Enthusiasm takes over the night and the screaming crowd in Torontogala the Scotiabank Arena to receive the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics. The Raptors liven up the evening even more with their tie against the favorite at 97-97 with four minutes remaining and the Celtics, who are begging for a pause, call for a timeout. But the show goes on without the players.
A group of 16 chatty dancers take the floor with the intention of taking on the world and they do not arrive but rather penetrate the heart of the crowd to the rhythm of hip hop in a waste of strength, energy and joy. A short but intense and revolutionary minute and a half. One of the dancers, Dominic Cooper-Clarke, Exhausted but his perennial smile intact, he contemplates from the floor how the 20.000 fans They go from enthusiasm to delirious madness. How the track no longer vibrates, but trembles. There are no decibels to measure the commotion.
“It’s exciting to have the ability to impact someone, to brighten a fan’s day,” says Cooper-Clarke, one of the team’s captains, without ever losing his smile. The North Side Crew, the Toronto Raptors’ band of dancers, 22 in total so they can rotate during a demanding 41-game season at home.
“God, the first time I danced I was very nervous!” confesses another of the dancers and captains, Lindsay Aquin, with those blushing laughs and butterflies in the stomach at the same time. “She was on the court and just looked and looked up at the stands and kept seeing more and more seats. She was like Wow! It was a humbling experience. It’s nice to see the rookies’ eyes light up,” adds Aquin. Aside from Aquin and Cooper-Clarke, there is a third captain, Derick Robinson.
They, popularly known as cheerleaders, are the other stars of the NBA. They are the actors in the show who spend the most time on the court behind the players. When they are not Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid o Luka Doncic on the track – or another showman Scottie Barnes in the case of the Raptors -, they are the ones who forge, awaken and convert emotions.
“It’s exciting to have the ability to impact someone.”
Dominic Cooper-Clarke Raptors dancer
“You have to be more than a dancer, we also interact with fans by throwing t-shirts at them. And the fans are very relaxed, we have to encourage them,” highlights Cooper-Clarke, one of the most experienced in his 31 years. The Toronto Raptors will end up losing that game (105-108), but with what they have enjoyed with their other stars, the dancers, let them take away the dancing.
“I remind the dancers in every game that they have the opportunity to improve the experience of all the fans,” emphasizes the group’s choreographer, Shavar Blackwood, when talking about how he mentally prepares his pupils before going on stage. “I try to empower them, inspire them to do it with passion, the energy is contagious. That energy helps the ball go in,” highlights Blackwood, highlighting the role that his team also plays on the court with their brio and versatility to dance whatever it may be, too. pop, dance, afrobeats and top 40 songs with the mixes of your DJ DJ 4KORNERS.
A very demanding casting
However, unlike players, not even the brightest and most veteran of dancing stars are guaranteed a spot on the roster each year. If memory is usually ephemeral in the NBA, it almost does not exist in this case. As if one went from star to number overnight.
“At the summer casting they present 500 dancers. And those from previous years have to present themselves as well,” explains the choreographer, also one of the judges participating in the selection. “Our system is very fair to ensure that there is an opportunity for everyone. Dancers from previous years have to show their willingness to be a part of it,” adds Blackwood.
The Raptors dancers, in full
Toronto Raptors
During castings, dancers are taught a routine that they must perform several times in groups of 75. Those who advance to the next round perform in groups of 10, and then the judges select the final team.
“I’m looking for the whole package of total dancers,” says Shavar Blackwood. “I’m looking for dancers who learn quickly, who understand the details and who are good at acting,” says the choreographer. Although no less important is having that gift, that charisma – often innate – of connecting with people.
“But I also want people with positive energy and who make others feel good. I get up from my table at the casting, I walk around and literally see how many people are looking at me with a smile”, Blackwood details.
“I get up from my table at the casting and look at how many people look at me with a smile
Shavar Blackwood Raptors Choreographer
But the hard work quietly behind the scenes doesn’t end there as Lindsay Aquin warns. “Many people don’t see the work that goes on before rehearsals on match days,” she emphasizes.
“Our choreographer has to prepare the material before each rehearsal and we have to do our physical routines. There is a lot of work outside,” says Aquin. And apart from the matches, the rehearsals on meeting days and the seven hours a week that the members train together, each dancer does extra individual work sessions in the gym.
“And food is a key part. We do a lot and we need to be at the highest level,” he highlights. Angelika Manuela, another of the dancers from The North Side Crew.
“Yes, I could say that I am in charge of a group of elite athletes,” admits Shavar Blackwood. “We also suffer the back-to-back but without rest,” everyone in the conversation jokingly agrees.
The requirement also includes combining a profession with high standards such as that of a dancer in the NBA with another job. “I teach professional dance and I also teach in children’s programs,” says Manuela, a teacher like the other two of her colleagues who speak with MD. “That’s the nice thing too, that several of us teach dance,” adds Lindsay Aquin.
“It’s a full-time job,” says Cooper-Clarke. “It is a part-time job, but the type of commitment makes us prepare for it as if it were a full time job. “I want to reach very high standards,” explains one of the captains of the Raptors’ dancing band, responsible for making the Toronto public known as one of the most boisterous in the NBA with their way of stirring up the henhouse.
“I feel blessed seeing all the people who come to each game,” highlights Angelika Manuela. “You have to find a moment for yourself and look around. You have to value yourself for having this opportunity to impact so many people,” reflects the dancer. The fans, whether their team wins or loses, no matter how bad their day was, will always have a reason to smile thanks to the cheerleaders. they are the other NBA stars.
NBA pioneers
The first group of dancers with men
Like the Toronto Raptors, the only non-American team, The North Side Crew You have something different to be proud of. “We were the first group of NBA cheerleaders to also include men on the team in the 2018-2019 season, the ring season,” Cooper-Clarke recalls.
“We took a step in the right direction,” adds Blackwood. “We definitely contribute to breaking stereotypes,” says Lindsay Aquin.
This pioneering character in terms of breaking down gender boundaries is another feature of the Raptors’ identity, aligned with the idiosyncrasies of Toronto and its respect for cultural, religious, sexual orientation and gender diversity.
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2024-01-05 10:49:33
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