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Orlando Magic Dancers Off to Action-Packed Start in 2016-17

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By Josh Cohen
Aug. 27, 2016

ORLANDO -- It’s been a little over four weeks since 2016-17 Orlando Magic Dancer final auditions took place. Since then, the 20 selected for this season’s squad have been hard at work and having a blast.

In fact, a few have already taken part in some ‘global’ fun. Last week, several of the dancers attended an NBA grassroots program in the Dominican Republic to help celebrate and grow the game of basketball. They performed dance routines, taught their passion to kids at a clinic, signed autographs, took pictures with fans and joined in on other interactive activities.

“The experience was so much fun,” said Kori, who starts her fifth season as a Magic Dancer. “We danced, they went crazy for us. We felt very welcomed. I love the Latin culture so being able to meet the people in their environment was awesome.”

“We enjoyed the different demographic of fans there,” said Victoria R., an eight-year team veteran. “They showed so much love to us. They were extremely supportive.”

On Saturday, the entire team was back at it. Except this time, it was to ‘say cheese.’ With Michael Cairns, an Orlando-based photographer, behind the lens the dancers posed for costume portraits. Stylists from Stella Luca Salon and artists from MAC Cosmetics took care of hair and makeup.

While the veterans are experienced with the process, rookies like Olivia had to do some research before deciding what poses work best for them.

“At first it’s a little nerve-wracking but definitely once you get a few poses in, it gets a lot easier,” she said. “All of us rookies have spent the last hour watching and trying to emulate what the vets are doing because they do it so elegantly and we are definitely trying to replicate that.”

Zuli, another rookie who previously was a dancer for the Orlando Predators, points out that it’s important to be observant and take notes.

“I went online and I mainly looked up the Magic Dancers from the previous years and looked at their poses,” she said. “Watching them (vets) and seeing what they were doing gave me an idea of what I can do.”

Photos from Saturday will be seen on local billboards, in television ads and in other promotional campaigns throughout the season. Between poses, the dancers recorded their bio interviews. These videos will be aired on the jumbotron during Magic games at Amway Center and will be posted on OrlandoMagic.com.

Between practicing and performing at games, the Magic Dancers spend much of their time in the community. Most say that assisting underprivileged children and families is a huge reason why they audition in the first place.

“The community experience is one of my favorite things,” Kori said. “It’s great to make their day and get more familiar with fans. It’s so awesome.”