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Justin J. Johnson

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Justin Johnson works for the Weber State Athletics Communications department. This story originally appeared on the Weber State website at www.weberstatesports.com.

OGDEN — Imagine it’s a winter night, in the heart of the NBA season, at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Out on the court, in front of thousands of cheering fans, a former Weber State Wildcat is performing.

Understandably, your first thought was probably Damian Lillard.

Lillard, however, wasn’t the only Weber State alumni to reach their dreams of becoming a professional last season.

Janessa Thompson, a three-year member of the Weber State Spirit Squad, spent the 2013-14 NBA season as a member of the Denver Nuggets Dance Team, accomplishing a lifelong dream of becoming a professional dancer.

“It has always been a dream of mine to dance on a professional team,” Thompson said. “When I was at Weber State, I knew I wanted to continue dancing after I graduated, but getting a degree was important to me. Every time I watched sports games on TV, I would always look for the dancers and cheerleaders, hoping to be in their position on day.”

Thompson earned her dream position after a rigorous two week audition process that started out with over 100 women hoping to make the team. That number was cut down to 60 semifinalists after the first day, and then down to 27 finalists after the third day.

The 27 finalists moved on to a two-week training camp, working with the team trainer and Nuggets Dancers head coach, until the final 18 women were selected for the team.

“It was one of the hardest audition processes I have ever been through, but I learned so much along the way and made so many new friends,” Thompson said. “My favorite part about being a professional dancer is being able to do what I love in front of thousands of people. I also love being involved in the community and having the opportunity to participate in appearances throughout the year. I was able to attend an event for children with MS, and it was such an amazing experience being able to see the smiles on those kid’s faces and be part of such a special night for them.”

For Thompson, a typical game day with a 7 p.m. tip-off starts around 3:30 p.m. with her arrival at the Pepsi Center to get costumes ready for that evening’s game, and then an hour setting routines, time-outs, and intros for the game. After a short dinner break, the team meets with fans for an hour leading up to tipoff, before heading to the court for the games.

“I absolutely love dancing at games; it’s a very rewarding experience,” Thompson said. “Being a Denver Nuggets Dancer takes a lot of time commitment. Most of the games there were 12 girls that would dance, giving six girls the night off. Everyone had about two games off a month. There specific games, such as opening night, Christmas, and promotion nights, where all 18 members were required to be at the game.”

Thompson noted that the game day preparation for the Denver Nuggets Dance Team was very similar to what it was like for Weber State’s Spirit Squad, with practice 2-3 times per week for several hours. The main difference being that the NBA season has a lot more games. NBA teams play 41 home games during the regular season, in addition to preseason and postseason.

“We learned over 50 routines, 10 sideline routines, and halftime performances,” Thompson said. “I loved learning all of the different routines because the style was a little bit different that it was at Weber State, so I learned a lot and grew as a dancer.”

Thompson, who grew up in Kaysville, and attended nearby Davis High School, started dancing at a young age and quickly fell in love with it.

“My mom put me in dance when I was three years old, and I have been dancing ever since,” Thompson said. “I think because of my mom, I am where I am today. She continued to push me and encourage me throughout the years. She made almost all of my dance costumes as I was growing up which was something that was very special to me. I started competing when I was in Kindergarten and continued until I graduated college.

“Dance is a big part of my life and I think I have such a strong passion for it because I feel like I can express myself through dance.”

Thompson also credits her older sister as one of her inspirations and role-models as she was growing up.

“She started dancing when she was four and had a strong passion for it as well. When I was a year old, I would steal her tap shoes and dance around the house. I think that’s when my mom knew I wanted to dance too. Many people tell us that we dance alike, probably because I was always trying to copy her.

Thompson said her favorite memories from being a member of the Weber State Spirit Squad are all the friends that she made during her time as a Wildcat.

“I made lifelong friends that I still keep in touch with even though our lives have taken us all in different directions,” Thompson said. “To me, that was always one of my favorite things about dancing. I will never forget the friendships that were built and I will continue to cherish them for the rest of my life.”

Four other recent Wildcats graduates are currently dancing professionally: Myka Felt Galovic and Kaleigh Saunders are cheerleaders with the San Francisco 49ers, and Whitney Haslam and Haley Mears with the Utah Jazz Dancers.