The moment just before is the scariest. The strobe lights snap to darkness, and the arena, filled with nearly 20,000 rowdy fans, goes quiet for a second, maybe two. A promo video plays above, shouting lofty phrases like “Change the game” and “KCD have arrived” at the faceless crowd. The veil drops: Eight dancers outfitted like glitzy superheroes regain their humanity, pulses racing, eyes flitting to the crowd, then back to the ground, scanning and praying that everything is in place, that the grueling hours of labor will translate. The first beat booms onto the court, and the moment passes. The women spring to life changed as if by alchemy. For nearly two minutes, the court belongs to them.
Since 1991, the Knicks City Dancers, in one form or another, have entertained crowds of New York Knicks fans on the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden. The sisterly institution has its distinct eras: the originals, the jazzy pop group, the Rockette-inspired showgirls. But this era, conceptualized by Fatima Robinson, an Emmy-nominated choreographer who’s worked with Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Britney Spears, is known colloquially as the “rebrand.” Sacrificing none of its signature, old-city glamour, a 20-person team shrank to a nine-person pod of commercial dancers selected from a pool of nearly 400 hopefuls, a mix of college students, working artists, and at least one beauty-pageant winner. A part-time employment opportunity became a full-time salaried job replete with health insurance, dental insurance, a 401K, and weekly access to a dedicated athletic trainer. To the relief of the Knicks organization, it’s working: With or without basketball, these women are stars in the making with more than 100 million views on TikTok alone. Or, as Brooke Fera, the specialist for digital content for KCD, puts it: “There’s so much more here than a minute-and-30 routine during a break at a basketball game.”
“When I was younger, I had a really bad speech impediment, and I was severely bullied throughout elementary school. I actually transferred schools four times,” says Amelia Collins, a first-year Knicks City Dancer and Miss New York pageant winner. “But dance was what got me through that. I felt so confident when I danced, and I was able to bring how I felt when I danced to everyday life. I think that’s something really special.”
Collins (center) stretches at a rehearsal.
Coach Teddi Baxter, the dancers, and photographer Tess Mayer huddle up at the end of a rehearsal.
“Most NBA dancers are some version of part time, which the KCD were previously. But the sheer amount of work they put into this is really insane. The amount of rehearsals, auditions, coming up with all the TikToks … It’s sweet to watch how close they get in between auditions and opening night, which is usually about one to two months,” says photographer Tess Mayer. “They’re spending every day or every other day together prepping for opening night. They do each other’s hair, trade shoes. Sometimes, they’ll trade costumes when there’s a malfunction.”
Sophie Pittman (foreground in the iPhone) starts filming herself for a TikTok while Kaycee Dominguez (background) checks her makeup in a mirror backstage before performing “Million Dollar Baby.”
Maddie Obregon in the mirror during rehearsal preparing for her spotlight dance, “Cyberbabe.”
Stephanie Mincone, Svetha Nallapaneni, and Collins tying up their laces in the dressing room before performing “NY Let’s Work.”
“I’m fresh off the team, so it’s kind of like I’m one of them in a way. I understand them, and I relate to them in a lot of ways,” says Brooke Fera, a digital content specialist for KCD and former dancer on the team. “But we’re constantly throwing ideas in the pool: We have a group chat, and we’re going back and forth all day long sending each other videos. But mostly, I guess their social-media presence is just the way that I experience them. If I see a video pop up and am like, Oh, that reminds me of Kaycee, or, Oh, that reminds me of Sophie, we’ll do it.”
Fera, a digital content specialist for the Knicks City Dancers, takes a photo of Nallapaneni, Collins, and Mincone before they perform “I Love It.”
“I just don’t know where I would be or who I would be without dance. I am so grateful for the body-mind-spirit aspect of it that makes me feel so grounded and connected to myself and to others in this beautiful form of movement,” says Mincone. “That we get to share it together and exchange energy with one another is just such a beautiful, positive thing.”
Mincone at court rehearsal before a game day.
“Getting to be a different person when I perform is healing in itself. When I perform, I’m confident, I’m strong, I’m beautiful,” says McKenzie Landis. “And this is me showcasing that and letting everyone else feel that as well. Performing in front of an audience is something that I’m so grateful for. I love that I can look out and see that I’m affecting someone with what I’m doing, my movements, with my performance quality.”
Nallapaneni and Landis talking and stretching during a break at rehearsal.
“We each get a spotlight dance, and even down to the songs, it really showcases you as a person and as a dancer and gives you the opportunity to figure out what you want to show Madison Square Garden and everybody that’s watching online, too,” says Collins. “It’s really cool how catered it is to you. When I learned my spotlight, Fatima would give me some inspiration but then she let me do with it what I wanted and what felt good for me. We got to add our own taste to it.”
Nallapaneni and Dominguez hold up Collins backstage right after they performed Collins’s spotlight dance, “Miss NY.”
“Sway is always hyping everyone up, physically picking people up. Nneka always has her makeup done to the nines. We’re always getting a glam shot of her. Maddie has a bunch of go-to poses and loves her profile. She’s got a great profile. McKenzie’s got her long, gorgeous legs,” Mayer says. “And Dayne’s just impossible to take a bad photo of.”
Nneka Irobunda, Mincone, and Dayne Board film content for TikTok in costume backstage before performing “NY Let’s Work.”
“When I was younger, I had a really bad speech impediment, and I was severely bullied throughout elementary school. I actually transferred schools four times,” says Amelia Collins, a first-year Knicks City Dancer and Miss New York pageant winner. “But dance was what got me through that. I felt so confident when I danced, and I was able to bring how I felt when I danced to everyday life. I think that’s something really special.”
Collins (center) stretches at a rehearsal.
Coach Teddi Baxter, the dancers, and photographer Tess Mayer huddle up at the end of a rehearsal.
“Most NBA dancers are some version of part time, which the KCD were previously. But the sheer amount of work they put into this is really insane. The amount of rehearsals, auditions, coming up with all the TikToks … It’s sweet to watch how close they get in between auditions and opening night, which is usually about one to two months,” says photographer Tess Mayer. “They’re spending every day or every other day together prepping for opening night. They do each other’s hair, trade shoes. Sometimes, they’ll trade costumes when there’s a malfunction.”
Sophie Pittman (foreground in the iPhone) starts filming herself for a TikTok while Kaycee Dominguez (background) checks her makeup in a mirror backstage before performing “Million Dollar Baby.”
Maddie Obregon in the mirror during rehearsal preparing for her spotlight dance, “Cyberbabe.”
Stephanie Mincone, Svetha Nallapaneni, and Collins tying up their laces in the dressing room before performing “NY Let’s Work.”
“I’m fresh off the team, so it’s kind of like I’m one of them in a way. I understand them, and I relate to them in a lot of ways,” says Brooke Fera, a digital content specialist for KCD and former dancer on the team. “But we’re constantly throwing ideas in the pool: We have a group chat, and we’re going back and forth all day long sending each other videos. But mostly, I guess their social-media presence is just the way that I experience them. If I see a video pop up and am like, Oh, that reminds me of Kaycee, or, Oh, that reminds me of Sophie, we’ll do it.”
Fera, a digital content specialist for the Knicks City Dancers, takes a photo of Nallapaneni, Collins, and Mincone before they perform “I Love It.”
“I just don’t know where I would be or who I would be without dance. I am so grateful for the body-mind-spirit aspect of it that makes me feel so grounded and connected to myself and to others in this beautiful form of movement,” says Mincone. “That we get to share it together and exchange energy with one another is just such a beautiful, positive thing.”
Mincone at court rehearsal before a game day.
“Getting to be a different person when I perform is healing in itself. When I perform, I’m confident, I’m strong, I’m beautiful,” says McKenzie Landis. “And this is me showcasing that and letting everyone else feel that as well. Performing in front of an audience is something that I’m so grateful for. I love that I can look out and see that I’m affecting someone with what I’m doing, my movements, with my performance quality.”
Nallapaneni and Landis talking and stretching during a break at rehearsal.
“We each get a spotlight dance, and even down to the songs, it really showcases you as a person and as a dancer and gives you the opportunity to figure out what you want to show Madison Square Garden and everybody that’s watching online, too,” says Collins. “It’s really cool how catered it is to you. When I learned my spotlight, Fatima would give me some inspiration but then she let me do with it what I wanted and what felt good for me. We got to add our own taste to it.”
Nallapaneni and Dominguez hold up Collins backstage right after they performed Collins’s spotlight dance, “Miss NY.”
“Sway is always hyping everyone up, physically picking people up. Nneka always has her makeup done to the nines. We’re always getting a glam shot of her. Maddie has a bunch of go-to poses and loves her profile. She’s got a great profile. McKenzie’s got her long, gorgeous legs,” Mayer says. “And Dayne’s just impossible to take a bad photo of.”
Nneka Irobunda, Mincone, and Dayne Board film content for TikTok in costume backstage before performing “NY Let’s Work.”
Over the last two years, the steady elevation of this team has been meticulously documented by the Knicks City Dancers’ dedicated photographer, Tess Mayer. Having spent six seasons with the KCD, Mayer started to bring her film camera to games, focusing more on portraiture and what she calls the “in-between moments” of the dancers’ days spent in the industrial bowels of the Garden. The photos didn’t always showcase the easy beauty the women projected on court: They were gritty, raw, and sweat-soaked. They captured the dancers waiting around on court, splaying sore arms and legs over the arena’s rickety folding chairs, and filming TikTok trends. There were moments of high-octane performance followed by moments of silence, isolation, and meditation. And, more than anything, the photos showed nine women who love each other, and their jobs, fiercely — who are desperate to honor the legacy of the dancers who came before them.
For decades, the subtle messaging around all-women NBA dance squads (never mind their growing fan bases and social-media influence) has been as follows: You serve as an accessory to the main event. While NBA teams bring in an average of $350 million in revenue each year, resources for entertainment teams are often scant. Historically, the women have been constrained to their on-court duties and rarely given opportunities to display their full personhood. And despite hiring highly skilled performers and artists, the dancers’ stardom is rarely expected, let alone encouraged, to eclipse that of the male athletes occupying space on the same court. Not so at the Garden: A contemporary marriage of high fashion, athleticism, women-led tradition, and production value, the Knicks City Dancers are proof of the notoriety that follows when teams invest in and prioritize dancers and their creative labor.
“On other dance jobs, you’re often dancing behind an artist, and you’re just there to accentuate the picture or the visuals,” rookie Stephanie Mincone tells the Cut. “I honestly feel like this job is one-in-a-million in that we get to be the show. I joke all the time, ‘Yeah, it’s a game day. But it’s also our show.’”
“Right before we go on court, we have a roll call. It’s like a little chant, and it really gets us hyped,” says Collins. “I feel like no matter how long our day is, or how long our week is, we’re just so excited at that point. We’re ready to go.”
(From left, clockwise) Irobunda, Board, Landis, Collins, Dominguez, Mincone, Nallapaneni, and Obregon in their “I Love It” costumes backstage.
“When I talk to people, I like to explain that we do a lot of different styles of dance. You’re never going to see just one thing on the court; you’re going to see unique and creative choreography,” says Collins. “I feel like a lot of times people put dance under one umbrella, and they don’t really realize that it takes a lot to be versatile and to be a Knicks City Dancer. You really have to be able to think on your feet and be creative and be okay with stepping out of your comfort zone.”
Court rehearsal.
“Sometimes when you’re in an environment like this, people may put you up on a pedestal,” Collins says. “But we get to be transparent on social media, and it gives people the opportunity to get to know us as individuals.”
Mincone and Collins doing last-minute hair and makeup touch-ups before performing “Barbie.”
Social-media strategy has been paramount in this “rebrand” era of KCD. “I saw the Knicks were doing individual highlights on Instagram for their players. I thought that was smart. If you’re a follower and your girl is Nneka, then you can just go to our page and click the ‘Nneka’ highlight and then you get to see everything that she’s doing,” says Fera. “I think the goal is really to take KCD and make it a household name, not only for dancers but for women. We’re only just getting started.”
Irobunda, Collins, Mincone, and Nallapaneni rehearsing Mincone’s spotlight, “Ready or Not,” backstage just before going on court.
Costumes hanging up in the office.
“There’s a true sisterhood that comes with being a Knicks City Dancer. That’s why people always say, ‘Once a KCD, always a KCD,’” says Fera.
Nallapaneni and Landis hugging before performing “Ready or Not.”
Obregon, Board, and Nallapaneni circle up with all the dancers before performing “I Love It.”
“I’m a woman photographing women. It’s never going to be the same as a certain type of dude photographing women,” says Mayer. “But it’s also inherent to the way that I photograph, generally. I want them to feel as good as they can, to capture the va-va-voom in a way that they’re happy with. The most important thing is that they look like themselves and that the photos bring out their personalities.”
Performing Mincone’s spotlight dance during a timeout.
Board’s hands and manicure, which matches her spotlight costume.
Baxter (left) walks off court with the dancers after performing “Wild Thing.”
“Right before we go on court, we have a roll call. It’s like a little chant, and it really gets us hyped,” says Collins. “I feel like no matter how long our day is, or how long our week is, we’re just so excited at that point. We’re ready to go.”
(From left, clockwise) Irobunda, Board, Landis, Collins, Dominguez, Mincone, Nallapaneni, and Obregon in their “I Love It” costumes backstage.
“When I talk to people, I like to explain that we do a lot of different styles of dance. You’re never going to see just one thing on the court; you’re going to see unique and creative choreography,” says Collins. “I feel like a lot of times people put dance under one umbrella, and they don’t really realize that it takes a lot to be versatile and to be a Knicks City Dancer. You really have to be able to think on your feet and be creative and be okay with stepping out of your comfort zone.”
Court rehearsal.
“Sometimes when you’re in an environment like this, people may put you up on a pedestal,” Collins says. “But we get to be transparent on social media, and it gives people the opportunity to get to know us as individuals.”
Mincone and Collins doing last-minute hair and makeup touch-ups before performing “Barbie.”
Social-media strategy has been paramount in this “rebrand” era of KCD. “I saw the Knicks were doing individual highlights on Instagram for their players. I thought that was smart. If you’re a follower and your girl is Nneka, then you can just go to our page and click the ‘Nneka’ highlight and then you get to see everything that she’s doing,” says Fera. “I think the goal is really to take KCD and make it a household name, not only for dancers but for women. We’re only just getting started.”
Irobunda, Collins, Mincone, and Nallapaneni rehearsing Mincone’s spotlight, “Ready or Not,” backstage just before going on court.
Costumes hanging up in the office.
“There’s a true sisterhood that comes with being a Knicks City Dancer. That’s why people always say, ‘Once a KCD, always a KCD,’” says Fera.
Nallapaneni and Landis hugging before performing “Ready or Not.”
Obregon, Board, and Nallapaneni circle up with all the dancers before performing “I Love It.”
“I’m a woman photographing women. It’s never going to be the same as a certain type of dude photographing women,” says Mayer. “But it’s also inherent to the way that I photograph, generally. I want them to feel as good as they can, to capture the va-va-voom in a way that they’re happy with. The most important thing is that they look like themselves and that the photos bring out their personalities.”
Performing Mincone’s spotlight dance during a timeout.
Board’s hands and manicure, which matches her spotlight costume.
Baxter (left) walks off court with the dancers after performing “Wild Thing.”
