Checking in with the Laker Girls
Mike Trudell, Lakers Reporter
Lakers.com
July 7, 2011
On July 16, auditions for the 2011-12 Laker Girls will take place at the Toyota Sports Center, starting at 9 a.m. sharp.
In the meantime, the 2010-11 Laker Girls have continued to make appearances all around Los Angeles and surrounding areas. To discuss those subjects and more, Laker Girls Director Lisa Estrada (technically the organization’s Director, Game Operations and Entertainment) joined us for a chat:
Q: On how much hoops the Laker Girls need to know:
Estrada: We don’t have them take a test, but I want them to do their research on the team and know the general information. Who the coach is, who our star player is, how many world championships we have, and things that one could have a conversation with someone about.
Q: On her ladies being quite busy of late:
Estrada: We’ve been very busy this summer, especially on weekends. I’ve had to turn down some appearances, in fact. This includes charitable functions and paid appearances, but it can be tough to staff these events in the summer as some girls are going on vacation, some are in summer school, some have graduated. It poses a slight problem, but it’s awesome that we’re still working and that the girls are still getting out into the community.
Q: On the types of appearances being made:
Estrada: A lot of trade shows, grand openings from some of our sponsors like Verizon, or Subway, Arco, AM/PM, Chevron and such. We do a lot of private events as well, like bar mitzvahs, several runs and walks for charity, as well as visitations to elderly homes, so the girls have been very busy.
Q: On the Laker Girls page on Lakers.com listing Estrada’s phone number, which people can call if they – for example – would like to request to have the Laker Girls at their son’s bar mitzvah:
Estrada: Yes, in fact, a season seat holder with whom I’ve been in contact since March, was hoping to have some Laker Girls for his son’s bar mitzvah, and we were able to fulfill the request just recently. He e-mailed to say that he was very pleased with how the girls represented the Lakers, and how well things went, so we were happy to hear that. The girls love doing those types of events.
Q: On the types of events that the Laker Girls won’t do:
Estrada: There are certain events we won’t do, like an engagement or bachelor party or things like that. But we’ll do 80th birthday parties at a restaurant, or things along those lines.
Q: On measuring the success of the Laker Girls from season to season:
Estrada: I don’t compare because it’s too hard with different personalities, especially because we have some returnees and some brand new girls each year. I can think of a handful in my mind that I remember because they were such good eggs or employees, but every year really is different. No. 1, the (basketball) team is different each year, so expectations are different. But I learn something about directing and about people every year, so that’s my own growing in this position and things I have to learn or tackle.
Q: On how the Laker Girls can be different from year-to-year for better or worse:
Estrada: When you have auditions with just two or three days to choose someone, they may do a certain style really well, but say I bring in a choreographer that is a little more funky, maybe 12 girls out of 22 can’t do that style at all, and it takes that much more work to improve. I hope that doesn’t happen, but there are years that it’s trying technically, years where it is trying with personalities, years where it’s trying with responsibility and commitment, which sometimes they take with a grain of salt and sometimes they do not.
Q: On the explanation behind going from 22 dancers to 18 for this previous season:
Estrada: This year we started with 22 members but ended up with 18, reflecting different reasons. I’m not opposed to let people go, or downsize if we need to, in order to get a team that’s fully committed and that will gel together. We did that this year, and I’m happy with the outcome. The thing that was trying this year was certain employee’s work ethic and (lack of) commitment, which bummed me out as a director. I think when anyone takes a Laker Girl position, they need to be ready to commit and know that it’s a year-long position, not a “gig” that dancers think you can do for two weeks or something like that. It’s a contract with an organization and there are rules and regulations to follow. It is a job, and sometimes cheerleaders or dancers may look at an NBA or NFL dance team and think, ‘Oh it’ll be a fun job.’ And don’t get me wrong, I want it to be both fun and lucrative for them, but it is work and it’s a year commitment. I just truly want to instill in some of the girls I work with, that they should take this job with a committed attitude, not only for themselves but their teammates as well. Also, that this position is something to take pride in. I admit, I am proud of this organization and this dance team.
Q: On if finding committed dancers is a more pressing qualifier for the coming group of Laker Girls:
Estrada: Yes, I think it’s probably more of a hot-button issue for me. I want girls that want to be here. A great example is that I’ve had girls who have auditioned for me for four straight years before finally making the team. I was so excited to say, ‘You made it!’ She took whatever words of advice she got, absorbed what was needed to be on an NBA team, and she made it, which showed that she really wanted to be there. And when she was on the team she was a great employee: on time, professional, and it was so nice to see that.
Q: On the shock of the team’s sweep to Dallas, and if it surprised the Laker Girls, hoping to dance again in Game 5:
Estrada: I tend to prepare them for the worst, so the night of Game 2, I corralled everyone and said, ‘OK, we’ll hopefully be seeing you next week, but I hope you all danced like it was your last night.’ They’re like, ‘Oh, no no no, we’ll be back!’ And I love that. But at that point, I was really needing to tell them that it could have been it. And when they lost, it was very sad for the girls.
Q: On what aspiring Laker Girls should focus on in advance of auditions on July 16:
Estrada: First of all, the 405 is going to be closed from the 10 to the 101. We put it on the website, and that’s something I hope all the prospects can figure out, because tryouts start at 9 a.m. sharp. The other thing would be that I hope they’re in dance class right now, I hope they’re training for not just the Laker Girls but to be a performer, a dancer. Not just for this one audition, so hopefully they’re in technical, jazz and hip hop training too. If you’re not in dancing shape, you’re going to be thrown material to learn quickly and it’s going to show.
