Denver Nuggets Dancers

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2022-23 Denver Nuggets Dancers Auditions

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Rocky, Nuggets Dancers Join Special Olympics Torch Run

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102 applicants. Nearly 19 hours of rehearsal. 18 roster spots.

That is what made up the tryout process for the Denver Nuggets Dancers’ (DND) 2019-20 roster, which took place throughout the past two weeks. The roster was ultimately decided after the grueling process concluded over the weekend.

To begin the tryouts, the women had to show up and learn choreography to a dance they hadn’t seen or performed before, after which they must practice it until it is second nature. Following that, four women would perform the dance at a time in front of a panel of judges.

The judges then deliberated and announced the 33 ladies that advanced to the final round, which took place on Saturday. During this final round, group performances were once again included, but each woman had an opportunity to showcase their own style of dance in solo performances.

"This week was very challenging,” said Amy Jo Wagner, the manager of DND. “It always is when you get this much talent (trying out). In the end, after getting to know them through interviews and getting to evaluate them in three different dance styles, I think we picked the best 18 candidates. I'm really excited about this team."

The tryout process included the women that made up the 2018-19 Nuggets Dancers roster. Each year, every hopeful is required to audition, regardless of one’s past history with DND. The process has no exceptions and given the number of applicants that hope to make the 18-woman team each year, each woman must strive for perfection.

Erin, who has danced with the Nuggets Dancers for the past three seasons, continues to be appreciative of the opportunity. “Far and away this is the best experience I’ve had dancing,” she said. “The group of women, the Nuggets Dance team that I have had the pleasure of dancing with, have been down to earth, grounded women. Very professional and highly talented and I feel honored to dance with this group of women.”

The longest-tenured member of DND is Ariel, who just completed her seventh audition process and will set a record as the longest-tenured member in DND history.   The adrenaline rush she receives from performing on the Pepsi Center floor is what continues to drive her work ethic.

“There's really nothing that mimics what it feels like to be in front of thousands of fans. Our job is to feed off their energy,” Ariel said. “For us, it's a one-time shot. We have 60 seconds to go on the floor and perform— that's all we get. We don't get second chances so we live for those 60 seconds.”

Being a Nuggets dancer allows these women to have the opportunity to not only perform in front of a large audience, but also travel the world and connect with Nuggets fans. Ariel revealed that she has been able to travel to Mexico, England and China, which has allowed her to connect with other dancers around the NBA, all while showcasing her dancing. One of the main benefits of being a Denver Nuggets Dancer is the opportunity to reach passionate Nuggets fans and create relationships off-the-court.

“It feels like home. I have so many season ticket holders and fans who know me by name,” Ariel said. “I know them by name. We'll joke around,” she said. “Every time I go to [work] I feel like [I'm visiting] family.”

While several women are returning to DND as veterans, there are plenty of rookies that made the roster for the 2019-20 season. For Sam and Meghan, joining DND marks the culmination of a long process that included a lot of hard work and effort.

After dancing for Wild Bunch (the dance team for the Colorado Mammoth), Sam decided to audition another time for DND. For someone who grew up following the Nuggets, seeing her hard work pay off in the form of this DND opportunity was a life-changing moment. "I've been going to Nuggets games since I was very young, so being able to be on the court and represent the organization and brand while doing my passion is incredible."

Sam is also joined by Meghan, who made the roster in her first audition for DND. The audition process took a lot out of Meghan, who revealed that she had spent time throughout the week practicing in her hotel room, which required shifting the furniture around to create enough space for her sequences.

"I'm overwhelmed. It's been a super hard week,” Meghan said. “It was stressful and super exciting. I'm so grateful and humbled that I was chosen as one of the girls to make the team. I'm so excited to dance at a professional level and to be able to mix my passion for sports and my passion for dance."

The mix of rookies and DND veterans will certainly make for an exciting 2019-20 season for the team. While there is glitz and glamour to the in-game performances and off-the-court appearances, the women work extremely hard throughout the year to maintain their peak performances.

"It really did take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get where we are,” Wagner said. “Not only in the training camp and the audition process, but throughout the year. I think it would surprise people to learn just how hard these ladies work and how much they bleed, sweat and cry. But it's all hard work and it pays off in the end."

The 2019-20 Denver Nuggets Dancers roster is set. Now the preparation begins to create a cohesive atmosphere between the members while practicing new dance sequences. The work put in behind-the-scenes to decide the roster is just the first step in a long season for DND.

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Denver Nuggets Dancers’ 2019-20 roster is set after competitive audition process

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nuggets-dancers-2019-20-audition-finals

Nuggets Dancers 2019-20 Audition Finals

denalabidou

After weeks of grueling auditions, the Denver Nuggets Dancers auditions come to what should be an exciting end at the finals on Saturday.  One hundred and two women entered their names with the hope of being able to pursue their dreams of being a Denver Nuggets Dancer. Out of a highly-competitive preliminary round, only 33 made the cut on Friday and have been practicing all week for a shot to make the final 18-woman roster for the DND season team.  With Saturday quickly approaching, here are the biggest storylines to follow heading into the finals:   Follow the DND finals live on Twitter at 1 p.m. MT: @Nuggets, @NuggetsDancers  Sam’s time to shine:   DND hopeful Sam is hoping she will finally make the cut in her fourth attempt in making the team. She won’t let her previous three outings deter her ambitions.  “This has been my dream since I was young,” she said. “Even though I haven’t made it in past years, I know what I have to work on. I went back and I worked on them and just fact that I can work on them and get better, that’s why I keep coming back. Hopefully, this is my year.”    Although Sam hasn’t previously made the team, it isn’t for a lack of talent. She is currently a dancer for the Mammoth, a team under the KSE umbrella, and made the finals in the previous attempt. Sam believes she’s a late bloomer in dance, having started in her senior year in high school, and she feels she’s progressed a lot as a result of her trying to make the DND over the past four years. Sam hopes her perseverance will pay off on Saturday with a spot on the team.   “Oh my gosh, I can’t even describe the feeling. It would truly be a dream come true,” she said. “To hear my name called, I’m pretty sure I’d break down and start crying.”   Aussie sensation hopes to bring show to U.S.   Katie was supposed to be a member of last year’s DND squad.   She dazzled through the preliminaries and finals and was clearly one of the top performers in the 2018 auditions. Unfortunately, due to work visa issues, the Australian dancer had to withdraw from last year’s team. Everything changed on Thursday for Katie, as her work visa was passed and she’s now eligible to be a member of this year’s team. If she makes the cut.   “I truly believe if I’m successful in my audition with the Denver Nuggets Dance team, I will have reached the pinnacle of my dancing career,” she said. “The Denver Nuggets Dancers are the most prestigious dance team in the NBA, just because they hold themselves up so high and present themselves so well on and off the court. I think they are amazing and incredible women.”   Katie has vast amount of dancing experience from her time in Australia. Over the past 10 years, she’s been on three National Rugby League dance teams and two National Basketball League teams. The 28-year-old found her way to Denver due to taking a class from DND manager Amy Jo Wagner two years ago at a dance conference in Phoenix. The aspiring Nuggets dancer was immediately drawn to Wanger’s methods and style of teaching and wanted to continue to working with her. The meeting further inspired Katie to pursue what she feels would be a natural progression off what she’s done in Australia.   “Australia is amazing, but dancing and professionalism wise, America’s really got it,” she said. “Their NBA, NFL, IFL, they’ve got everything…Go hard or home.”   Dancing vet hopes to stick around for one more year  Erin is a pro’s pro when it comes to dancing. Prior to her three years with the Nuggets, she had previously worked for the University of Nebraska, the Indiana Pacers, the Carolina Panthers and the Mammoth. Still, she’s aware her previous experience doesn’t provide any guarantee she’ll make the cut on Saturday.   “I’d be truly honored, I know I’m way past my prime to be doing this,” she said. “If AJ [Amy Jo Wanger] would give me another shot of living my dream for another year, it would really mean a lot.”   She added, “To end my career with one more year would be really meaningful.”   Erin believes her time with the Nuggets has been the highlight of her career.  “Far and away this is the best experience I’ve had dancing,” she said. “The group of women, the Nuggets Dance team that I have had the pleasure of dancing with, have been down to earth, grounded women. Very professional and highly talented and I feel honored to dance with this group of women.” 

denver-nuggets-dancers-2019-finals-what-to-watch-for

Denver Nuggets Dancers 2019 Finals: What to Watch For

Ariel vividly remembers the moment she cemented her place as a Denver Nuggets Dancer.   “I kept looking at my number, because it was so surreal,” she recalled. “It was almost like I was in shock.”   Now, the longest-tenured member of the Denver Nuggets Dancers (DND), Ariel is hoping to make history with a potential seventh year with the squad. There have been plenty of talented members of the DND, but no one has ever made it past six years.   “Being given another season after already being given six chances to be on this team, it shows me that they know this is where my loyalty is. This is where my passion is. This is where my drive is.“  Each year, DND auditions their hopefuls through a rigorous process that has no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if someone is trying to make the team for the first time or if someone is a grizzled veteran who’s been on the squad for years, everyone has to try out. There is no room for complacency and its an environment Ariel, who calls herself a perfectionist, believes she thrives in.   “This is year seven for me and prior to this year, I've seen 50 percent of our veterans get cut,” she explained. “I've watched girls get outperformed. I've watched girls get too comfortable and they don't want to put in the effort that they did when they first made the team. That's not my personality type.”  Ariel remembers continuing to practice late into the night to perfect her routines when she was first trying to make the team. Despite being a veteran, she strives to maintain the same level of effort from that initial year.   “I'm always looking for something to improve. For me, it's a way to gauge how my work ethic is. I want to fight for my spot,” she said. “I want to prove to myself and the girl that's next to me that I earned my spot. This is what hard effort looks like— it doesn't ever stop.”   Ariel’s drive of wanting to stick around at DND comes from what she describes as an incomparable adrenaline rush of performing in front of thousands of fans at Pepsi Center.   “There's really nothing that mimics what it feels like to be in front of thousands of fans. Our job is to feed off their energy,” She said. “For us, it's a one-time shot. We have 60 seconds to go on the floor and perform— that's all we get. We don't get second chances so we live for those 60 seconds.   During her time with DND, Ariel has been able to travel to Mexico, England and China and showcase her skills among other dancers around the NBA. More importantly, she’s able to create a bond with Nuggets fans, plenty of whom have praised her outside of Pepsi Center for DND’s impressive performances.    “It feels like home. I have so many season ticket holders and fans who know me by name. I know them by name. We'll joke around,” she said. “Every time I go to [work] I feel like [I'm visiting] family.”  It is because of those reasons, Ariel is relentless in her pursuit of setting the record of seven years at DND.   “I think a lot of people take the small things for granted,” she said. “As a dancer, you know that you're not promised this forever. It is wear and tear on your body, you can only do it for so long. I never want to take these moments for granted.” 

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Denver Nuggets Dancers veteran hoping to make history in upcoming finals

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Denver Nuggets Dancers 2019-20 Audition Finalists

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