Since 1991, The Knicks City Dancers have performed at timeouts and tshirt tosses during Knicks games at Madison Square Garden. For the past 7 years I've worked with them documenting the super precise choreographed routines on court, but also the less posed, in-between moments backstage.
Dayne, Kaycee, Sophie, and Nneka greet young Knicks fans in the vom before dancing on court. Maddie, Dayne, and Svetha circling up backstage before lining up in the vom.Stephanie and Amelia right before performing “Barbie.”
They have undergone a few management iterations and "rebrands" during my time there, but there are some elements that always remain the same. I've been primarily helping them make content for their social media accounts. In between more curated moments I've been able to carve out my own view of them as a team of really close knit young women.
Court Rehearsal for a halftime performance. Stephanie’s spotlight dance performance.Warming up backstage.Social media is a main component of the job. Dayne’s manicure for her spotlight dance.Brooke filming for Tiktok.McKenzie in the middle of a huddle up before the game.Amelia directly after her spotlight dance. Svetha and McKenzie.Dayne.Kaycee.Nneka during her hype up verse before going on court.Huddle upSvetha and McKenzie.I joined in the “KCD! KCD!” chant at the end of rehearsals. Stephanie at court rehearsal.
I photographed many of the above photographs in collaboration with The Cut. Please go through the wonderful article by Emily Leibert here, she did an amazing job capturing the dancers and the legacy before them.
Hundreds of women audition for the team each year. Initially via video, and then during an in person 5 day intensive. Depending on the year, only 8-20 make the team.
Gianna doing Alyssa’s hair.Nneka and McKenzie.Hayoung and Kaycee. Both were returning vets, Kaycee made the team that year, Hayoung did not. Hayoung is now the captain of the Brooklynettes dance team. See “Dance” section in portraits to see her there :) Auditions
Legacy is a really integral part of the team. Most of the management, the coaches, and others working for MSG are past Knicks City Dancers. There’s a phrase, “Once you’re a KCD, you’re always a KCD.”
In 2021, before the first “rebrand” I began bringing my film cameras in addition to my usual digital equipment. I photographed the dancers for the first time backstage, in the fluorescently lit backstage of MSG, and we found we could use the space under the bleachers as a make shift studio.
Alyssa, bottom center, at court rehearsal. Court rehearsal in 2019.Kiara,Kaycee has been on the current team the longest. She started in 2020 when she was 18 years old. She’s now a 4th year vet. The old KCD boots.Alyssa Quezada, the then coach and now manager, going over the dance at court rehearsal. She was a Knicks City dancer before transitioning to a manager role. Margaret.Brooke Fera, who was the team’s captain in 2021. She is now the social media manager, we work together closely on all of the photography content.Alexis.Gianna.Court rehearsal.Yahna.
The following are images I made for the dancers social content, which is always very collaborative.
Follow along @knickscitydancers.