Captain’s Corner with Alexis
Captain's Corner with Alexis
Alexis checks in periodically with news, notes, thoughts and more from the Celtics Dancers' locker room in her Captain's Corner column.
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Now you can ask Alexis about the life of a Celtics Dancer, get her opinions on the issues of the day or solicit advice from the Dance Team.
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January 7, 2009 - I've Got a Fever...
The Olympic fever...not something I need more cowbell to cure. As dancers in this arena, you get used to seeing celebrities at games and events. Some are thrilling (Jay-Z and Beyonce), others -- not so much (Jared from Subway). Recently though, we have been privileged enough to meet two who are affiliated with the Olympics in very different ways. One you might know -- the other was more behind the scenes and is very popular abroad.
First, Michael Phelps -- need I say more? Everyone knows what he eats for breakfast (they showed it religiously on the news) and has seen him win at least one of his 14 Olympic medals. When we got to meet him at the game, I think it was one of the few times all of us were star struck.
Second, we got the opportunity to meet SooJin who was responsible for the Beijing Olympic cheerleaders and is considered to be the founder of cheerleading in China! She came to practice and we got to talk to her about performing and hopefully we can work together in the future.
"Women Ai TiaoWu!!"
December 24, 2008 - Holiday Madness
The holidays are crazy enough, but throw 17 girls into one locker room who have had two jam packed months of games and practices (not to mention only 12 days off from each other in two months) and things are bound to get crazy.
At the Christmas Extravaganza game vs. the 76ers, we exchanged our third and final Secret Santa gift which got everyone excited. Also, being the health conscious dancers we are, our dinner at last night's game consisted of Ali's funfetti cupcakes, Katie's chocolate chip and sugar cookies, Casey's peanut butter oatmeal cookies and us asking Marina to get us some milk because we were all shaking from the sugar high. Nobody even touched the salad and grilled chicken (mostly because Rachel spilled milk on the chicken).
Needless to say, we can't have all of our meals consisting of cookies and cupcakes, so for us it's two or three days of holiday fun, then going back to the gym -- since we have a week's break from practice while the team is on their west coast trip.
Have a happy and healthy holiday, and we'll catch up with you in 2009 with more shenanigans!!!
November 24, 2008 - The New Season
What happens after you have won the big prize and all of the parades are over? Do you go to Disneyland? Take lavish European vacations? No. You enjoy it here, where the real fans are. Then the new season starts as though it never ended -- a season where you know what it means to be on the winning team (and some of us know what it takes to be on the losing team since we were around for the 2006-2007 season) and you have a taste for victory.
For the returning dancers, the season started about four days after the auditions when five of us were shipped out to Los Angeles to appear on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" and another four were sent to a professional dance convention to learn routines for this season. For the new girls, a month and a half stood between the final audition and the first practice. They were left to wonder what this job would entail, and I was there to answer any and all questions including (but not limited to):
Q: How do you get your hair to stay big throughout the entire game?
A: Teasing, hair spray and Velcro rollers.
Q: How do I wash my costumes without the colors running together?
A: If anyone has figured this out and can shed some light, it would be appreciated.
Q: Should I bring extra nylons to the game?
A: Yes, because if you don't rip yours, I am sure someone else will.
July 9, 2008 - Inside the Dancer Auditions
Despite the fact that we are just coming off the championship postseason, auditions are coming up on Saturday, July 12 in Waltham. For some, this will be their final season as Celtics Dancers, and what a way to go out. For others, this will be audition designed to give it one more go 'round (which answers one question -- Yes, we have to re-audition every year).
It's not easy to be a dancer at this level. There is a lot to consider: time commitment, job/school flexibility, and your physical well-being.
Since a lot of you have taken the time to write in, and all have similar questions, I figured I would try my best to answer some of them for you. I don't mean to sound harsh in my responses, but this is a job -- albeit a fun job.
So here is the rundown:
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Celtics Dancers Auditions: Saturday, July 12 2008 in Waltham, MA.
June 20, 2008 - Where Champions Happen
As the NBA Finals got under way, everyone on the team became very superstitious. We had to set our stations up in the locker room the same way for every game. Nobody was allowed to say anything about a postgame celebration until we actually had the win.
Everyone had to do their hair the same way they have been doing it throughout the playoffs. Ali had to drink her Mountain Dew before the game started. Haley's iPod needed to be playing while we were getting ready. Jen brought an extra Red Bull for me. Rebecca ate her peanut butter and graham crackers and sang her own set of lyrics to every song. There is no messing with tradition. And as it has been my own tradition to share thoughts and stories with you, here are a few more that have come to mind as this very long season has commenced in greatness:
First of all, I made it to work the morning after the championship game which basically makes me Superwoman. Second of all, I am ecstatic that I have another reason to indulge my superstitious affinity for double digits. I was born on the 22nd at 11:11am; my parents' anniversary is the 11th of '77; I grew up in house #44 (also a very important number for my fellow Syracuse Alumni) on a street in Roslindale and most recently, of course, 17th banner on the 17th of June.
This year began in Europe and we brought it all home. As the NBA put it, "There can only be one." And the Celtics are that one.
Finals/Playoffs/CHAMPIONSHIP Dream Team
Here's to an incredible season and to wearing that second ring!!!!
May 22, 2008 - Where Playoffs Happen
As if there isn't enough going on with Lester's no-hitter or the American Idol finale (I was a David Cook supporter), we are deep in the playoffs. Every game is a fight and each round the teams are more difficult to beat. This is it, a fight to the death.
Playoffs are basically running our lives right now. We can't make plans more than three days in advance because we don't know how many games will be played each round. We have to be at the Garden extra early for rehearsals. This hasn't adversely affected our daily lives too much, however all of us are finding it difficult to concentrate at work or at school when we know there is a game later.
Maybe everything should be like playoffs. The girls on the team who are in college could take 4 of 7 of their final exams. If they perform well, then they are done and can move onto next semester. I can go to 4 of 7 management meetings and if I can get through them without problems, then I'll continue on to the next round where I'll be promoted if I shine in 4 of 7 Board meetings. Better yet, maybe I can work 4 of 7 days per week and have home office advantage.
How do the playoffs differ compared to the regular season games? Well, I must give credit to the balcony fans during the regular season because they are yelling non-stop at every game. Before my current gig, my brother and I were up there at as many games as we could afford. During the playoffs, though, the entire Garden acts like those seated in the balcony, and those seated in the balcony act like it's tied in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees -- for three hours straight.
What's my favorite part of the playoffs? It's the little things: getting to court rehearsal only to see that they have changed the logo on the court to read "Eastern Conference Finals" instead of just "Playoffs 2008," or the fact that there is a ton of media at these games and that extra seating had to be added thus taking over our rehearsal space under the loge. Although, I must say that my most favorite is the countdown on the scorers' table between the two team benches where they cross off another number for each game and the number "1" is replaced by the Larry O'Brien trophy. Check it out at the next game -- I promise it will make you smile.
April 22, 2008 - Talk about Inspiration
One day, between court rehearsal and game time, coach decided to give us her traditional pep talk, which began with a reiteration of the rules.
Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of rules once you are on the team. We have to show up "game day" ready to events (which takes about an hour of preparation). We absolutely cannot have runs in our nylons. Our costumes always have to be sparkling clean, and we have all learned the hard way that Celtic green always bleeds into the white portion of your costume, no matter what temperature the water is.
A smaller, but nonetheless important rule is that we cannot wear more than one ring on our fingers. This is more for safety reasons than anything (it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye). However, at this recent pre-game speech, MArina brought up the possibility of wearing a second ring. Come on coach, this was supposed to be an inspirational speech, like the time you told us the reason behind the light shining on the bare portion of the wall at the Waltham practice facility. For those of you who don't know, the 16 World Championship banners hang on the wall of the Celtics' practice facility in Waltham. There is a blank space on which a small beacon of light shines 24/7 as inspiration for the players, as it will eventually be replaced with Banner 17.
To be honest, we were all somewhat confused by the second ring comment (especially because I was off that game and had to have it explained to me after). Really, what difference did it make if we were allowed to wear a second ring, and wasn't she supposed to be pumping us up for the game, not talking in riddles?
What we later realized was exactly which ring she was talking about. Not to jinx anything -- because I'm a Bostonian and I always have that underlying hesitation when it comes to our city's sports teams -- but it's the second ring we WILL be receiving in about two months time.
March 11, 2008 - The Impeachment Process
Since, it's an election year, I feel that it's appropriate to bring up the politics of the dance team. Since the beginning of the season, I have been receiving impeachment threats, particularly from Jen and Stacy, who, oddly enough, are two of my close friends.
Several reasons for these threats include: slip-ups while practicing routines, forgetting part of a costume, making funny faces in pictures, etc. They even created a PowerPoint presentation about it, but luckily ended up finding no grounds for dismissal.
In all fairness, though, I'm sure none of the presidential candidates have ever forgotten part of their third quarter routine. Now, fourth quarter, that's a whole 'nother story.
February 11, 2008 - Chantal's Assistant
So we have this teammate named Chantal, who is one of our veterans and a friend of mine. However, as the captain, I have become her unpaid personal assistant, available on a 24/7 basis.
When out to dinner with friends, I find myself making her decisions on which sneakers go with which uniform for an appearance the following day. When on the plane flying from Rome to London, I find her asking me to open her DayQuil.
This was not in the job description, and I now want to run, hide and call her mom when I hear "caaaaapppptainnnn..."
February 1, 2008 - Captain Sunshine
After a long day of board meetings, presentations and wearing a suit, the last thing I want to do is have people come to me with trivial issues -- not to mention the fact that I grew up in Boston, so I already have an overbearing satirical nature.
Allow me to share a few examples of the wonders of taking a deep breath.
One of the girls will call and say "Oh my goodness, I ripped my costume!" In my head, the response is "OK, sew it." After a deep breath, the actual spoken response is, "You should talk to one of the other girls on the team who knows of a good tailor you could bring it to before the next game."
Similarly, an e-mail read: "Oh, I had no idea I was dancing at next Monday's game! What do I do?" Inner monologue, "We've been using an intranet website for our scheduling for over a year, you really didn't check it?" My actual response: "These are the four girls who are off that game, please contact them, see who can sub, and let me know so I can fix the payroll. Thanks."
And my personal favorite was a phone call I received at 11:04 a.m. on a Saturday: "I am at the tanning salon right now. The sign says they open at 11 and they are not open. What do I do?" At this time, there was no deep breath, no tact, just a response.
"I don't even know what to tell you right now -- I don't work there. Grab a coffee and try again later or go to CVS and buy some tan in a can." No amount of deep breath training can prep you for situations like that.
These situations have given me some perspective, and if this is all I have to deal with, I should consider myself lucky. I could be dealing with bridezilla-type divas. Sometimes you just have to sit back and say hey, if this is going to make someone's life easier, then that's what I'm here for. Bring it on.
I guess that's where the nickname Captain Sunshine started. ;)
January 9, 2008 - Introducing Alexis
Since you were so kind as to click on my blog, I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. I'm Alexis, and I'm the Captain of the 2007-2008 Boston Celtics Dancers. Yes, you read that correctly. I capitalized the first letter of my title. I'm not running mad with power and a sense of entitlement just yet (although my teammates may disagree), and if I were the President or a CEO of some international organization I would do the same.
While being the Captain of a dance team might not seem like the most difficult or consequential job, it is quite important to me; thus, I am here sharing my thoughts.
I am a terrible secret keeper, which, in addition to my bio picture, is probably going to be detrimental to my candidacy for President. We didn't have a Captain last year because it was the first year of our existence and really it wouldn't have made sense. A few of us had been on college dance teams, but those have an inherent existing hierarchy, whereas with this team, everyone began together.
I found out about my appointment about a week before we started practice in August while I was in Washington DC for a conference (for my non-dance related job). Naturally, all I wanted to do was call friends and family. At this point most, people would say "if you can't trust your parents to keep a secret, who can you trust?" Those people don't have my mother who can't keep a secret to save her life, as demonstrated when I was walking out of the house to go see the movie The Sixth Sense and she grabbed my arm and excitedly said, "I just want to tell you something about the movie: he's dead." Enough said. This proved to be a lonely week until my Captainship was announced at the first practice.
So, skip ahead through three months of practices, trips to Europe, 29 wins, and here we are today. The amazing season has begun and no matter how many nicknames (Captain Crunch, Captain Jack Sparrow, Cappy, Tennille, Captain Sunshine, Capo, El Jefe, etc.) or impeachment threats I get from my teammates, I've learned some things from some unexpected sources.
From the team: Make myself available for questions, problems, and concerns, either dance or life related. Walk the line between friend and leader (i.e. bringing extra nylons to the games, but making the girl who forgot or ripped hers run a mile, and if she doesn't beat KG's time, she's in real trouble).
From Marina: Being the captain doesn't mean being the face of the dancers, doing the most promotions, or being in the front of routines. It means being reliable and doing whatever extra little things are necessary behind the scenes to make this year run as smoothly as possible, which can be anything from leading a warm up at the beginning of practice to tracking appearances to taking the girls to London to promote the preseason games.
From Google: Captain is a rank or title with various meanings. The word came to English via French from the Latin capitaneus ("chief"), which is itself derived from the Latin word caput ("head"). I should've learned this from those teeny-tiny extra credit questions squeezed into the corner of Mr. Pollock's Latin exams, but instead, I learned it here.
