From BHS to OSU to The Q t the Cavalier Girls dance team tryouts last year, 170 women showed up, including one BHS alumna. The first cut brought that number down to 60, and from that group, judges selected the 20 women who would inspire fan excitement by performing before crowds that can exceed 20,000. When captured on TV, that amount mushrooms into the millions. 2011 BHS graduate Jasmine was one of the talents chosen to be a dance team member for the present season. (Cavalier Girls’ policy prevents the use of last names in media coverage.) As she describes it, she quickly learned how being a Cavalier Girl involves some high energy transmission. When she hits the floor to perform a routine and looks out at fans, she feeds off their reactions, just as they feed off her enthusiasm. But she makes a frank admission that, despite being surrounded by some great NBA talent and being a few feet from one of the greatest in the history of the game, her focus is on dancing. “I’m not paying attention to the players,” she says during a pre-game interview at Quicken Loans Arena. “It’s all about the fans and performing.” Dancing requires complete focus to prevent missing even a single step, she adds. But has she talked to LeBron? Schmoozed with any of the Cavs? Taken a single selfie with anyone? No. Jasmine also plays multiple roles in Beachwood by serving as the BHS drill team adviser and JV cheerleading coach. She fills out her days working as a special education assistant teacher in both BHS and BMS, too. These additional roles reflect her passions for both dance and working with children. After high school graduation, Jasmine headed to The Ohio State University where she was a dance major, and during her junior year, she made it onto the school’s dance team, a very strong and nationally competitive group. With performances at home football and basketball games, the role demanded an enormous time commitment. The team members were considered student athletes and had full schedules composed of threehour practices twice a week in the evening, community appearances, team workouts, Universal Dance Association college dance team national competitions, and game day performances. She recalls it all as an intense experience, but with a big payoff. “I still remember the feeling I got dancing at my first football game in front of 100,000 screaming Buckeye fans,” she says, and the school spirit continues to stay with her. Her Cavalier Girl’s nickname is “Ohio,” and she wears her 2014 national championship ring very proudly. She’s always been a huge Cavs fan, too, although she admits that when attending a game, her attention was more often drawn to the Cavalier Girls. With the squad central to her thinking when her OSU graduation approached, she launched a campaign to get the attention of the team’s coaches in advance of tryouts. “I sent an email to get my name out there and to differentiate myself from everyone else,” she explains. In her message, she noted that she had national stage experience by being on the OSU dance team. What she didn’t know then but later learned was that her OSU dance team coach also sent a message to the Cavalier Girls coaches to let them know that “a star” was arriving from Columbus. Being a Cavalier Girl could truly make a woman feel very much the part of a celebrity with public appearances, autographing Grad Scores Spot On Professional Dance Team By June Scharf • Photo, opposite page, by John Saraya A opportunities, beautiful costumes, hair and makeup sessions before games and even a 2016-17 swimsuit calendar (sold for $10 in the team gift store). But that doesn’t capture how Jasmine feels about her role. “I’m still me, but I’m a professional now,” she says. What also guides her feelings and contributes to her humility is a speech challenge she has managed since childhood. “My speech is something I’ve been ashamed of, so I always thought that things wouldn’t happen for me. When they do, it’s such a blessing,” she relates. Dance offers a great comfort zone, too, to the point where she is not at all nervous before game performances. “I’m excited and feel prepared, and if I don’t have those feelings, then it’s my own fault.” By the end of the night, exhaustion reigns supreme, and after a game, she goes straight home, showers and heads right to sleep. She says that making it onto the dance team was essentially the best birthday present she could possibly receive, since she discovered the big news a day before her 22nd celebration. “I got the call at 8 am, two days after tryouts ended. I was told to come straight to The Q to shoot a video bio,” presently posted on the Cavs website at http://www.nba.com/ cavaliers/video/teams/cavaliers/2015/09/18 /21213/1442605793583-cavsgirlbiojasmine. mp4-21213. Some of the tryout activity footage is captured at http://www.nba. com/cavaliers/2015-16-cavalier-girls-auditions-continue. To those thinking about a career in dance, Jasmine says, “Just go after it. Nothing is impossible and with hard work and dedication, anything can happen.” March 2015 n Beachwood Buzz 9 June 2016 March 2016 n Beachwood Buzz 9