Mavs Dancer Auditions

Hundreds of women showed up with hopes of being a member of the Dallas Mavericks Dance Squad

 

By Amber Fisher
The 33 News

Saturday was Jennifer Smoak’s second time trying out to be a Dallas Mavericks dancer, a goal she’s had since childhood.

“I think a lot of people just look up to them as a whole and as a team,” Smoak said. “It’s amazing, especially with them coming back from such a great season.”

The pressure was on as dancers were put through three rounds of competition.

First, dancers had about 30 seconds to wow judges with a freestyle routine.

Elijah Jackson said, “It is very nerve-wracking, because you’re in a line and you see all the other girls and they’re so good. I kind of stumbled a little bit. But, if I make it to the second round, I’ll show them I can dance once they teach me.”

In the second and third rounds, dancers had to prove that they could keep up with difficult choreography.

“Everyone wants to get noticed,” said Whitney Greeney. “So, the best way to do that besides dancing big is to wear something bright, something that makes you stand out.”

Between each round, cuts were made.

Leslie Dyer said, “It makes you nervous. Now, we just kind of wait and it’s out of our hands. So, I hope I make it through.”

As dancers nervously waited between each round, a panel of judges made the difficult decision of which dancers would not move on in the competition.

Out of the 220 dancers that tried out on Saturday, only 70 moved on to Sunday’s final round, when 20 dancers will be chosen to make the team.

Dyer said, “I’ve always watched the Mavericks. I’ve seen them on the court and I’ve always wanted to be down there.”

“I teach the little kids on my block, so it would mean a lot to me for them to see me on TV. It would mean a lot,” Jackson said.