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After a timeout with 5:04 left in the third quarter, the Knicks City Dancers performed at center court and then appeared to leave what appeared to be glitter on the floor, prompting help from celebrities like Chris Rock and David Harbour. “Always a lot of glitter at the World’s Most Famous Arena,” Walt “Clyde” Frazier quipped on the MSG Network broadcast. “They might be here awhile, Mike [Breen], the glitter is everywhere.” “Well, you don’t see this delay very often,” Breen, the play-by-play man chipped in.
New York Basketball: Glitter delay at Madison Square Garden.
Glitter delay at Madison Square Garden pic.twitter.com/9bp11l4O4C
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) November 2, 2023
“Y’all ever seen a boy NBA dancer?” That was the caption on Adrian Curiel’s TikTok video that he posted on Nov. 23, 2021, which has since been viewed by 2.8 million people. If the comments are any indication, it seems like a lot of people have not seen men dancing on the court during NBA games. Curiel, 21, performs with the Suns Dancers, and he’s joined by 25-year-old Kahlil Harris. It's the first time the Phoenix Suns have had male dancers.
"Men have auditioned for the Suns Dancers in years past, but none have ever made the team," Meyer said in an emailed statement. "When we reimagined our team for this season, we made sure that we targeted ALL dancers." Suns Entertainment also consists of the co-ed Hype Team — a group that includes break dancers, gymnasts, dunkers and acrobats who pump up the crowd with stunts and merch giveaways — the in-arena hosts, Weezy and Alicia-Monique Blanco, and DJ Automatic. The Suns are the latest NBA team to change the makeup of their dance team. Phoenix's transition is far less drastic than measures other teams have taken in the past few years.
Spreading love: It’s the Brooklynettes way. As the Brooklyn Nets gear up to face off against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs Tuesday, the team’s all-female dance group is keeping the energy high — and rebounding from the pandemic. “It wasn’t until very recently that we were like, ‘Wait, I think we are the only ones actually performing,’” Brooklynettes head coach Asha Singh told The Post.
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But the troupe didn’t stay still for long — after all, video calls aren’t just for desk-bound workers. “We held practices over Zoom,” said team captain and choreographer Pamela Gaccione, who started dancing for the Nets Kids company at age 12, when the team still repped the Garden State. (She joined the adult squad eight years ago, at 18.) “Of course there were challenges,” she added, noting spotty Wi-Fi setbacks and space restrictions. Some of the girls could barely hit a high kick without bumping into furniture in their apartments.
This NBA season marks the 40th anniversary of the “Teddi-Bears,” a dance troupe Stepien started almost immediately after purchasing the team. He hired a vaudevillian and his wife to coach the group, and he made sure there was a place on the team for one of his own daughters, Nancy, a 19-year-old freshman at Kent State at the time. Stepien was so bad overall as a team owner that the league named a rule after him, as a stipulation of something teams can’t do. His entire three-year stint in Cleveland was just like that. The Cavs hosted the All-Star game in Stepien’s first season, and then-NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien was already so leery of him that the only pregame event he permitted Stepien to host was a luncheon. At that luncheon, O’Brien was greeted by a Cavs “mascot” who was eating beer cans and lighting firecrackers.
Stepien started the Teddis in 1980, and yes, times were different. The Laker Girls had been formed just a year earlier by then-team owner Jerry Buss. That same year, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders appeared in their first made-for-TV movie. The Teddis were supposed to be Cleveland’s version of the same. Instead, the Teddi-Bears’ numbers were cut from the All-Star Game’s telecast. They thrived on mall shows and the local soapbox derby. And they were booed. Oh, they were booed. To be clear, no one who spoke to The Athletic had any stories of Stepien being frisky with the women. He was engaged to a woman at the time who was younger than some of the dancers.
Jeanie Buss on Jerry Buss: We all know that Dr. Buss was the first to bring in a dance team, and he felt it was equal opportunity. Because when the Lakers were playing, the men got the stage and the platform. When they were taking a break, let the women have center stage. Let the women be the show, get the attention. He really thought about things like that, that it was equal opportunity, and if men could be the stars, then women could be the stars too. I think that’s important in this day and age, when people are talking about dance teams, but he really saw it as these talented dancers deserve an audience, and now every team in the NBA has a dance team.
Today, the Sacramento Kings announced the evolution of several entertainment elements in anticipation of the 2019-20 season. Building upon the 30-plus year tradition started by the Sacramento Kings Dancers, the current all-female dance team will evolve into a gender inclusive hip-hop group called “916 Crew,” representing the Sacramento community. The 916 Crew will perform synchronized, professional routines during Sacramento Kings games using a heavy emphasis on all the elements of hip-hop.
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The current Sacramento Kings Street Team will be expanded to feature gymnasts, breakers and performers focused on engaging and energizing the NBA’s loudest fanbase. Additionally, the dance team for the Kings NBA G League affiliate, Stockton Kings, will transition into an expanded street team called “209 Hype.” Both of these teams will continue to be gender inclusive. “We are excited to see the entertainment team evolve as we work to broaden our reach and ensure an inclusive environment for all,” said Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart.
The Atlanta Hawks recently unveiled its new 20-member “Hawks ATL Dancers” as the official new dance squad of the NBA team. Formerly known as Atlanta Hawks Cheerleaders, the Hawks ATL Dancers were chosen after a rigorous 10-day audition. This year’s tryouts were comprised of mini boot camps, public interviews and a focus on more technical dance acumen. To tip off the audition process, famed choreographer Jamaica Craft of the hit FOX TV show, Empire, joined the VIP clinic and led the way with her choreography. Throughout the rest of the selection process, the panel of judges included special guests: American animation dancer Marquese Scott, founder of Xcel Talent Agency, Aris Golemi and the club’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Nzinga Shaw.
The San Antonio Spurs are making their dance team a little more family friendly. Sources say the Spurs are ending their Silver Dancers team. Instead, San Antonio will reportedly replace the team with a 35-member “family friendly” coed “hype team,” according to a press release. The team will include tumbling and acrobatics as well as dance. It “will elevate the game-day experience and energize crowds with a diverse array of unique family friendly talents, including tumbling, acrobatics, dance and stunts,” according to a release.
Rosalyn Jones, who founded the Silver Dancers in 1991, took exception to any suggestion that the Silver Dancers weren’t “family friendly.” “This is a very conservative market, and the team has always been very concerned about the look of the girls and things like that,” Jones said in a telephone interview Monday. “But I’m telling you I’ve never seen and never heard anything derogatory. The girls are all professional women, they know the rules and standards and they know they’re ambassadors for the Spurs. And they’ve done so much in the community — camps, clinics, promotional activities. To take this away so suddenly, it’s bothersome.”
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