00:00This is ESPN's first time being at Essence Fest and it doesn't happen without the support of our partners at Disney and I want to give a special thanks to some executives from Disney that we have here in the house.
00:20Deborah O'Connell, Mark Walker, Jill Estorino, and Latondra Newton. Thank y'all.
00:36Alright, so I know you see these chairs here, so I have some folks coming up so we can have a chat about this first episode.
00:43Coming to the stage, the Forever Dancing Dolls, fabulous Dancing Dolls coach, Dr. Akai Smith.
00:57We have the Dancing Dolls, Kyrie Walker and Arielle Brooks.
01:02And also joining me is executive producer, and you might see him, NBA superstar, Mr. Chris Paul.
01:14Yes, now, I don't know about y'all, I'm super excited.
01:28Chris, you know a thing or two about competition.
01:31How did you feel watching those ladies compete for a spot to get on this team?
01:37Man, I got goosebumps all over again.
01:39First and foremost, thank everybody for coming out to see this.
01:42And a big thank you to these ladies to my left for even allowing us to get in there and being able to show you guys' story.
01:51The passion that they show day in and day out.
01:54For me playing sports my entire life and growing up, you know, seeing the Bayou Classics,
02:00seeing all the different stuff that went into HBCUs, you don't really get a chance to see behind the curtain like this.
02:06So, thank y'all for that. We appreciate it.
02:11Now, Dr. Smith, we all saw how rigorous that audition is.
02:17Can you tell us if there's a specific skill or quality that you are looking for when you're seeing a potential doll?
02:27There's no one particular skill or quality.
02:31Again, we look for the girls to be teachable, coachable, and trainable.
02:35And just have a passion for dance and a humility for life.
02:40And wanting to be a part of an organization that's bigger than them.
02:43And so, we see that through their dance and they're showing that through how they perform.
02:47That's that shining light that we look for.
02:50Definitely. All right, Ariel. Ariel and Kyrie, I want you both to answer.
02:54I'm going to kick it to you, Ariel, first.
02:57Having to audition every year for your spot.
03:01That's wild to me. Like, how do you mentally prepare yourself to even take on that challenge?
03:08Really and truly, I always tell myself with anything. Nothing is guaranteed.
03:15And Dr. Smith made a good point earlier. Like, just staying humble.
03:20It's nerve-wracking. It's scary.
03:24But as long as you trust, you know, trust your ability, trusting God, anything is possible.
03:32So, you just got to go in it, focus mine, and leave it all. Leave it all on the floor.
03:39Yeah, that's right.
03:41And I will just basically piggyback off of what Ariel said.
03:44You just have to stay ready to get ready, like I said earlier.
03:47I literally just prayed, stayed prayed up, made sure I trained 24-7.
03:53When I was at work, I work at Walmart.
03:55So, whenever I work, I literally just dance.
03:59And then, what are you doing?
04:03Listen, you got to stay ready so you ain't got to get ready, right?
04:06I know that's right.
04:08Chris, this is such a very distinct part of HBCU culture.
04:13Why was it important for you to just highlight dance culture?
04:19Man, it's extremely important.
04:21We were blessed and fortunate with ESPN and Disney to be able to tell the story of North Carolina Central basketball.
04:30We did FAMU football.
04:31And now, getting an opportunity to do Southern's fabulous dancing dolls.
04:36It's nothing like it.
04:38And like I said, this is all part of the culture.
04:41You know, I'm a parent.
04:42I have a 13-year-old son, a 9-year-old daughter.
04:46You know, and we talked about it earlier.
04:48They said they've been dancing since they was 2, right?
04:51I've been hooping since I was 4 or 5, but they've been dancing since they were 2.
04:55And just to be able to give this perspective, right, and to see this.
04:59I got goosebumps right there at the end again, just seeing when she got that phone call.
05:03It's like she wasn't even in the car yet.
05:05You know what I mean?
05:06It's one of those things that you don't take for granted, the hard work.
05:10We all are, you know, destined and trying to achieve so many different things,
05:16but there's different lanes, but there's always a similar starting point.
05:23And to see that with these ladies has been amazing.
05:26Definitely.
05:27I mean, Dr. Smith, you talked about this a little bit in the episode,
05:34but I want to know what makes the Fabulous Dancing Dolls stand out
05:39from all the rest of the dance lines in the HBC world?
05:43Well, like we always say, you know, there's a standard of class that we possess.
05:47There's a level of excellence that we have.
05:50And so I think that what makes the Dancing Dolls stand out
05:54amongst all of the other HBC dance lines is just that uniqueness that we have,
06:00like that we possess, not just in how we dance, but how we carry ourselves,
06:05what our uniforms look like, what our hair looks like, what our face looks like.
06:09And having all of those things wrapped up in that package is what distinguishes us
06:14from the rest of the dance lines, not just how we dance, but just literally
06:18and overall how we carry ourselves.
06:20These girls are academicians.
06:22They have 3.0 GPAs or better.
06:25And they have to maintain those standards throughout their entire matriculation.
06:29And so it's just, you know, you don't have that.
06:33You may not have that on other dance lines, but those are the standards
06:37that we set for the Fabulous Dancing Dolls.
06:39And they've done an amazing job by keeping those standards high.
06:42Yeah.
06:43I think what also gets lost sometimes is what was so powerful about it is the history.
06:51Right?
06:52The fact that you guys continue to bring back the legacy aspect of it.
06:56Right?
06:57A lot of times, I mean, like I said, I got kids.
07:01They don't own, you know, the only time you ever see me dunk now is going on YouTube.
07:05Right?
07:06So to have the legacy aspect of it and you guys to get a chance to see how this all started
07:13and founded, I think makes it that much more powerful.
07:16And that's why it's so important to tell these stories so that kids now understand why things
07:21are the way that they are.
07:23I know.
07:24Oh.
07:25No, I just said absolutely.
07:26Yeah.
07:27I was going to say, Dr. Smith, you mentioned about just carrying on that history, the tradition.
07:36Like, it's so amazing.
07:38It just, like you said, it gives me chills just seeing that.
07:41One aspect we didn't touch in episode one is the human jukebox and how the force that they
07:49are as a band, Ariel and Kyrie, what is it like dancing in front of that band live?
07:56Well, dancing in front of the human jukebox is like, for me, it was a dream come true.
08:04I never imagined myself dancing in front of such a large group of people, you know, playing
08:10instruments or anything.
08:11And it was just so surreal for me.
08:14Honestly, I swear they be trying to, like, blow our eardrums out.
08:18Like, no, seriously.
08:21I get a lot of people ask me, like, how do you guys do it?
08:25Like, you're right in front of them.
08:27But honestly, sometimes we can't even practice straight because they down the hall cranking,
08:32like going crazy.
08:33So, honestly, it's just, it helps us in our dance.
08:38Like, we can't get in front of this powerful band, you know, dancing soft.
08:43And so we really just use them as, you know, help to, for us, you know, dance.
08:50Yeah.
08:51Yeah, I know I get hype.
08:52I was, listen, I'm going to tease it a little bit watching these ladies dance.
08:56You know, I told them earlier, you know, I'm trying to stretch watching these episodes.
09:02I'm like, just now I was tired.
09:05I'm like, they cut me quick.
09:07It's different.
09:08It's real different.
09:09Right?
09:10I think that's the best thing for me.
09:12Just seeing you ladies, helping people understand that you're athletes.
09:16I think sometimes people take advantage of the fact that, oh, dancers are just moving.
09:21Like, these women are athletes.
09:23You see it.
09:24You see the blood sweat and the tears happening up there.
09:27I think I'm going to go, I'll start with you, Dr. Smith, and then have everybody answer.
09:33Me, myself, I hope that the folks, when they watch this series premiering August 11th on ESPN Plus, that what the audience will gain from watching this is being able to see themselves on the screen and being empowered and inspired.
09:51I'll start with you, Dr. Smith, and we'll come all the way down.
09:54What do you hope fans will gain and learn watching this series?
10:00Well, like I tell the girls all the time, you know, like, they are more than what they see, like, what people see on Saturday night.
10:07They are so much more than the glitz and the glam.
10:10And so what I hope the audience sees when they start watching on August 11th is the fact that these girls, again, they are students first.
10:20But not only are they students at one of the most powerful HBCUs in the country, they are on a dance line in front of the most powerful marching band.
10:30in the country.
10:31And so, you know, this is real life, you know, for these girls.
10:34They go to class from eight to four.
10:36They're practicing from four until it's time to go home.
10:39And I say when it's time to go home.
10:41And so they work really, really hard.
10:43They do their best.
10:45And I hope the world sees the talent and the potential that these girls have.
10:49What I would say is really more towards athletes, football players, softball players, dancers, anybody.
10:56If you set your mind to, you can always accomplish it.
10:59That's what I want everybody to take from this show here.
11:04Well, Dr. Smith kind of gave my answer.
11:08But really and truly, I just want people to know that it's not all glitz and glam.
11:14Like, we put in a lot of work throughout the week just for, you know, those four hours.
11:20And, you know, we shine.
11:21But the rest of that week, like, it's a lot that goes on between school, personal lives, you know, dance.
11:29It's a lot.
11:30So, you know, I just want people to appreciate, you know, what we put out on, you know, game day, performance day.
11:38Yeah, for me, finally, I think in this whole world of entertainment that we all sort of take part in is realizing that there's so many different moving parties.
11:48Right?
11:49Everyone always wants to be the athlete or whatnot.
11:51But there's somebody that has to be the coach.
11:53Right?
11:54There's the dancers.
11:55There's the band.
11:56Everyone plays a huge part in this world of entertainment and also the academic part of it.
12:03The fact that you have to have a certain GPA to be a part of it.
12:06So, that's for me.
12:08Now, I would be remiss if I do not thank my bosses who are in the house also for supporting this project, for supporting Black Women's Stories.
12:18Shout out to Mr. Brian Lockhart.
12:25Shout out to Lindsey Ravano.
12:29And a special shout out to our producing partners, Odip.
12:36I appreciate y'all.
12:37And please watch August 11th.
12:39August 11th.
12:40ESPN.
12:41Exclusively.
12:42ESPN Plus.
12:43Thank y'all for coming out.
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