I am so releived that today is over. I was extremely stressed when my roommate and fellow Suns Dancer prospect Nicole arrived at my house this morning. I of course, had woken up late and my computer would not print my resume!
Nicole and I then rushed around my house trying to gather everything we needed. We printed our resumes, applied our fake eyelashes, got dressed in our tryout outfits, grabbed water and snacks, and finally our dance shoes as we hustled out the door.
When we arrived at the arena we parked and speculated about what the ensuing tryouts would be like. So many questions were running through our minds. How many girls would be there? Will they make any cuts today?
We rounded the corner of First Street and Jefferson walked onto the Pavilion at US Airways Center to see a herd of dancers just like us waiting to go inside. It was definitely intimidating. We made our way through the crowd and met up with some familiar faces.
We said, “Hi” to Dani and Taryn, both of whom were Suns Dancers for the 05-06 season, but also good friends of ours from the dance studio we attended when we were younger.
The doors sprang open promptly at 8:30 a.m. and we all were ushered inside. We then filled out a tryout form and turned in our resumes and headshots. We were assigned our numbers, had our picture taken and then made our way onto the court to stretch and begin the day.
Walking onto the court for the first time was amazing! I can remember praying that it wouldn’t be the last time I would get the chance to dance on it. Before I knew it we were learning the tryout dance from the choreographers. It was fast paced, and intricate in some parts, but really… it was fun!
After learning the dance we were broken up into two groups to allow for more room. It was crowded in there. A full court of 253 Suns Dancer hopefuls will account for more that one accidental foot or arm to the face.
After practicing and resting for a few minutes, the judges were brought out and we were told that we were going to be performing in groups of four. My number was 182, so I put on my warm-up jacket and took my seat. Four by four the groups went on.
Needless to say, by the time they reached my number, “Queen of the Night,” the song we performed to, was something I never wanted to hear again. I don’t really remember much of the time that I was out there on the court, as is the case for most dancers. All I knew was that I had nailed it and hoped it was what they were looking for. After all of the groups had finished, we were let go for lunch and told when we returned at 1 p.m. they would be making the first cuts.
After an excruciatingly long hour at lunch, we all filed back onto the court and anxiously awaited the announcement. I don’t think Nicole or I spoke a word to each other until our numbers were called.
She was called first, number 134, and then I was called, number 182. By the time the last number was called, there were only about 70 girls left on the court. There were tears all around, good and bad, but for those of us left we had to refocus and get ready to dance again.
Once those who were cut cleared out, the dancing started again. We danced again in groups of four for the judges, using what little energy we had left to hit every motion just as strong and as clean as we had the first time.
It was a relief to finish, but it didn’t last long. Maggie Garcia, the Suns Dancers Director then informed us that we would have to call a hotline later that evening to hear our numbers called, indicating whether or not we had made it to the second day. The worst part was that the hotline wasn’t going to be available until 8 o’clock! We had to wait six hours!
When 8 p.m. finally came I was sitting on my couch relaxing after my stressful day. I eyed the clock like a hawk and picked up my phone to call the hotline as soon as it struck 8.
It rang once and then I heard Maggie’s voice congratulating us on a job well done and I’m not sure what else, but she couldn’t have started reading those numbers any sooner.
One by one they were read. I recognized Nicole’s number and was so excited that I almost missed my own! I was elated, immediately calling my parents and boyfriend to deliver the good news.
It wasn’t too long though before the excitement subsided, and anxieties about what the next day’s tryout might bring began.
Comments
AMANDA PLAMER - Phx
Hey there Amanda , My name is Amanda i was going to try out last year but something came up / So i am doing it this year. I was reading your bolg and i was like this is to true good to pass up . Can you give me some pointers on what to see in the classes to try out. I can't wait until the end of March OR June. Hope to see you soon.
RimShaker - Tucson
You girls ROCK!!! Best dancers in the NBA
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