The Denver Nuggets received more than 100 applications for 18 spots on their 2025 dance team.
Last weekend, in a second-floor Ball Arena meeting room, a lengthy tryout process neared completion as judges deliberated over final cuts. Sixteen dancers who made the team a year ago were back with no guarantee they’ll make it again.
Amy Jo Johnston is the Nuggets’ dance team manager entering her 19th season.
“Let’s all get used to the idea right now that some veterans might get cut,” Johnston said.
The process started last month.
Nuggets dance team applicants are given access to 10 prep classes and two audition workshops led by Johnston, her assistant coaches and other dance team veterans. They provide tools for learning a routine, and then an hour later, perform it before judges during the first round of auditions.
Denver Nuggets dance team manager Amy Jo Johnston
Courtesy of Garrett Ellwood
“Night one, we teach them a routine and have them perform in groups of four,” said Johnston, a former NBA dancer for the Phoenix Suns. “It really starts to narrow it down for us who has significant dance training or could fake it like I did back in my day. … That’s how we ultimately made that first cut. We get it down to about 50 people to bring back to Day 2. Ultimately, it’s just who looks the closest to game-day ready at each stage of the process.
“Then we brought them in for group interviews. That way we just got to know them a little bit and made sure they would be a good fit for our program, because we go out and do so much stuff in the community. We have 40-plus home games when we’re interacting with fans. … Then we evaluated their dancing skills, and from there, we cut it down to 30 for training camp.”
Nuggets dance training camp lasted a week with three practices — 2.5 hours each night — plus photoshoots and 5-minute speed interviews between judges and individual candidates. On Saturday, they gathered inside the Nuggets practice gym for the last day of tryouts.
It began with each finalist performing a self-choreographed solo dance. They included a tap performance, singing, elements of ballet and hip hop, even a basketball prop. Dancers who watched from the side cheered at the end of each performance.
“It feels so nice to get out there and hear your teammates cheering for you and strangers that we just met this week. There’s already such a bond there,” said Brooke Ricketts, a Nuggets dance team finalist who made the cut a year ago. “It makes that moment so much easier when you’re center stage all by yourself.”
Denver Nuggets dance team member Brooke Ricketts
Courtesy of Jack Dempsey
Dancers later joined into groups of three and 1, to perform classic rock and hip-hop routines.
“We have a million dancers that are so good individually,” Ricketts said. “But it’s really who can come together as that 18 as a solid group and look like one dancing.”
The panel of about 10 judges returned to their meeting room in Ball Arena to deliberate. They scored finalists based on several different categories — including dance technique, performance ability and entertainment value — and combined scores to rank each dancer from No. 1 to No. 30.
Judges held up either green or red cards as Johnston worked her way through the list.
There was little or no debate over the Top 14 candidates to make the 2025 team. Deciding on the final four to make it proved more difficult.
A sampling of the judges’ discussion:
“So nice. So experienced. But she’s just not blending into our style.”
“She brought it today.”
“She just doesn’t have a punch to it.”
“I was off her the other day. But today, I saw a little bit more.”
“She grew so much.”
“We’ve received some really negative reference checks.”
“She was really high in interviews. That’s probably what saved her.”
“She was spicy today.”
“She’s a maybe for me.”
The judges, at a stalemate, requested to see dancers on the bubble perform one last time in small groups. They returned upstairs without much clarity. That’s when Johnston made an executive decision. Their talent pool was simply too big for just 18 dancers.
The compromise? Take 20 instead.
The joy of expanding the team was also met with sadness. Two veteran dancers didn’t make the cut.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking,” Johnston said. “The reason our audition process is so intense is because we spend 10 solid months together. You’re basically like family at that point. We go through ups and downs of life together. Saying goodbye to people is hard. We knew from the beginning of the process, with 16 people back from last year, that this was going to be a tough one.”
Denver Nuggets dance team member Izzy Lockhart
Courtesy of Jack Dempsey
Judges descended back into the practice gym to deliver the news. Dancers stood in a large circle on the court. Johnston asked that each person step forward if their number was called. They had made it.
Everyone else was sent home.
Izzy Lockhart didn’t make the cut a year ago. She called it “100% motivation” and worked on her craft as a member of the Colorado Mammoth lacrosse dance team. Her persistence was rewarded.
“Honestly, my heart was racing. I’m just like: ‘Oh, please, hopefully they call my number,’” Lockhart said. “I was the first number. So, it was such a relief. … Since I was a young girl, I had a hip-hop teacher who was a Nuggets dancer. She really inspired me to chase that dream.”
Just don’t mistake the Nuggets dance team for simply being beauty pageant winners.
Beyond impeccable dance and entertainment skills, the professional lives of many finalists were equally, if not more, impressive. Taylor Millson made the team for a second consecutive year after recently finishing law school. The bar exam is next.
Denver Nuggets dance team member Taylor Millson
Courtesy of Jack Dempsey
“I have a job lined up at a small law firm already. It’s an awesome balance. I love to show that you can do so many things. You can chase everything,” Millson said. “So many of my teammates have amazing careers outside of dancing. We have teachers, vet techs, other professionals and people getting promotions. It’s really awesome. Dancing professionally is a very unique way to make yourself accel in the professional world as well.”
The Nuggets dance team is an essential part of the game-day experience. But their role expands far beyond the walls of Ball Arena.
“It’s evolved into so much more of an ambassador position,” Johnston said. “Everyone wants to come out and be involved with the Denver Nuggets. But it’s not like they can have access to the players. … The dancers bridge that gap. We get to be the voice of the of the organization at these different events and really let people know what we value in our organization. Ultimately, we get to be entertainers now. It’s not just standing there looking pretty.
“We’re working our butts off to make sure we put on a really cool show for anybody who comes into the building that maybe isn’t a basketball fan.”
The Nuggets Dance team for the 2025 season finalized at Ball Arena on July 19, 2025.
By Kyle Fredrickson, The Denver Gazette