Utica Native Latoya Brooks Returns to Area to Teach Dance Class Cheers for New York Knicks as Knicks City Dancer
Cheers for New York Knicks as Knicks City Dancer
By Lisa Kapps
Utica Observer-Dispatch
As a teenager, Latoya Brooks would head to Dancenter for practice instead of hanging out with her friends.
“I just love dancing so much,” said Brooks, a Utica native and 2006 Thomas R. Proctor High School graduate. “It’s my passion.”
For Brooks, now 22 and a Manhattan resident, hard work, passion and dedication have paid dividends: She is cheering for the NBA’s New York Knicks as a Knicks City Dancer.
On Monday night, Brooks was back at Dancenter to lead a class for some of the studio’s younger dancers, many of whom are eager to follow in Brooks’ footsteps.
‘I get to dance for a living’
Being a Knicks City Dancer has offered Brooks some tremendous opportunities, from traveling to Europe during the NBA preseason to working with charities.
But, best of all, she said, “I get to dance for a living.”
For Brooks, who has been dancing since she was 5, becoming a professional dancer is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
She said she always hoped she would become a professional dancer, and, despite some “nerve-racking” auditions and tryouts, she acheived that dream last season.
“I’m very blessed to be dancing with the Knicks,” Brooks said.
‘She followed her dream’
Carrie Putrello, owner of Dancenter, said the class was a good opportunity for her students, who were glad to have a Dancenter alumni return to the studio.
“We’re just really proud of her,” Putrello said. “She followed her dream.”
More than a dozen girls attended Monday’s class, during which Brooks led students in a short cardiovascular workout and taught a dance routine.
Beth Sanger, 19, of Whitesboro, said Brooks has always been a role model for her.
Cristiana Cavallo, 18, of Utica, said younger dancers could emulate Brooks’ work ethic because “she’s definitely a natural talent, but she’s worked really hard.”
Brooks offered advice to the local dancers: “Never give up. Don’t be intimidated. Never give up and do your best. Anything can happen.”
She added, “I tried my best and it got me where I am today.”
