By RJ Hunt
Editor
The WCC’s competitive dance team being shown on the jumbotron during their performance at Little Caesars Arena. From left: Zava Becker-Chase, Eva Klasen, Eliza Williams, Emma Kirchmeier, Alese Baskin. Not pictured: Hannah Otiento. RJ Hunt | Washtenaw Voice.
With 30 minutes before tip-off, WCC’s competitive dance team had the highlight of their season when they performed at the Grizzlies vs Pistons game at Little Caesars Arena. This was the team’s first time performing at the Pistons game.
Coach Perrmella Harris has owned a cheer and dance studio for 25 years, and she knows a thing or two about performing at Pistons games. “We used to go to the Pistons games all the time and perform there,” Harris said. “It became an annual thing…it was one of our biggest highlights.” Harris wants to bring this tradition to WCC.
Harris asked the girls how many of them have been to a Pistons game. She said about half of them raised their hands. She then asked if any had performed at a Pistons game and the hands that were up, went down.
Harris talked about the many obstacles it took for the performance to come to fruition. The first was in order to perform, they had to help sell 75 tickets to the game. With only six dancers, Harris wasn’t confident this was a mark that could be reached. Therefore, she reached out to her friend who is the coach for Oakland University’s cheer team. Harris felt that if they teamed up, they could sell the 75 tickets and the performance would look even better by having both squads dancing together.
WCC’s competitive dance team joins Oakland University’s cheer team for a group photo. Courtesy of Perrmella Harris.
The next part was paper work and having everything cleared by the Pistons. Harris described this as a long process from filling out waivers to making sure the music was sent to the Pistons on time and approved. They also had to fundraise money for tickets. Even though the dancers were performing at the game, they still had to buy tickets to get in.
Lastly, the team had to get through the preparation. Harris knew the girls would be nervous during the live performance, so she made sure they felt the pressure during practice. To prepare them for the performance, Harris would have the dancers “test out.” She would have them go one by one, and if they did the routine flawlessly, then they were good to go. If they had the slightest mess up, then they were subject to some kind of conditioning method such as up-downs and squats.
Once it was showtime, the nerves were still there, but the team powered its way through the performance, and at the end received a nice ovation from those in attendance. Team captain Eliza Williams was smiling ear to ear when recapping the performance. “Me and the team were definitely nervous, but we were excited at the same time,” Williams said. “We knew we got the dance (down) and we did our thing.” Williams was amazed by the energy in the arena and all the lights being on her and the team. She described the vibe of the arena “felt so live.”
Williams hopes this is not the last time the team gets to perform at a Pistons game. “I am looking forward to another opportunity like this,” Williams said. Harris said that she will absolutely be down to do this again. “I don’t take (performing at the game) for granted,” Harris said. “It was truly monumental. It’s a memory that will last forever.”
