To kick off the countdown to our auditions on January 28, we’ll be chatting with previous competitors who have used their experience on Kollaboration Atlanta as a stepping stone to a larger spotlight in the mainstream media. This week, we caught up with Atlanta Hawks cheerleader Mona Xia who performed in Kollab 2 (2009) with dance crew, M.I.S.C.
1. Tell us what you’re up to these days.
Kollaboration 2009 feels like so long ago and so much has happened! Since then, I’ve graduated [from Georgia Tech], competed in various competitions, danced at numerous events, and am now cheering and dancing for the Atlanta Hawks!
2. So what’s it like, being an Atlanta Hawks dancer? What does your day-to-day schedule look like?
Being chosen as an Atlanta Hawks dancer was one of the most epic moments of my life (it still feels somewhat surreal)! We started having practices, learning dance routines and sideline cheers, and I really started to get to know the other great girls on the team.
Then, the NBA lockout occurred. I was pretty devastated at first, but even more so as the talks persistently ended in disagreement and began to cut into the regular season. However, due to the excess off-time created by the lockout, we as a team had a lot more opportunities to reach out to our community. Just to name a few: we painted dorm rooms at a women’s shelter, held car washes to raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and visited an elementary school to promote drug awareness week. It was awesome, and I absolutely loved it! In retrospect, I really feel like the lockout was a unique blessing in disguise.
Now that the lockout has ended (yay!) and a bunch of games are being packed into a shortened season, saying that ‘my schedule is really hectic’ would be an understatement. Some weeks are crazier than others. One week, I had workouts one night, 3-hour practice the next night, a game the next (usually at least 6 hours), another practice the night after, and then another game the next night. We try to do a different dance routine every game, so oftentimes we have to learn and/or clean routines on our own outside of practice. All the girls on the team have other jobs too, so we are all super busy!
3. We’re getting our auditions underway soon. Any advice you have for first-time performers?
My two bits of advice to all the first-time performers are (1.) to practice performing in front of an audience– whether it be your friends and family or just some random people, and (2.) to practice without a mirror! Other than that, just go up there, give it all you’ve got, and don’t stop even if you make a mistake!!! Good luck!
M.I.S.C. performing onstage at Kollaboration ATL 2 in 2009
4. What are your future plans?
I was actually accepted to Columbia Law School recently, so I will be moving to New York City soon after the end of the NBA season to pursue my law degree! I know there are a lot of new opportunities waiting for me there, but no matter what, I know I will continue to dance through it all
Don’t forget to apply for our audition on Jan. 28! See here for details.
OMG… I Love you Mona