When celebrating his birthday, the Heat doesn't do things by halves. Last season, as part of a series of events to celebrate its 35 years of existence, the Florida franchise invited its former dancers, the Miami Heat Dancers. Elisa Palermo finds herself among the approximately 150 women present on the floor, from several generations combined.
“ Some girls were there the year I was born! It was super inspiring to see girls in their fifties who still have so much energy. We all danced. It was nice to return to this atmosphere, without pressure », begins by delivering this Belgian from the Walloon region, contacted by USA Basketball.
This “pressure” within the Heat and its “cheerleader” training, she has experienced extensively. Back at the end of 2017, when she arrived in Miami with her French husband. Caught up in the “ frenzy » Floridian and having fallen in love with the city, they decided to settle there for a while. With a goal already in mind at home: to continue dancing by joining a team of professional dancers.
“Name three Heat players”
Dance is a serious matter for the Palermo family: his mother practiced it, his sister, who is now a project manager for a Belgian company, too. Elisa, without being “ a big fan » of basketball, has already played on European courts. For example, she was at the World Cup organized in 2014 in Spain. During the summer of 2018, while she was also thinking about the Dolphins (NFL) squad, she auditioned to join the very popular and renowned Dancers.
The audition, or rather the auditions, because a real obstacle course awaits her, among 350 to 400 girls, some coming from far away from the other side of the United States (Los Angeles). The candidates are tested on different types of dances, including hip hop, which is more present in Miami than elsewhere. “ I was very surprised to pass » this stage brings back our dancer who was immersed, when younger, in classical dance, then jazz and contemporary.
At the end of this day, another test: a questionnaire around basketball culture and the Heat. Name three players on the team, the coach, the number of titles won… “ I revised a little », remembers the one who stumbles on a question around the 3-point line. An interview follows in front of 15-20 people from different departments of the franchise (marketing, communication, etc.) to find out the motivations and background of each person.
A redhead… facing other redheads
His humor ” European style » seems to appeal to the jury. Her age, 27, does not pose a problem as she finds herself competing with young women, some of whom are still at university. A competition, where each tries to pull the other up, more “ positive and healthy » than what she experienced in Paris. It is also customary for new arrivals to enter into a “battle” against old ones similar to them. “ As a redhead, I was lined up with other redheads. »
Elisa Parlemo will then have to go through another physical test: tumbling down the steps of the Heat room with… a heavy firefighter outfit on her back, to test the level of resistance of the young women.
Radio and TV interviews follow one another to assess the way in which the dancers, true ambassadors of the club in the famous “community”, express themselves. You need to know “ stand “. Be photogenic, also, obviously, to appear on the franchise's communication media and present a complementary profile to others. “ We can't be 20 blondes or 20 brunettes, they like there to be something for everyone. », formulates Elisa Palermo who, at the end of all this, will be selected among the 20 candidates selected for the season.
His first on the floor of what we still called the American Airlines Arena? “ We're on top of it! », formulates the young woman who finds herself with nearly 20,000 pairs of eyes watching her and her dance teammates. From its first steps, it is marked by the solemnity of the national anthem sung before the match. A moment of complete silence quickly swept away by “ the fury, the noise, the buzz » from the NBA den. Here she is officially at the heart of the Heat reactor.
Elisa Palermo finds herself “benched”, like the players
So, are the auditions over? Not really. Before ” every match, we have to re-audition. This determines the placement, front or back, or even being 'benched'. It's quite humiliating because you have to be present at the match, for the reception. This happened to me once or twice in the first few months. We've all been there, it's normal, you have to adapt to the team's style. »
And the quantity of choreographies to learn, like a player faced with a set of systems. At the Heat, for each match, at home of course, a new dance and therefore hours of work beforehand. Rehearsal sessions which can sometimes last until early in the morning.
“ It's very intense, it's not just the matches. There are training sessions, promotions, charity events… It’s clearly a full-time job. You must be available to the team all season », Describes our specialist. Who adds: “ But the pay doesn't follow. » She does not have the right to mention the amount, but she believes that the salary was “not not up to the work done “.
During these two years very, very complicated » at this level, she must give dance lessons in parallel and perform for other companies. The fact remains that the link with the Florida club is permanent. “ We breathe, we sleep Miami Heat “, delivers the dancer who thus accumulates a quantity of “goodies” in white and red colors.
Erik Spoelstra's ex-wife was a dancer
The players ? The “Dancers” rub shoulders with them on a daily basis, because when the former warm up, the latter occupy the central part to review their ranges. Relative proximity because it is “ clearly written in the contract » that a “ friendship » should not be formed. In theory at least, because Elisa, who remembers a Goran Dragic or a Dwyane Wade (and his wife Gabrielle Union) always pleasant, recalls the Erik Spoelstra case: his ex-wife Nikki Sapp was a “cheerleader” of the club.
As for relationships with fans, no bad luck. She always enjoys meeting French people who contact her on social networks. For the rest, the “ distance » is always in order. Finally, after two years at the Heat, with other opportunities available to her, Elisa Palermo, now 32 years old, decided to turn the page, not keeping ” only good memories “. One regret, however, was this continued pressure which prevented her from taking full advantage of this unique experience.
We ask him what inspires him to see certain franchises do without “cheerleaders” in the strict sense, like the Spurs, or to present mixed troops. She remembers that these questions were raised internally when she was in Miami, at a time when dancers sued NBA or NFL franchisesbelieving they had been underpaid and mistreated.
According to Elisa, it was then a question of “ DELETE » the Dancers, which were ultimately maintained while remaining 100% female. The one who recently opened her own entertainment company and who works in luxurious places in Miami, cannot imagine seeing these troupes of dancers disappear. “ This would bring opportunity to so many young women. At the community level, we see all these little girls… If we take that away from them, this dream, this magic… »
Elisa Palermo is now waiting for the next anniversary of the Heat, with whom she plans to make an appointment every five years. To believe that this magic is not likely to leave her.
