Meet the New Beach Bums

Well, the Dance Team audition was a success.

We had a big turnout (including certain staff members who just happened to be around the office on a Saturday morning in the off-season), and the participants were all great.

Avrey (the captain/choreographer) spent the first 45 minutes or so teaching everyone a dance routine, and they then performed in small groups. I was amazed that they were able to learn and repeat what seemed like a pretty complicated dance so quickly, but I guess that's why they're the dancers and I'm just blogging. (For the record, I have 3-5 go-to dance moves -- including a semi-breakdancing-backspin -- that I try to alternate depending on the song. These moves are only to be used in near-darkness or on an overly-crowded dance floor, in order to ensure anonymity.)

After everyone danced, we interviewed each participant to get a sense of their personalities, backgrounds, and how they'll be able to interact with fans. This was really where KJ and I tried to be somewhat useful, since that's more our area of expertise, while we left the actual dance evaluations to people without two left feet. (This was also when KJ decided to really show his age, and drop a Nia Peeples reference on a girl who probably wasn't even born when Nia Peeples was popular. I then promptly showed my age by laughing, thereby exposing myself as the only other person in the room who knew who Nia Peeples was. No relation to Ross, by the way, for anyone who was curious.)

Overall, we were all pretty impressed and happy with how smart, funny, and engaging so many of the participants were. Several of them have had experience dancing for other pro teams, and cited the interaction with fans as their favorite part of the job. Everyone on the panel agreed that the Beach Bums are going to be a really positive addition to our team, both on and off the field.

Full disclosure: there's already been some internal debate about the merits of having a Dance Team at a baseball game, and I'm sure there will be more among fans this season. With anything new comes a wide spectrum of opinions. Bear in mind that above all else, Cyclones games are about having fun. As you know (to the horror of strict baseball purists everywhere) we've also had clowns, dogs, horses, kings, knights, fire-eaters, stilt-walkers, dragons, human bowling balls, an emcee in a diaper, leprechauns, superheroes, pirates, and countless other shenanigans over the years.

In the end, I think we picked a Beach Bum team that is not only full of dedicated and talented dancers, but people who will really be able to represent that sense of fun that surrounds every Cyclones game.

Stay tuned for more info on the 2009 Beach Bums.

-- Dave