Monday, May 18, 2009

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

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is tooo funny about the reference to Nia Peeples, my daughter Nichole (who is now an official "Beach Bum") was named after her character on Fame, I was a huge Fame junkie back in the day!!!! Congratulations to Nichole and the rest of the team!! It sounds like it is going to be tons of fun this summer!!!

KJ said...

Nia is very talented peformer (as is Nichole, Mary, and all the new Bums.)

She was great on Fame and Walker Texas Ranger (who knew dance translated to kicking butt on primetime tv!?!)

Thanks for the validation!

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more!!! LOL!!! Anytime!!! Kim Wild (a/k/a Nichole's Mom)

anthony0358 said...

I just want to wish this new team great success

this is year 7 of the "Beach Bums" and they all worked so hard and did such a wonderful job!

They all make the fans feel very special!

Good luck to the New Beach Bums!

Anonymous said...

Oh please - yet another lame attempt to recapture the magic from the early years with Party Marty.

"Dance teams" - aka cheerleaders - have no place in baseball.

Dave said...

I'm pretty sure the new Bums are a wee bit more talented than Marty. And far less likely to go on a homicidal rampage.

dpw said...

Something's not quite right with the beach bums -- they all appear to be ... white! Not to raise a stink or anything, but shouldn't the beach bums reflect Brooklyn's diversity a bit better than this?

Dave said...

Fair point. But we can't make people try out. We spread the word as much as we could...website, emails, facebook posts, tweets, etc...and then chose the best team from among those who tried out.

Anonymous said...

Ummm...Party Marty was a cheerleader, and not that great. I guess you weren't at the game where he gave the person wearing a hotdog suit a concussion.. I guess you thought that is part of baseball.

Anonymous said...

WOW! The Beach Bums make history. its about time dance came to baseball .This proves that the bums are more then just a pretty face!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

IT WAS GREAT TO SEE A DANCE TEAM MY KIDS LOVED IT. AND LOOK FOWARD TO SEEING THEM AGAIN. NOT ONLY DO WE COME TO BROOKLYN TO SEE THE GAME WE ALSO COME TO SEE THE BEACH BUMS!! GOOD GOING GIRLS

Anonymous said...

GREAT DANCE TEAM