She’s Got Spirit
Madelyn Burke
Los Angeles Clippers
7/19/2011
You think you know, but you have no idea.
For you Clippers fans who frequent Staples Center between October and April, it’s a familiar story. A whistle is blown, the quick paced game comes to a halt, and 16 beautiful girls run onto the hardwood, strike a pose, and wait for the music to start. As DJ Dense lets the track go, the girls move in unison, a flawless choreographed routine that lasts about a minute. They finish with smiles, and run off until their next time to grace the stage. How hard can it be?
To prove just how hard these girls work, I decided to do some guerrilla journalism. Five years removed from my 10 years of dance training, I decided I would be a good candidate to really see how difficult being an NBA dancer really was. So, I joined the 197 Spirit hopefuls in tights and crop tops at Redondo Union High School for the 2011 Clippers Spirit auditions.
RELATED: Click here to see the new Spirit Dance team
Going into it, I wasn’t quite planning my Clippers Spirit celebration party. To be honest, I didn’t even have an audition number. I wanted to learn the choreography at pace with this group, and really immerse myself in the environment. It is quite a unique experience.
These girls are judged on their dance moves, their physique, and their overall crowd appeal. You have got one chance and six eight-counts to show your stuff to a panel of eyes. One misstep, one fumble – it is all noted. If you trip up in a room of your peers, how will you do under the pressure of the Staples Center lights with 19,060 on looking fans?
So the stage is set.
After getting in some stretching and warm-ups, I slipped on my ballet shoes and began to soak up the choreography. With one choreographer and almost 200 girls, I was thankful for my 5’10” stature that allowed me a fairly unobstructed view– but still found the setting challenging.
The quick paced choreography was taught a few times to eight-counts, and then it was time to put it to music. As a group, we went through the routine three or four times before it mattered. Girls chatted amongst each other– “What comes after the hair flip?”, “Do you put your hands here –or here?” Despite the competition, there was already solid camaraderie building in the room.
The girls split into groups of three for their individual performances. I watched as some confidently nailed it, others beat themselves up over a small misstep. I was thankful to be a spectator at this point– so much pressure! Although I did have some support….
Sixty-five groups of three performed the same one minute routine before the judges deliberated to make their first round of cuts. As a judge, it has got to be near impossible to make that kind of decision, judging a girl on such a small interaction. But the panel is selected because they are capable of making these tough choices.
With the first round of cuts in the books, the room changed. There were some tears and some ecstatic faces as the gym begins to empty. It’s time to learn the next piece of choreography, but only if your number was called.
While the first piece was a basic piece, this one was a little more jazz styled. It was very fun with double pirouettes and leaps. It was increasingly challenging and taught at a much faster pace, but I had fun with it. It was essentially the same process as the first, but intensified. As to say “You’ve made it past the first round, now let’s see what you’ve got.”
These girls really blew me away. I’m confident in my Saturday night dancing skills, but learning and performing a choreographed piece in a matter of minutes is a whole different beast! Watching the groups of three perform this one, it started to become more clear which girls could do this on a regular basis, and which ones weren’t quite ready for that task. (I would adamantly put myself in the latter group, thank you.)
That was the end of my immersion in the Clippers Spirit tryouts, but the process was far from over. The remaining girls went through even more tryouts and a personality interview before final decisions were made.
At the end of the process, the 2011 Clippers Squad has been chosen. Having experienced part of it firsthand, I’m confident each and every one of those girls has earned it.
