A timeout was called in the Boston Celtics-Toronto Raptors game at Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 17 with the score was 97-97 and four minutes remained while the crowd roared.
The players left the court on a timeout, and the Raptors’ dance team, known as The North Side Crew, came out. Six men and 10 women burst into a dance with passion and energy for a short but intense minute and a half.
Dominic Cooper-Clarke, a dancer and one of the three captains of the group, was among them. He ended the dance almost out of breath, but with a smile. The crowd was roaring.
“It’s very exciting to have the ability to impact someone, to make a fan’s day brighter,” he said. “But you have to be more than a dancer. We also interact with fans with T-shirt tosses, running in the stands.
“If the fans are a little bit mellow, we have to pump them up,” Cooper-Clarke said.
The North Side Crew dancing in a timeout in the game Boston Celtics-Toronto Raptors on Nov. 17, 2023. Photo credit: Toronto Raptors
The Raptors lost, but whatever the result, the North Side Crew shakes the arena every game.
They are one reason the Raptors’ crowd is considered one of the most boisterous in the NBA, where the North Side Crew were pioneers.
“We became the first NBA cheerleaders team to have women and men in the 2018-2019 season, the one of the championship,” Cooper-Clarke said.
Lindsay Aquin and Derick Robinson are the other captains of the band. The group has 22 dancers, and they rotate to have 16 in each game. But in the summer audition, 500 dancers showed up to compete.
Shavar Blackwood, the choreographer of the group, is one of the judges who participated in selecting dancers.
“I look for the whole package of full dancers,” Blackwood said. “I look for dancers who pick up quickly, who understand the details and strong performers.”
“But I also want people with positive and pleasant energy. I get up from my table in the cast, I walk around and I literally see how many people are looking at me with a smile,” he said.
“I remind the dancers every game of the opportunity to enhance the experience of everyone in the arena. I try to empower them, to inspire them to be passionate, the energy is contagious. That energy helps the ball to go to the net,” the choreographer said.
During auditions, dancers are taught a routine and then perform it a few times in groups of 75. Dancers are selected to go to the next round and then perform in groups of 10. The judges then select the final team.
While some Raptors players might be guaranteed to return next season, no dancer in this group is guaranteed to return.
“Our system is very fair to make sure there is an opportunity for everybody,” Blackwood said. “Dancers of previous years still have to do the audition as well. They have to show their willingness to be part of it.”
However, the intense work behind the scenes continues throughout the season. Lindsay Aquin, another captain, said it takes a lot to perform with such a high level of sync and effort.
“A lot of people don’t see the work that goes in prior to the game rehearsals,” Aquin said. “Our choreographer has to prepare the material before every rehearsal. We have to do our workouts. There’s a lot of extra work outside.
“It’s a big commitment,” Aquin said.
Besides that individual work conditioning, they train for seven hours weekly.
Dancer Angelika Manuela said nutrition is a key part.
“We do a lot and we need to be at a high level,” Manuela said. Like her mates, Manuela has to deal with the handicap of juggling jobs.
“I teach professional dance and I do children’s programs,” she said.
Cooper-Clarke and Aquin are also dancing teachers.
“Being part of the North Side Crew, it’s a full-time job,” Cooper-Clarke said. “It’s a part-time job, but the type of commitment makes us have to prepare for it like it was a full-time job. I want to move myself to a very high standard.”
The North Side Crew must push itself to a very high standard to perform in front of 20,000 people, with the required control of the emotions that come with it.
Aquin said her feelings were running high when she performed for the first time in the arena.
“Oh, my God, I was so nervous,” she said, chuckling. “I was on the court, and I just kept looking up and up and the seats kept going and going. It was like wow, it was such a humbling experience.
“It’s cool seeing the rookies of the group coming and seeing their eyes lighting up in their first games,” Aquin said.
Fans get excited when the dancers begin. Those non-stop roars have become among the most feared noises in the NBA.
Manuela said she is privileged to dance in front of such good fans.
“I feel blessed seeing how many people come,” she said. “You have to take a moment out of you and look around. You have to give yourself credit for having this opportunity to impact so many people.”