As the Dancers enter the calendar premiere party, one of their biggest Jr. Magic Dancer fan claps for them!

Regular season is well underway and we are all having a blast thanks to an incredible start at home on opening night and, not to mention, a win at every home game since then! Opening night was actually very special. It was one of only three times during the season when the whole team gets to dance together. In case you didn’t realize, once the season gets underway not all of the Dancers perform at every game, only 12 out of 16. When we arrived, we had beautiful flowers in our locker room, good luck gifts for each other, and many well wishes from fans, friends, and Coach Jeanine! It was also the night we debuted a hot new costume for the fans (made by former Magic Dancer Anniese) and we got a lot of great feedback from fans who really liked it. Opening night was a very intense, high energy game so we got to dance, not only our 2 feature routines but also, many many sidelines! We were all going crazy along with all of the fans in the arena jumping up and down and yelling when Steve Francis made the last basket to win with only 3.5 seconds left on the clock...it was absolutely unbelievable! I think that has been one of my favorite moments as a Magic Dancer so far this season. The rest of the home games have been just as exciting. I love seeing the arena packed and all of the fans so pumped up about our new team. If we continue to play like this, we’ll be well on our way to the playoffs this year.

On Thursday, November 18, we had our calendar and behind-the-scenes DVD premiere party at the Monte Cristo Club in the TD Waterhouse Centre. It’s the first time we’ve ever had an event like this and the turnout was exceptional! We were the guests of honor and when we entered the party everyone stopped what they were doing to give us a standing ovation…I felt like a superstar! Shortly after we entered the room, we were called to the dance floor by Kevin Holden, host of Midnight Magic, so he could ask us each a brief question and then debut our calendar page on a video screen behind us. Then the

Danielle answers Kevin Holden’s questions about making the swimsuit calendar.

much anticipated cover girl was announced - four-year veteran and team co-captain Vanessa would have the coveted spot on the cover! Her picture, along with all of the others, is so striking and we are all so happy for her! Coach Jeanine even had a little surprise in store for me when I found out that my picture was featured on the cover of the behind-the-scenes DVD! The calendar and behind the scenes DVD capture the essence of each of the Dancers in a very classy way so we were all really happy with both! After all of the pages were debuted and the cover girl announcement had been made, we took our seats to sign the calendar for all the party guests. A portion of the proceeds from the event are going to our charity, the Challenger Little League. A couple of the kids from Challenger even came out in support of the event which made it extra special. It was a great night for everyone. If you would like a calendar of your very own you can get them at the retail stands at all home games or online.

On Friday, November 19, six of the Magic Dancers had their debut in the Orlando Opera’s Season Opener Salome. This is the second year that Coach Jeanine has collaborated with the Opera to have us featured in one of their performances and what a great experience it has been! Although I was not one of the Dancers performing in the Opera, I was very proud to have my teammates supporting the arts and showing the arts community just how talented professional sports dancers are.

Now along with our team rehearsals for the games, calendar premiere party, Opera rehearsals, and community appearances, we have been working diligently on getting our variety show together for the Armed Forces Entertainment Tour we are about to embark on! Although it’s required rehearsals on Saturdays and Sundays just about every week, we are all very committed to putting together the best show possible. We are incorporating some of our in-game routines, a holiday segment, a patriotic segment, skits, contests, videos of in-game player highlights, and Hope is even singing (and what a beautiful voice she has)! The theme of our show is “Do you believe in Magic?” With Coach Jeanine as the show emcee, she’ll be asking the troops that question throughout our show to keep them pumped up! Our schedule is extremely busy right from now until we get back from the tour, but we are all so honored and excited to have the opportunity to entertain and visit with the troops. We absolutely cannot wait! At this point we won’t have to wait long…we depart on Tuesday, December 7, which is now just around the corner.

After this entry I will be turning the diary reigns over to another one of the Dancers who will fill you in a little more on our tour experience and all of the other wonderful things going on in our world! Thanks for reading and I hope to see you at a game soon!