Laker Girls
Encyclopedia
The Laker Girls are an all-female National Basketball Association Cheerleading
squad that performs and supports the Los Angeles Lakers
basketball
team in home matches.
They also perform at many other events and venues.
The Laker Girls hold auditions at the Staples Center for new recruits on the third Saturday of July of every year. Each girl auditioning needs to be 104-130 lbs. (135 lbs. is considered if the audition goes very well) and must come with a resume of their previous jobs and gigs. It is required that each girl auditioning comes prepared with her own routine and is taught two routines that each girl must perform for the current Laker Girls as well as some judges.
It was as a Laker Girl that Paula Abdul
was "discovered" by the group The Jacksons
, in which she was hired by them to choreograph the music video for the song "Torture
". This led to her doing the choreography for their Victory Tour, as well as other chances to do the choreography for other music videos.
As a former Laker Girl, it is a yearly tradition for Abdul to be a judge at the auditions each year and afterwards she takes all of the Laker girls along with the women who didn't make the squad and buys them dinner.
A Television Movie of the same name aired in 1990, detailing the fictional tribulations of a trio of acolytes trying out to become members of the cheer leading troupe.
National Basketball Association Cheerleading
National Basketball Association Cheerleading, or simply NBA Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in Canada and the United States that supports a professional basketball team...
squad that performs and supports the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team in home matches.
They also perform at many other events and venues.
The Laker Girls hold auditions at the Staples Center for new recruits on the third Saturday of July of every year. Each girl auditioning needs to be 104-130 lbs. (135 lbs. is considered if the audition goes very well) and must come with a resume of their previous jobs and gigs. It is required that each girl auditioning comes prepared with her own routine and is taught two routines that each girl must perform for the current Laker Girls as well as some judges.
It was as a Laker Girl that Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
was "discovered" by the group The Jacksons
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
, in which she was hired by them to choreograph the music video for the song "Torture
Torture (The Jacksons song)
"Torture" is the second single released off the album Victory by the band, The Jacksons. Written by Jackie Jackson and fellow Motown veteran Kathy Wakefield, the song is about someone ending a relationship, and the torture that a person can receive whilst trying to end it...
". This led to her doing the choreography for their Victory Tour, as well as other chances to do the choreography for other music videos.
As a former Laker Girl, it is a yearly tradition for Abdul to be a judge at the auditions each year and afterwards she takes all of the Laker girls along with the women who didn't make the squad and buys them dinner.
A Television Movie of the same name aired in 1990, detailing the fictional tribulations of a trio of acolytes trying out to become members of the cheer leading troupe.
Notable former cheerleaders
- Paula AbdulPaula AbdulPaula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
- Lisa Joann ThompsonLisa Joann ThompsonLisa Joann Thompson is an American dancer, choreographer, actress, and model who was a Warrior Girl, Laker Girl, Fly Girl, Motown Live Dancer, and Backup dancer to some of the most prominent artists in the musical industry...
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