Reiko Ogasawara, a former exclusive cheerleader for a B League professional basketball team, is aiming to join the American National Basketball Association (NBA) cheerleading squad. The test schedule for joining the squad has yet to be announced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I don't know when I'll be able to try out next time," Ogasawara said. "I want to test my ability."
From Fujisaki, Aomori Prefecture, Ogasawara joined the cheerleading squad at Aomori Prefectural Hirosaki Chuo High School and became a cheerleader because she liked the "cute costumes" of the squad.
When she was a student at Tohoku Gakuin University in Sendai, she began cheerleading as a competitive sport, in which performers do acrobatic movements.
After she graduated from the university in 2008, Ogasawara moved to Tokyo and joined the Devils, a cheerleading team comprising adults. She improved her skills in the team while also working as a coach for a swimming school and an English teacher at a correspondence high school. Four years after joining the team, her team won first place at an all-Japan club team championship. After retiring from competition in 2016, Ogasawara joined the Sunrocker Girls, the cheerleading team for B League professional basketball team the Sunrockers Shibuya, and brought with her excitement to game venues.
The turning point came last summer. Ogasawara attended a training session in Las Vegas, where professional dancers from across the United States gathered. With enough core strength to walk with two adults on her shoulders, Ogasawara thought she would be second to none of the others in terms of dancing. However, she was surprised at "how quickly others acquired choreography."
There were some NBA dancers Ogasawara admired in the session, and she decided to audition for the NBA, "wondering how far I could go."
Eventually, Ogasawara quit the Sunrocker Girls in June.
According to Sunrocker Girls director Naoko Ishii, who has cheerleading experience with the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, the audition process is highly competitive, and there have only been about 20 Japanese cheerleaders in the NBA so far.
"I thought she didn't need to try out now [amid the pandemic], but I was overwhelmed by her passion that she would go for it," Ishii said. "Her dance skills are high enough, so I want her to have confidence and take on the challenge."
Ogasawara's employer, Hashimoto Sogyo Ltd., a housing equipment sales company based in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, agreed to let her audition while still working for the company.
"I think she has a good attitude toward her work because she has a dream and is highly motivated. We want to support her as much as we can," said Takahiro Kadobe, manager of a Tokyo branch.
The NBA suspended its season in mid-March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It resumed on July 30, but the playoffs have not finished, and the audition schedule has yet to be announced.
"The coronavirus [pandemic] broke my heart at one point, but I haven't been satisfied with my dance yet. I have nothing to lose, so I want to give it a try," Ogasawara said.
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