What a night to remember at BC Place when the Uproar Dance Team took the stage with LL Cool J before the Lions’ home opener on June 17th.
The Uproar’s choreographer, Dana Dixon, said it was a historic moment for the dance team to collaborate with the renowned Hip-Hop artist.
“My biggest thing with any kind of live performance is that you are flexible. You can have it all planned out, but it doesn’t come together until you are there. I told my team to take it all in, let’s approach this with a flexible mind and enjoy the ride because it’s going to be awesome,” Dixon said.
The phone started buzzing after the reveal.
A mixture of exhilarating excitement was trending toward the home opener. Following the halftime announcement at the Lions preseason game on June 1st, LL Cool J and his team were going to help the Lions knock the Edmonton Elks out.
From there, it was all about communicating, practicing and improvising before the major event.
“We were all waiting to hear who it was going to be because last year, there was One Republic. This year, we have the concert on top of the halftime performance which is six minutes. And their movements throughout the game,” Dixon said.
“We had lots of work to do and when they finally announced it was going to be LL, I freaked out because that’s my generation of Hip-Hop.”
Dixon, previously in charge of our Felions with dance team manager, Alexandra Severyn ,for four seasons returned to the rebranded Uproar Dance Team for 2023. After taking a break last year, the former Vancouver Grizzlies dancer and So You Think You Can Dance Canada finalist has something special in store this season.
With the new ownership of Amar Doman that has instituted support for the Uproar Dance Team, Dixon feels high-spirited about the dance team’s future.
“I really feel the whole BC Lions team is just so supportive. There’s so much backing for the Uproar that it feels like we are finally getting that acknowledgment. Historically, the Felions were a staple in the culture, but I feel we have this bigger vision with the Uproar which I’m excited to see how everything plays out,” Dixon added.
As thrilled as she was to work with LL Cool J’s crew and the high-profile choreographer, High-Hat, Dixon had to educate some of her dance team members about LL Cool J because they weren’t born yet.
“They’re like LL who? I said to do their homework. I just started dropping information about LL on what he did and who he is. I was teaching them a new routine anyway, on top of this, I said we had to do Mama Said Knock You Out,” Dixon recalled.
She went back and forth with LL Cool J’s team to ensure this collaboration is going to succeed. Dixon and her assistant, Hanna, sent a demo tape to LL Cool J’s team, letting them know that there are 41 Uproar dancers on standby.
From there, it was all about learning new moves through video tutorials and nailing the choreography down before the final rehearsal with LL Cool J in person.
“It was just a huge privilege to have these conversations with High-Hat. I was freaking out a little bit, not going to lie. But she made everyone feel at ease and she was grateful that we were going to be a part of this on such a short notice,” Dixon recalled.
“We were on this time constraint that I only saw the team once before the home opener. Thank goodness for technology, the girls worked so hard to learn the choreography. On the day of, I’d give them the spacing and where they are going to be so that we are as prepared as possible,” she added.
After a few live rehearsals, the pregame jitters slowly went away. LL Cool J and the dance team rocked BC Place up while the Lions shut out the Elks 22-0, their blanking of an opponent since 1977m in front of 33,103 fans.
Dixon was thrilled to see the addition of the LL heads during the pregame performance, as well as how her team handled this collaboration with poise.
“You’re always pivoting, you’re always thinking on the ball. You can prepare as much as possible, but things are going to change, I think we dealt with it very well and she [High-Hat] was pleased with how the team looked,” Dixon said.
With the Lions trending upwards early into the season coming off a dominant win in Winnipeg, the Uproar Dance Team also set their tone for the 2023 season with that home opener performance. Dixon and Severyn now ensure the ship keeps sailing.
“I think having half the team being vets and half first-years, it really helps. Because I can look to those vets and tell them to grab a couple of younger girls if they don’t know what they’re doing. They’ve come in for extra rehearsals, these dancers work hard. But also, the expectations got to be high. This is a great opportunity for them,” Dixon added.
The building of team chemistry begins when Dixon and Severyn are assembling the team together during the auditions. Despite the short amount of time to prep for the next home games, Dixon has high hopes that the team will gel stronger each time.
“This is my first time having the team called the Uproar Dance Team, I don’t take that slightly. There’s so much talent on his team, so just highlighting their strengths and we have Roary who adds to the whole presentation,” Dixon said.
Little details Dixon will be paying attention to in 2023 will be how the crowd reacts to the music. The goal is to entertain different generations of demographic, so there could be a mix of rock and country in the works.
“I think music is key on what we present to the fans. I want them to feel entertained not only because of the dance performance but because of the music choices. It’s important to give the fans what they want.”
