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Some people go to Portland Trail Blazer games to watch basketball. They notice how the coach has rearranged the lineup to accommodate for injuries, who is being lazy on defense, who just hit a triple-double, blah blah blah.
I don’t even know what a triple-double is. Show me the BlazerDancers.
Not in a gross, leery way, but the highlight of going to Moda Center—at least for this fan—is watching the BlazerDancers do their hyperspeed choreography to contemporary pop hits and seeing the Stunt Team’s flyers sail through the air and then back safely into their partner’s arms. There’s a chance I could even stumble upon a Rip City Crew dance battle on the concourse. I’m also in it for the snacks, the benched players’ fashion choices, and silly game-break challenges, like when fans try to win a car by sinking a halfcourt shot.
Michelle Burch has been the BlazerDancers’ coach for 18 seasons and also oversees all of the NBA team’s dance squads as the Trail Blazers’ senior manager of performance teams. She’s also a former BlazerDancer (and Jefferson Dancer!) herself who has performed at the Super Bowl and in Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. Burch says I’m not alone in focusing on all the pomp and circumstance at Blazer games rather than the professional basketball happening on the court.
“Lots of people go for the game itself. And then other people also enjoy all of the entertainment around it—the lights, the intros, the entertainers, the performers—all of that. Which we love,” Burch says. “We’re there to enhance that experience.”
But even for a dance fan with a moderately trained eye, all of the performances during a Blazer game can be confusing. There are three separate dance squads affiliated with the Trail Blazers, all with their own styles, uniforms and dancers. There are many commonalities, though: All three squads are technically co-ed, though the Stunt Team has the most fellas since every “flyer” needs a “base.” Dancers are as young as 18 years old, all the way up through their 30s; a typical dance lifespan is three to five years on a squad, according to Burch.
All of the dancers are paid hourly for everything they do, such as practices, games and community appearances. (Cheerleader compensation is a contentious issue. In 2015, a Milwaukee Bucks cheerleader sued the team for wage theft; the lawsuit settled in 2017. The Netflix show America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders exposed low wages when a squad veteran said she earned about as much as a Chick-fil-A worker. Burch politely declined to reveal their exact rate but said dancers with seniority are paid more than the rookies.)
We’ve made this handy li’l clip-and-save chart for when the lights dim, a Zara Larsson song begins, and you need to determine exactly which squad you’re watching.
