Los Angeles Lakers: The tale of a Laker Girl

When thinking about professional cheerleaders, there are two main teams that come to mind: The Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Becoming a cheerleader for either of these two teams are considered the crème-de-la-crème of professional dancing jobs.

In 1979, after Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Los Angeles Lakers, he strived to add more entertainment to NBA games. Previously cheerleaders were not typical of NBA teams but Buss decided to commission the Laker Girls as a part of the “Showtime” zest. With similar sentiment to how he ran his team, Dr. Buss only recruited the best of the best to become a Laker Girl, and as a result, many dancers turned famous choreographers emerged, the most well-known being Paula Abdul.

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The Process

Before becoming an official dancer for the elite squad, the participants must attend their annual tryout session which falls in either later July or early August.  Hundreds of girls from across the globe audition in hopes of capturing one of the 22 available spots on the team. Unfortunately, 90% of the candidates won’t make it through all four rounds.

While it is a tremendous honor to be selected as a Laker Girl, it unfortunately does not pay the bills. Many of the members of the team have regular day jobs as well ranging from kinesiologist to students to butcher’s assistants. The audition process as a whole is extremely grueling, the tryouts can last upwards of nine hours.

Once the candidates arrive they asked to perform an  across-the-floor dance combination, according to Laker Girl director, Lisa Estrada. After this performance the first series of cuts are made.

The candidates are then asked to perform  their own short routine in addition to learning a routine on-site.  After the selections are made, the remaining group of candidates attend a formal job interview in which they discuss their volunteer contributions in addition to their dance capabilities.

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“Hollywood’s Fairy Tale Ending”

When selected as a member of the world-famous squad, your role takes full effect. Not only are you a member of the team,  but you become involved in other facets of the Laker community. For example, visiting residents at healthcare facilities around Los Angeles to attending Camp Laker and signing autographs to being present at the training facility post-NBA draft. While the road to becoming a Laker Girl is not easy in the slightest, the end reward makes for the perfect “Hollywood Ending”.