddesses.

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I want to express my gratitude to Kari Harrick, Kip Helt and the entire Suns organization for allowing me the privilege to cover the absolutely amazing Phoenix Suns Dancers.  Thanks for everything, I had a great time.