Dallas Mavericks Dancers to Show Less Skin, Clean-Up Routines
The changes come after the team faced a sexual harassment scandal
By Alice Barr ••
No more skimpy uniforms and provocative routines. The Dallas Mavericks announced big changes to their dance squad Wednesday
No more skimpy uniforms and provocative routines. The Dallas Mavericks announced big changes to their dance squad Wednesday.
This comes as the Mavs are trying to revamp their image, following a sexual harassment and misconduct scandal in the front office. NBC 5 spoke to young dancers and a former Mavs dancer about the new look.
Inside Lifesong Studio in Grapevine, young girls are learning the steps to becoming dancers, and young women.
"Little girls look up to big girls and everything that the big girls do they're trying to emulate and be just like them," said owner Carolyn Franks.
So, Franks is glad to see some of their biggest role models making big changes.
"I remember watching when I was little because I wanted to be a dancer and I would kind of get uncomfortable because I was like, "Oh, am I going to have to wear all that?" said 13-year-old Lifesong student Kaley Hudak.
When the NBA season opens this fall, Mavs dancers won't be wearing the skimpy two piece uniforms of the past and fans won't see some of their more provocative moves either.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform during a timeout as the Toronto Raptors take on the the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on December 20, 2013.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform during a timeout as the Toronto Raptors take on the the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on December 20, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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The Dallas Mavericks dancers perform during a timeout as the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on December 14, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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The Dallas Mavericks dancers perform during a timeout as the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on December 14, 2013.
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The Dallas Mavericks dancers perform at American Airlines Center on October 23, 2013.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform at American Airlines Center on March 6, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform at American Airlines Center on March 6, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform at American Airlines Center on February 26, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform at American Airlines Center on February 24, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform at American Airlines Center on February 20, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 11: A Dallas Mavericks Dancer performs at American Airlines Center on February 11, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 11: A Dallas Mavericks Dancer performs at American Airlines Center on February 11, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 11: A Dallas Mavericks Dancer performs at American Airlines Center on February 11, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 11: A Dallas Mavericks Dancer wears sunglasses at American Airlines Center on February 11, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 09: A Dallas Mavericks dancer performs at American Airlines Center on February 9, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 06: A Dallas Mavericks dancer performs at American Airlines Center on February 6, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - JANUARY 27: The Dallas Mavericks dancers perform at American Airlines Center on January 27, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 10: A Dallas Mavericks dancer performs at American Airlines Center on December 10, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 10: A Dallas Mavericks dancer performs at American Airlines Center on December 10, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 24: A Dallas Mavericks cheerleader performs at American Airlines Center on November 24, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 17: The Dallas Mavericks Dancers perform during a preseason game at American Airlines Center on October 17, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 14: A Dallas Mavericks cheerleader performs at American Airlines Center on November 14, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 12: The Dallas Mavericks cheerleaders perform at American Airlines Center on November 12, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 07: A Dallas Mavericks cheerleader performs at American Airlines Center on November 7, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 07: A Dallas Mavericks cheerleader performs at American Airlines Center on November 7, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
It's part of the 100-day plan new CEO Cynthia Marshall put in place when she took over the organization post-sexual harassment scandal in the corporate offices. She sat down with NBC 5’s Deborah Ferguson in April.
"We are going to transform," Marshall said at the time. "We are going to have a different culture than the one that was talked about in Sports Illustrated, and I already see that."
Marshall told NBC 5's media partner at The Dallas Morning News that while the dancers themselves are doing nothing wrong, "we want the focus to be on the dancers as artists and to highlight their skills, not be eye candy or sexualized."
Hunter Blackwell spent the 2014-2016 seasons as a Dallas Mavericks dancer.
"I see a correlation," Blackwell said. "I see where they're coming from. But from my standpoint, I feel like we're entertainers. We're here to dance and dance is dance at the end of the day."
Hunter said dancers work hard to look and move the way they do and she thinks it's up to parents to explain what's age-appropriate.
"It was never something that I was uncomfortable with doing," Blackwell said. "And I love children, I love the thought of a little girl looking up to me the way I looked up to them and I never felt like I was letting anybody down."
This is just one piece of CEO Cynthia Marshall's overall plan, focused on a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior, mentoring programs for women employees, and hiring more women into leadership positions.
Marshall also met with the head of the Mavs Maniaacs, the team's male dance squad. She told The Dallas Morning News they also discussed that squad's look.
