How old were you when you began dancing?
I was five years old when I began dancing. It was a personal interest. I had begged my mom for a while to enroll me in dance classes. I fell in love with it and have been doing it ever since.

Did you have previous experience dancing for professional teams?
I never danced with any professional teams prior. I danced in high school with a team and in college I was a dance minor [at UMass Boston]. It wasn’t considered a team, but we had dance classes and put on a performance in the spring.

Was it a big change moving from Virginia Beach to Boston?
Yes, absolutely. I was so used to the warm weather and being at the beach and when I went to Massachusetts it was a whole new ball game. I had to invest in a lot of long johns and scarves, the weather is so cold in the winter.

And you just completed college?
I just graduated in May. I majored in marketing and art and minored in dance. I just got a job with a merchant resource group and I will be a marketing coordinator for them.

What was it like to step on the court for the first time?
It was absolutely incredible, almost indescribable. I was so anxious to get on the court, there were butterflies in my stomach, I couldn’t stop smiling. I remember looking around and thinking that I never danced in front of that many people in my life. It was so incredible.

Who did you notify first when you found out you made the team?
I called my mom. As soon as they announced my name I was in hysterics and crying and I asked my friend for a phone to call my mom. She was screaming and jumping up and down. It was awesome! Family is a huge part of my life and fortunately my mom was able to come to one game a month last year. She’s kind of like a regular. All the Celtics organization people know her, it’s great.

We read that your dream job would be to be a rapper.
I just feel like rappers just know how to say things the right way. They’re very eloquent and able to say what they feel and I’ve never been someone who can do that very well. Not to mention they get to be on stage and perform in front of so many people.

What would your rap name be?
[Laughs] It was funny, when I was filling out my bio sheet some of the girls said we’ll call you “E-Labs,” because it’s a combination of my first name and my last name and I thought, “Uhh, I don’t think that’s gonna work really well.” [laughs] So I haven’t really thought of a good rap name.

The Celtics have some of the most loyal fans in the NBA. Have you seen anyone that made you star struck?
Last season we had Michael Phelps come and we got to take a picture with him and later in the season Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were in the crowd. It was pretty cool.

Which is a better path to success: the Lakers’ triangle offense or the Celtics’ emphasis on defense?
I’m gonna go with defense. You gotta be able to block shots and get rebounds to push it up court, so you’ll be more successful with defense and our history has shown that.

From the November/December, 2009 issue