Boston Magazine |
Bring It On!
The NBA’s last team to field a dance squad, the Celtics will finally roll one onto the parquet this season. Director MARINA ORTEGA is putting her new troupe through its paces.
By Jason Schwartz
1. SHOWTIME. A Los Angeles native, Ortega grew up rooting for Magic, Kareem, and the Lakers. Despite the rivalry, she claims that she’s consistently maintained a deep respect for the Green. “I’ve always loved Larry Bird, always.”
2. GARDEN VARIETY. The game plan is to have 30 routines in place by the end of the season, with genres ranging from jazz and hip-hop to showtunes. The key, Ortega says, is having a feel for the crowd. When she was in Atlanta she favored more hip-hop, while her Indiana audiences loved good ol’ rock ’n’ roll.
3. DANCE-OFF. About 400 dancers tried out for the 21 spots. Ortega scoured the country, holding auditions in New York, L.A., Sacramento, and Scottsdale. The squad will still have a local flavor, though—12 come from Massachusetts.
4. WORK DAYS, BOOGIE NIGHTS. “My girls are college graduates,” Ortega boasts. “These girls are very well-spoken and smart.” Dancing’s only a night job, after all, and the team includes teachers, marketing professionals, and more. They’d better be ready to study—Ortega plans a crash course in Celtics history. “It’s important,” she says. “The 16 championships.”
5. TOUGH CROWD Briefed on the rather chilly reception Red Sox fans gave Wally the Green Monster his first year, Ortega knew full well that Boston can be slow to warm up to new acts. “People told me, ‘You better put on your high boots because you’re going to walk through a lot of you-know-what with those fans.’”
6. RED IN THE FACE. Ardent traditionalist Red Auerbach has famously opposed the idea of a dance team for years. Ortega promises she’ll produce a “professional” squad for the C’s patriarch. And as for those costumes? “They’ll be showing some skin in a very classy, dignified way,” she says. “He would really appreciate the amount of talent.” Either that or choke on his cigar.
2. GARDEN VARIETY. The game plan is to have 30 routines in place by the end of the season, with genres ranging from jazz and hip-hop to showtunes. The key, Ortega says, is having a feel for the crowd. When she was in Atlanta she favored more hip-hop, while her Indiana audiences loved good ol’ rock ’n’ roll.
3. DANCE-OFF. About 400 dancers tried out for the 21 spots. Ortega scoured the country, holding auditions in New York, L.A., Sacramento, and Scottsdale. The squad will still have a local flavor, though—12 come from Massachusetts.
4. WORK DAYS, BOOGIE NIGHTS. “My girls are college graduates,” Ortega boasts. “These girls are very well-spoken and smart.” Dancing’s only a night job, after all, and the team includes teachers, marketing professionals, and more. They’d better be ready to study—Ortega plans a crash course in Celtics history. “It’s important,” she says. “The 16 championships.”
5. TOUGH CROWD Briefed on the rather chilly reception Red Sox fans gave Wally the Green Monster his first year, Ortega knew full well that Boston can be slow to warm up to new acts. “People told me, ‘You better put on your high boots because you’re going to walk through a lot of you-know-what with those fans.’”
6. RED IN THE FACE. Ardent traditionalist Red Auerbach has famously opposed the idea of a dance team for years. Ortega promises she’ll produce a “professional” squad for the C’s patriarch. And as for those costumes? “They’ll be showing some skin in a very classy, dignified way,” she says. “He would really appreciate the amount of talent.” Either that or choke on his cigar.
Originally published in Boston magazine, September 2006
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