A dance team for the NBA鈥檚 Washington Wizards is out to show it鈥檚 never too late to bust a move.
鈥淲izdom,鈥� as the team is named, is a group of 19 women and one man aged 50-76 who regularly perform during halftime at Wizards home games. Dancers include former NFL cheerleaders, grandmothers, a breast cancer survivor and a dentist.
The dance team made their debut back in November and finished up the season with a performance on Tuesday. In total, the team learned seven different routines over the course of the year.
Nana, the eldest of the group at age 76, said she decided to join as a way of getting over the loss of her mother.
"I'm lying around having a pity party and I said: 鈥極K Lord, what am I supposed to be doing at this stage of my life," she told 愛污传媒.
The team is not just a gimmick for fans, either. They meet weekly for a gruelling training session in order to perfect a routine. They specialize in hip-hop, funk and even twerking.
"They are that good and they set the bar for themselves is so high,鈥� said Derric Whitfield, the team director.
Christopher Johnson, the only man in the group, never envisioned he鈥檇 be out shaking his stuff with a group of women in front of thousands of screaming fans.
"These women have the attitude that there鈥檚 nothing they can't do," he said.
The team has been so successful that about a dozen other NBA teams now have similar dance squad, including the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors.
"The people faces that are watching us, they're just like: 鈥榃hat? C'mon!鈥� They get so excited and that's what keeps us going," said Theresa Cizmar, a breast cancer survivor on the team.
With the Wizards鈥� season now over, the dancers planning to rejoin the team next year will need to try out once again.
