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BROOKE is in her second season with the Dallas Mavericks Dancers.
She joined us at a recent Dallas Mavericks home game at American Airlines Center for PDC Meet the Dancers:
PDC: Talk about your dance background and what brought you to being a Dallas Mavericks Dancer.
BROOKE: I started dancing when I was two years old doing ballet. When I was 10 years old, my babysitter Marissa was a Dallas Mavericks Dancer and that’s when the dream started. From that point on, my ultimate goal with every type of dance training I did was to be a Mavs Dancer. I did competitive dancing and when I got to high school, I chose to stay in the studio where it was more hip hop focused as opposed to a drill team because I knew that would prepare me the most for the Mavs Dancers auditions process. When I graduated high school, as soon as I was eligible when I turned 18, I tried out the Mavs Dancers and I made it.
PDC: So you made the team straight out of high school?
BROOKE: Yes and it was so surreal to me, it was two years after the Mavericks won the NBA championship and some of the vets from that season were still on the team and the hype of them winning the title was still fresh. I remember being 18 years old and being on the court that I dreamed of being on since I was 10. From the time that I knew that’s what I wanted to, I searched Mavs Dancers videos on YouTube to learn the routines and learn the intros. Probably my all-time favorite moment of being a Mavs Dancer was the very first game that I ever performed at and it was going out on the intro where the lights are out and the music is up. Just that feeling of being out there, that was the first time that it hit me that “I did it” and “this is happening!” I don’t think anything could ever beat that feeling of that first game.
PDC: You were on the team for a year, then left the Dallas area for college and returned back here and made the team again?
BROOKE: Yes, I went off to college at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. I wanted to make sure that I got my degree. I cheered while I was in college because my college did not have a dance team and then I was actually Miss Ouachita Baptist University and participated in the Miss America Miss Arkansas Pageant. That was a whole different world for me, it was performing but totally different from what I was used to. So I graduated college, but while I was there, I met my husband. We moved back to Dallas, but my goal was always to get back on the court with the Mavs Dancers because I didn’t feel like my time was over.
PDC: Did you get to perform at the basketball games for your college team?
BROOKE: I did, but it was nothing like an NBA game. We basically sat underneath the basket and dodged basketballs coming right at us. It was an awesome experience, but it was hard to transition from the big stage to doing more cheer moves. It was really different, but I’m thankful that I got to have that variety and that experience.
PDC: So what made you want to go back through the audition process and tryout for the Mavs Dancers again?
BROOKE: I felt that if my time was up that I would be at peace with it and I wasn’t, so when I moved back I dedicated myself to making back on the team. So I went to every prep class and it took a little bit to get back into the style because even though I had done it before, it had been three years since I was on the team and it’s entirely different from the cheer I did in college. As soon as I started going to the prep classes and learning the routines again, I felt like that was where I needed to be. I worked really hard and made it happen again.
PDC: What was the biggest difference from being on the Mavs Dancers when you were 18 to being on the team as a college graduate?
BROOKE: What wasn’t different? There were so many differences. There was not a single girl on the team from when I was here the first time, so it was a whole new start. I feel like the combination of being more mature and being a more well-rounded dancer, it gave me a whole new attitude coming into it and I think that it transformed me all over again as a dancer and as a person.
PDC: This being your third season, but really your first as a veteran, how has your role changed?
BROOKE: There is a lot more pressure because the standard is higher, but I love this team this year and we have a really special group of girls, a really talented group of girls, so being out there as a veteran, I am able to continue to push myself as a dancer because I don’t feel like there’s ever a moment where you’ve reached your absolute best. You can always grow and as a veteran, I feel like this has been my biggest year of growth.
PDC: You have a day job in addition to being a Mavs Dancer. How do you balance the time?
BROOKE: It’s tough. I’m a commercial credit line analyst for an auto lending company. It keeps me on my toes, it’s very busy and hectic and keeps me on my toes. It’s supposed to be 9-5, but in the auto lending business, there’s a lot of overtime involved, so I’m very grateful to have a job that works with my Mavs schedule. It’s not often that you get a company as big as they are that is willing to work with you, so I know how fortunate I am there and I’m very appreciative for that. But a normal day is getting up going to work, going to practice or a game, then home to sleep and then do it again the next day. It’s tough, but it’s worth it and I love it!
PDC: Now to some of the fun stuff, what are some of your favorite movies?
BROOKE: My all-time favorite movies are a tie between Elf and Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Both are Christmas movies, but I watch them year-round and quote them all the time.
PDC: Who are some of your favorite actors?
BROOKE: Jennifer Aniston is my favorite and I love Will Ferrell.
PDC: What about TV shows? Anything you like to binge-watch?
BROOKE: With the little bit of free time I have, I try to watch some TV shows. I really like Game of Thrones. My guilty pleasures are The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
PDC: What are some of your favorite foods?
BROOKE: Taco Bell, I stick with my #9, no tomatoes and mexi-melt with no pico. I also have a major sweet tooth, so I have to work out really hard after sometimes. But I don’t like chocolate.
PDC: You have a sweet tooth, but you don’t like chocolate?
BROOKE: I know, but gummy bears are my favorite, but I eat them frozen. It’s the best, it saves the flavor!
PDC: What about favorite restaurants?
BROOKE: If we are close to Dallas, we normally go to Village Burger Bar. That’s my favorite.
PDC: Ok, dream job once your days as a Mavs Dancer are over, what would it be?
BROOKE: To work in the music industry. My second passion next to dance has always been music. I grew up in a musical family and I love singing, writing music, playing music and just being around music. Anything in the music industry whether it’s being an agent or behind the curtain, that would be my dream job.
PDC: Opposite end of that question, dream vacation, anywhere in the world, where would you go?
BROOKE: Tahiti. I’d stay in one of those bungalows over the crystal clear water, just peace and quiet, pure bliss.
Fans can follow BROOKE on Twitter @DMD_Brooke and Instagram @DMD_BrookeL
For more photos and videos from the Dallas Mavericks Dancers, visit HERE
