Willis Alum Nabs Spot on San Antonio Spurs Dance Squad

By Anthresia McWashington
YourHoustonNews.com

Alyssa Munson’s dream of dancing has been evident throughout her childhood and even into her collegiate years.

The University of Texas at Austin senior said she’s been heavily involved in different activities — including swim, gymnastics, soccer and tee ball — since she was a little girl.

Her most recent accomplishment, nabbing a spot on the San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers team in July, is a testament to the hard work and dedication that she’s developed and invested over time.

“I rekindled a passion for dance in middle school, where I was an inaugural member of Brabham Middle School’s Sophistikats,” Munson said.

While there and later as a Willis High School Sweetheart Munson learned the dancing and leadership fundamentals that have established her as a professional today.

The biology major and business minor also spent time as a dancer and later co-director for the Austin Vipers semi-pro football team, but a life-threatening incident in the spring of 2012 had the potential of putting her dancing career to a halt.

“I was in a car wreck and broke my cervical vertebrae,” Munson said. “It was pretty bad, and all I was thinking about was ‘I’m a dancer, how can my neck be broken.”

Pam Munson Jones, Munson’s mother, said that she was afraid her daughter may never walk again.

“She was at risk of being paralyzed,” Jones said. “It was a really scary time. She couldn’t walk, she couldn’t take care of herself — it truly is a miracle that she is alive and how far she’s come in three years. If you look at her now you’d never know, but we know.”

Munson spent the next few months regaining her strength, determined to get back on the Vipers field when she returned to school that fall.

Almost three years later, Munson said a group of her friends encouraged her to audition for the San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers team in July.

“Being a professional dancer for the NFL or NBA has always been a dream of mine, but I never had a timeline,” Munson said. “It was kind of a spontaneous decision.”

Munson attended the first day of tryouts in Austin competing against about 200 other dancers for a spot in the second round.

After a series of cuts, rigorous boot camps with tough choreography and one-on-one interviews with Spurs executives and the director of the Silver Dancers, Munson made it to the final round, a public performance at the Arneson River Theater, vying for one of 16 spots with 29 other women.

Munson was selected along with a handful of other rookies for a spot on the squad.

“I was really grateful because I got to have my friends, my boyfriend and my family,” Munson said. “It was definitely one of the greatest days that I’ve had so far.”

“She’s really living her dream,” Jones said. “The Spurs is a great organization and we’re extremely proud of her.”

Munson said her plans after graduating next spring aren’t yet set in stone, but she is considering medical school with no desires to put her dancing shoes down in the foreseeable future.

To young women and girls from small towns who also have big aspirations for large platforms, Munson said to use every opportunity as a stepping stone.

“Growing up in my small town, I loved it,” she said. “I definitely got all the preparation I needed to be successful with dancing and drill team. I was really involved with the community.

“The Silver Dancers are major ambassadors for the Spurs brand, and the face that people see out there giving back and being active. That sets a good example for girls to look up to even if they don’t want to be an NBA dancer, I hope they see that you can come from any background and make a dream come true.”