You may not have seen or have heard of Choreographer Vandana Patel, but you can’t miss her transformation to one of the Cavaliers’ most visible features—the Cavalier Girls—into a top-five dance team in professional sports.

In one season, the Cavaliers Dance Team has gone from a group of girls clad in drab blue, black, and purple, entertaining a half capacity Gund Arena, to dazzling dames in shimmering gold or tight leather get-ups, shakin’ their tailfeathers in front of near-capacity houses.

Patel’s involvement goes hand-in-hand with the Cavaliers renovation in the offseason, which changed the team logos, colors, and name to reflect the new identity and direction the team was taking back to its founding ‘Cavalier’ roots. In the midst of the overhaul, Patel was brought on board to give the Dance Team a little pep and spice.

“Vandana Patel was the clear choice,” explains Tracy Marek, Vice President of Marketing for the Cavaliers/Gund Arena Company. “She not only had the skill and experience, but a charisma that made it very clear that she was not just the right person for the job, but the only person for the job.”

A late starter at 14, Patel yearned to dance and signed up for some classes offered at her high school in Long Beach, California. After dancing and for four years of high school, she initially stopped dancing when arriving at college, hoping to pursue a psychology degree. But dancing gnawed at her.

“The first moment I arrived at school—I missed it,” says Patel. “I tried out for the college dance team right away, and ended up switching schools because I knew this was what I really wanted to do.”

After college, she was rejected by five professional dance teams, before becoming a San Jose Saber-kitten in the Arena Football league. She stayed there one year, before becoming a Golden State Warrior girl, then a cheerleader for the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals for one-year each.

As she hopped around from team to team, she kept alive her dream job of wanting to coach. She quit dancing in 2000 to become the head coach of the New Jersey Gladiators dance team, an Arena Football squad. She stayed and coached a second year after the team moved to Las Vegas, planned to stay a third, but didn’t when she interviewed and was hired for the Cavalier Girls choreographer’s job.

“Some people are meant to be dancers, and some people are meant to be teachers,” says Patel matter-of-factly. “I experienced the dancing aspect, but in my heart, I knew I was a better coach and teacher. It’s a passion. Dancing was fun, but coaching is something I take more seriously.”

With all the responsibilities Patel juggles, in her words “acting as an HR coordinator, dance team instructor, and a mom all in one”, being dedicated and committed to the Dance Team is a must.

Patel choreographs new routines for every game, and constantly dreams up ideas in the car, at home, in front of the mirror, at dance practice, or any place that jumpstarts her creativity. Although she’ll occasionally look at TV for a new hip song or a style that’s chic, most of her material is inspired from the hours of choreography she’s performed herself.

“Most of the time, I keep the routines in my head,” says Patel. “It’s a talent I have. If I do more than two routines in one day, I’ll write it down. When I get to practice, I’ll show them how to do it, and then we’ll move on to the next routine. I usually don’t forget, but the girls are there to remind me.”

The Cavalier Girls rarely remind her because when there isn’t a home game, they are usually practicing four days a week, with rehearsals lasting anywhere from three and a half to five hours.

Bonded by working so closely together, Patel sometimes feels like the group’s mother hen. From costume-designing to securing gym, shoe, and makeup sponsorships, she also has to do their payroll and escort them around to community appearances and in-arena visits.

Says Patel with a smile, “I feel like a mom with all that goes into my position—it’s more than just straight choreography. But, this is what I wanted to do—coaching an NBA or NFL dance team. It all boils down to this being my dream job.”