Wizard Girl Kelly

Wizard Girl Kelly (photo courtesy of the Washington Wizards)

Washington D.C. has long been packed with some big names and some powerful influences. Politics aside, the Wizard Girls are at the top of that list (at least my list) and so is my new blonde pal Kelly who is in her rookie year with the east coast dance team.

She’s energetic, has the kind of hair Pantene commercials are made of, and of course…she’s got the dance moves we all wish we had. But hair and slick moves aside, Kelly is the total package with the desire to always give back to her community, loves the intensity of the sport she dances for and isn’t afraid to photo bomb anyone and everyone possible. And she’s humble…unless you talk about her college dance team of course…

I also feel like I should warn New Yorkers, because Kelly says D.C. trumps New York. Fighting words?

Man Cave Daily: Where are you from?

Kelly: Warrenton, VA–a small town most people just call Northern Virginia.

MCD: Occupation or School?

K: I graduated from Hofstra University, in Long Island, NY. I majored in journalism and was on the dance team. We just so happen to be back-to-back Division One Hip-hop National Champions, but I don’t like to brag.

MCD: Years on team, did you make it your first try?

K: I am a rookie! I was lucky enough to make it on my first try.

MCD: Tell me about your dance background? You have moves I wish I had; I know you didn’t just learn them…

K: I have been a dancer for a long time; I actually grew up studying ballet, but I got pretty serious about it in college while on the dance team. Not only did we dance at sporting events, we competed in Collegiate Nationals. I love a team environment; I was never the one who hated group projects in school. So after graduating I needed a new team.

I made the New York Jets Flight Crew, and I had a great season cheering for the NFL. I moved back to the D.C. area this summer and was lucky enough to become a Wizard Girl!

MCD: Hardest part about being an NBA Dancer?

K: Well there is a lot of hard work that goes into being a NBA dancer, but the payoff is so fun that the work is worth it! We are constantly learning new material, and getting ready for upcoming games. With 40-plus games and multiple performances in a game, we have a lot of choreography to get to Wizard Girl standards!

MCD: Have you ever gone onto the court and forgotten your routine?

K: Thank goodness I have never forgotten a routine on the court! I don’t think my coach would be too happy about that. Derric, our coach works extremely hard to give us new, entertaining, and innovative routines. And we work hard to get them right for game day. But my teammates would tell you I may have a moment or two right before we perform that I think I have forgotten everything. But I have learned that I don’t, and they have learned to ignore me.

MCD: Favorite NBA player?

K: What I think makes the Wizards so fun to watch is how they work together. It’s hard to pick a favorite!

MCD: Best part about basketball?

K: How everything is close-up and more intimate than other sports. It just adds to the excitement and intensity. I love being able to see the faces of the team I am cheering on, as well as those cheering with us in the stands. It may sound weird, but I love the personality that basketball has. Seeing a player give everything they have on the court in those final seconds, pull off some creative and athletic moves to win the game, and then see the fans right there with them.

MCD: Coolest thing about your arena?

K: The Verizon Center is electric; D.C. packs the place out to see the Wizards continue in their great season. I love that from the highest rows to courtside, fans are cheering the entire game.

MCD: If you had a Real Housewives intro…

K: Ughhh, I am feeling a lot of pressure on this one! My teammates and I joke about if we had a

Wizard Girl Kelly has all the right moves and words to live by (photo courtesy Washington Wizards)

Wizard Girl TV show; I’m telling you these girls are hilarious. So I don’t want to disappoint.

MCD: Miley or Taylor?

K: Both! Is that cheating?

MCD: Biggest misconception about NBA dancers?

K: Well I can think of a handful off the top of my head; most involving a lack of brains, or humility. But we don’t dance for other people’s opinion; that is the biggest misconception. Any girl dancing for a professional team has worked extremely hard for that position, and knows how much goes into it. You will be hard-pressed to find a place with more driven, kind, hilarious, and intelligent women than the sidelines of an NBA court, and they happen to be pretty great dancers too.

MCD: Dream vacation?

K: I am constantly talking about traveling, to my family and my friends. We have so many dream trips planned in our heads it’s hard to pick just one. I would really love to go to Greece, but I would honestly go most anywhere in the world right now! I mean, if I didn’t have practice…

MCD: Most embarrassing thing in your recent Google history?

K: It’s funny you should ask that. Last night in the locker room we were doing a pretty serious Google investigation into Sally Hansen, to see what she looked like. It turns out, she’s not even real! If you have no idea what I’m talking about it is completely understandable.

MCD: Most random thing in your purse?

K: I was really hoping for something interesting–I have nail polish… not cool at all.

MCD: Fan of selfies?

K: I don’t take a lot of selfies. I never get the angle right or something. Buuut I do photobomb a lot of selfies, and well, any other picture. It is definitely something the Wizard Girls have rubbed off on me. We all do it; no one and no picture is safe.

MCD: Favorite thing about DC?

K: Coming from New York I wasn’t sure how D.C. was going to stack up. And I hate to break it to all my New Yorkers but it’s better–a lot better. I love that although it is a huge city it can still feel small. I love how beautiful it is; my drive to the Verizon Center is marked with the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House–I could go on and on.

MCD: When I say the letter “W” what’s the first word that comes to mind?

K: Well I instantly think of WIN! It may be because I am still thinking about the Wizards’ win last night.

MCD: App you use most?

K: Probably the map–directions are not my strength.

MCD: Homebody or adventurer?

K: Definitely an adventurer. I am up for anything, and love being spontaneous! My teammate and I made a 2015 bucket list; they aren’t huge trips or anything. Just small ideas that keep us trying new things! I’m really looking forward to trying to trapeze, and a color run.

MCD: Most adventurous thing you’ve done?

K: Moving back to D.C. this summer was such an adventure! I never thought I would be here and dancing for the Wizards. And now that I am, I don’t know how I lived without it. This city and my teammates bring an adventure everyday!

MCD: Tell me something people would find completely out of character?

K: I used to be a competitive figure skater and I am obsessed with board games! I also have recently started volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association. It is a cause very close to my heart, and the Association does such great work to help those with the disease and their families, and help fund research to find a cure!

To end on a somewhat motivational note because I know Kelly will approve, I will leave you with one of Kelly’s favorite quotes, which is also now one of my favorites: “All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.”

To see the original interview along with more smashing photos of Kelly, click here to see it on CBS Man Cave Daily. Thanks to the Wizard Girls for partaking in this series and thanks to Ideal Protein Houston for sponsoring the series. Ideal Protein can help you with many aspects of weight loss and management, but my favorite is their weekly weight and body measurements analysis that they offer clients.