The Dallas Mavericks Dancers held their auditions at the American Airlines Center followed by training camp at the Verandah Club at the Hilton Anatole.
The team was officially announced at the end of the final night of training camp the final roster included five rookies.
Taylor is one of the new members of the Dallas Mavericks Dancers and she joined us after making the team to discuss her journey to becoming a member of the Mavs Dancers.
See Photos of TAYLOR in the Slideshow Below:
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”1142″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”600″ gallery_height=”400″ cycle_effect=”fade” cycle_interval=”10″ show_thumbnail_link=”1″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show thumbnails]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
Photos by Dominic Ceraldi
PDC: Talk about your dance background.
TAYLOR: I started off in tap/ballet when I was three and did not like it at all, so my mom took me out and put me in a hip hop class when I was nine. I loved it because I liked the faster, quicker stuff. Then I also did jazz and my little sister tried out for a performance company at the studio we were at and did it for a year. After seeing how much she liked it, I tired out and did it for five years and ended up being an officer for four of the years. In high school, I stopped dancing but picked it back up last year when I tired out for the Dallas Mavericks Dancers, did not make it, went on to make the Texas Legends Dancers and now I’m here.
PDC: Did you take the Dallas Mavericks Dancers prep classes to get for the audition process?
TAYLOR: I did and I would say it’s important for anyone trying out for the Mavs Dancers to go to as many classes as you can because you get to know the director, the girls on the team and all of the different styles they do.
PDC: Would you say that your time with the Texas Legends Dancers prepared you to make the Dallas Mavericks Dancers?
TAYLOR: Absolutely! My first year to audition, I made it to Mavs training camp, but I had never touched a pair of pom poms. So being able to dance on a basketball court and see that there are lines and specific formations was important because it is entirely different than dancing on a stage. I also learned about 4th quarter tags and a lot of the terminology that the Mavs use.
PDC: Was there anything specific that Jen (Texas Legends Dancers director Jen Contreras) did to get you ready for the Mavs Dancers auditions?
TAYLOR: She was tough on us, but it’s done out of love and to make us better. She sees the potential in you and she’s going to push you to be your very best. I knew if she was on me during practice, it’s because she wanted me to do better and knew I was close.
PDC: So leading into the Dallas Mavericks Dancers auditions at American Airlines Center, what were your emotions like?
TAYLOR: I wasn’t nervous, which surprised me. I worked a lot this year on relaxing and enjoying the moment because that’s what got me last year was my mindset of “I messed up” or “everyone’s watching me” or “I could’ve done that better” that’s when you start to not do you best. So I wasn’t nervous, but I was a little anxious to get it over with and just find out.
PDC: You survived the auditions weekend and advance to training camp. Did you at least get to enjoy making to training camp or since you had already made camp last year, were you just ready to get it going?
TAYLOR: I was very happy to make it back to training camp because I know that nothing is guaranteed and you can make it to training camp one year and not make it back the next year.
PDC: The four nights of training camp are here, what is that like from your perspective?
TAYLOR: I would say that the first night is not as intense, but the second night when we started learning more choreography that it got in my head a little bit. By the third night when judges were here and we started getting called in groups to perform, I started to get nervous. I got called in to a lot of groups so I didn’t know if they liked me or were not sure about me or if they enjoyed watching me, so it started to get into my head for sure. The last night, I had to remind myself that I had made it that far and to be proud of myself no matter what.
PDC: How did you find out that you made the team?
TAYLOR: I got a letter with my name on it. We are asked to exit the building, so everyone else went to the right, so I went to the left into the back parking lot. When I opened it, the first thing I saw as “Congratulations” and I put my letter away and started to walk to my car. Then I stopped, opened it back up and read it and started crying. It is still to this day shocking that I made it.
PDC: You’ve made the team and you’re back inside the Verandah Club, describe what that scene was like?
TAYLOR: I was very fulfilled and I don’t think that it really set in until a few days later when we signed our contracts and did a tour of the American Airlines Center. That was amazing. It was incredible, I had no clue that this is what this year is going to be like.
PDC: Who was the first person you called when you made the team?
TAYLOR: My little sister. She screamed. Then I called my mom and she cried and said “I knew you could do it.”
The 2018-19 Dallas Mavericks Dancers are:
VETERANS: Ashley, Katelyn, Janae, Ally, Maggie, Taylor H., Tristen, Julia, Tori, Jenifer, Lisa, Janie, Alise, Sheridan, Aliyah
ROOKIES: Hanna, Hannah, Taylor N., Riley and Amanda.
For more photos and videos from the Dallas Mavericks Dancers, visit HERE
See PHOTOS from the Dallas Mavericks Dancers Team Announcement in the GALLERY below:
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”1102″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”600″ gallery_height=”400″ cycle_effect=”fade” cycle_interval=”10″ show_thumbnail_link=”1″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show thumbnails]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
