Center court

Mike Sciacca

The Beach Cities Stars rose to the occasion Monday night at the Los

Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and were able to bring it on during

halftime of the Los Angeles Clippers-Denver Nuggets game.

About 40 girls from the Huntington Beach-based dance program, in full

costume and wearing big, bright smiles, wowed a crowd of more than 16,000

with a halftime performance that played out before local and ESPN

television cameras as well as several celebrities sitting court side.

“The girls were excited and overwhelmed all at once. Some of them were

performing for the first time. It was a blast,” said Marilyn Seller,

owner and director of the Beach Cities Stars national dance program in

Huntington Beach.

The Stars and their entourage are popular with the Clippers for many

reasons, one being the fact that the group sold 310 tickets -- at $25 a

piece -- to family and friends for Monday night’s game, Seller said.

The Stars also sold about 300 tickets for the game in which they

performed last year.

“They did an outstanding job and the crowd was really supportive and

really enjoyed their performance. The team is very well organized and we

loved having them,” said Erin Wolfe, director of event operations and fan

development for the Clippers.

The Stars are beginning to become seasoned pros when it comes to

performing at professional sporting events.

Monday’s performance marked the third time in a year that the Stars

have been invited to perform at a Clippers game. In addition, they

traveled north to do a halftime show during an Oakland Raiders home game.

On New Year’s Day, some Stars team members kicked off 2002 with a

performance at the Outback Bowl football game in Orlando, Fla.

School makeup

The Beach Cities Stars dance program is comprised of about 87 girls,

10 of whom are in the program on a free trial. They fit into four

categories: Mini Stars, Small Stars, All Stars and Super/Varsity Stars.

Seller has two assistant directors in Elizabeth Dietrich and Peaches

Silveroli and four dance instructors in Summer Kerr, Alana Fulton, Tara

Pokorney and Holly Salizar.

Kerr and Pokorney, friends since childhood, are members of the Clipper

girls dance team and are the subject of upcoming segment on ESPN, whose

crew was on hand to film a recent Stars practice session held at their

Huntington Beach studio.

Beach Cities Stars range in age from 3-18, train like athletes. Weekly

conditioning helps them with coordination and agility.

Variety of backgrounds

For some, dance is their sport of choice. One girl new to the program

is 11-year-old Supreeya Phuasakul, who doesn’t play sports but likes the

benefits of the dance program.

“This is a way to exercise and I’m having fun with it,” said

Phuasakul, who was in the midst of her first week dancing with the Stars.

Competitions, both at the state and national level, put these girls in

the playing arena and teaches them the value of sportsmanship, said

Seller.

“Some of these girls get into the program to have fun while some do it

for the exercise,” Seller said.

Keeping the spirit

Two big events held annually are the state competition, which is

coming up in April, and the national competition, scheduled for June in

Las Vegas.

The Stars have taken Seller’s message of sportsmanship to heart.

During the 2001 competition season, the girls tied for the

sportsmanship trophy. That was preceded by the Stars competition teams of

1996. That group, then consisting of just 17 youngsters, captured the

program’s first sportsmanship award at both the state and national level

by taking the prize away from a South Bay squad that had won the award

the previous seven years.

Just like any sports team, these girls got ready for Monday’s game

with pre-performance stretches, a last minute run through and a pep talk

from their coaches before taking the floor.

Then, they proceeded to put on a show. Their game was on.

“The girls have a great time performing at these major athletic

events,” added Seller, who said the Stars will play host to the state

competition April 12-13 at Costa Mesa High.