This past Tuesday the “L.A. Clippers Dance Squad” docu-series premiered on E!
The eight-episode series follows the lives of seven women who are members of the “Clippers Spirit” dance team. Among the seven is three-year veteran Clippers dancer Candace Washington and rookie Blair Kim.
“When you come to a game or you see on TV, you only see what’s on the court,” Washington said. “You get to see all the behind the scenes details of what it takes to be on the team, the ins and outs of staying on the team and our lives on and off the court.”
Washington, a Torrance native, has been dancing since the age of 4, and learned ballet, Jazz and Tap dancing. Her mother signed Washington up for different dance studios to challenge her dancing ability. A graduate of both North High School and Biola University, Washington coaches for a dance team at Biola and works as a performer at Disneyland.
“I’ve actually been a Clipper fan since I was pretty young,” said Washington. “Growing up, I’ve always watched the Clipper girls at a Clipper game.”
Kim was born and raised in Los Angeles by a Korean father and Black mother. She developed a love for dance in high school but her parents want Kim to seek employment in a job with a more reliable pay.
“Being a dancer, being in entertainment, everything isn’t for certain, so they kind of have to take the risk with me,” Kim said.
Along with dancing with the Clippers Spirit, Kim also is a member of an all-girl music group that creates pop and urban pop music. Kim looks for ways to schedule time for the group around her commitment to the Clippers Spirit.
“I’m always in the studio at a late hour if I’m gonna be recording music and stuff like that,” said Kim.
Both dancers mentioned how they enjoy being able to realize their dreams in their hometown. Kim hopes that the show will give viewers a new perspective on dancers.
“I want people to see that being a dancer isn’t easy, it’s definitely a real job,” Kim said. “I feel that a lot of the time people don’t really value dancers for all the hard work that they put in”