Meet the Brooklynettes: The NBA’s Edgiest Dance Team
By Charlotte Cowles
NYMag.com
The Brooklynettes do not walk, they bounce, and usually in unison. When five members of the dance team arrived at Barclays Center’s 40/40 Club before practice last Thursday night, they bobbed up to the table in a straight line, like birds in formation. They all wore gleaming black spandex tights, black Adidas sneakers, and black-and-white hoodies zipped to the same mid-chest height to show the tops of their sports bras, which were emblazoned with the Brooklynettes logo in graffiti-style writing. Their makeup was TV-ready, with thick strips of false eyelashes and liquid eyeliner. They looked like real-life Barbies, only with better posture and brighter smiles.
The cleverly titled dance team affiliated with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the Brooklynettes began their first season at the new Barclays Center in Prospect Heights this fall. Ten of them stayed on from the former New Jersey team, although they all had to re-audition for the twenty spots in June, alongside 400 other Brooklynette hopefuls who came out for the grueling weeklong trial process.
For those unfamiliar with the world of NBA entertainment, it’s important to understand these women are not cheerleaders. Many are professionally trained dancers with agents and long résumés. Two of the women I spoke to hold dance degrees from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Ailey School at Fordham, respectively. Some came to the Brooklynettes from other NBA teams, including the Knicks and the Sixers, and others have performed in Broadway shows.
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