July 26, 2004

Well, for those of you who were all keeping up with Nekesha’s diary entries, I bet you were pretty shocked when you found out she wasn’t auditioning again this year. The other girls and I were just as shocked as you all were. It’s been a very emotional couple of weeks. I came to the realization that a good portion of the girls that I had danced with and became so close to last season had decided to pursue other things this year and not return to the Orlando Magic Dancers. While it's great for all of them to move on and start new careers, new families and move to new cities, I couldn’t help but be a little bit selfish and think about how badly I was going to miss them. I’m not sure if everyone realizes exactly what a tight group of girls we are. It’s really hard to avoid getting so close when you basically see each other every day for an entire season! However, I didn’t have time to sulk for very long. Auditions had made their way here quicker than I imagined and I had to focus. I had worked so hard to prepare myself that I couldn’t be distracted.

On July 11 we had our preliminary round of the audition process. It was so exciting to see the prospects for the team. It’s also fun checking out everyone’s audition outfit! Are you all aware of just how important the outfit is?! Very important! Anyway one round of cuts was made and then we learned the dance we would be performing that day. It was soo much fun! After about 5 hours Jeanine, our coach, announced the finalists who would be moving on to the next phase of the audition...BOOT CAMP! Boot camp was tough but fun. It was two back-to-back days of intense workouts and dance classes. The best part about it was that it gave us all a chance to get to know each other a little better. That’s when you realize that all of these girls you are around are not only talented dancers but GREAT people as well. That’s also when you realize that there is double the amount of girls here than can be hired, and that’s when you get sad.

July 15 (Thursday) was the big night for us all...our final round of auditions when the 2004-2005 Orlando Magic Dancers would be announced. It was held at Disney’s Pleasure Island and it was open to the public to see. If you came out hopefully you had an umbrella because it poured! I was happy when I found out that I was going to perform second in the line-up because I love getting my performance over and done with as quickly as possible. I felt really good and confident, I knew the dance, and I liked my outfit (that my aunt and I made the night before...again, can’t stress how important the outfit is!). Luckily I had a lot of friends and family there to support me which helped take some of the stress away. My mom and dad even came down from New Jersey to surprise me. When it was all said and done, and the results were in, 16 girls were chosen and I’m so happy to say that I was one of them! (And even happier, that after two months of dieting I’m going to eat a big fattening dinner!)

After briefly getting to know the new girls on this years’ team (12 rookies in total), I know without a doubt that we will continue to exceed everyone’s expectations. We definitely have another amazing group of girls, and I am thrilled to get know them all better! There will be a lot of new energy at TD Waterhouse this season. From the new additions to the Magic roster, to all of the brand new Magic Dancers, this season will prove to be an exciting one. I'll keep you posted as we start rehearsals and attend the annual Pro Dance Convention!

Until next time...