Milwaukee Bucks Dancers will show less skin, perform routines that are 'welcoming to everyone'

James B. Nelson | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Bucks Dancers will show less skin and tone down the sexy routines as the team prepares to move to its new $524 million arena.

The re-set of the Dancers is part of an overall "rethinking" of the in-game entertainment led by Johnny Watson, the team's director of live programming and entertainment.

"Teams have gotten way too 'out there,'" said Petra Pope, a consultant working with the Bucks dancers.

"The costumes have gotten super skimpy," she said. "They should understand that's not adding to the solution -- it's adding to the problem."

Pope, a former NBA dancer with 35 years of experience, visited Milwaukee last winter to observe a couple of games and was brought back this summer to oversee auditions and the revamping of the dancer program.

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NBA dancers have drawn scrutiny following gender discrimination complaints filed by National Football League cheerleaders detailing demeaning ways that they were treated.

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"The underlying premise of NFL cheerleaders is degrading, presenting women as nothing more than objects to be leered at. With skimpy, suggestive outfits as their 'uniform,' their only purpose is to titillate," USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour wrote last spring.

"It’s always been an appalling message to send and, in this #MeToo era, there’s no longer any place for it. NFL cheerleaders need to go. NBA dance squads and NHL ice girls while we’re at it, too."

Pope said she's well aware of the controversy and believes the dancers can continue to play a role entertaining Bucks fans.

That starts with revamped costumes. The Bucks showed off one of four new costumes that are shorts and sleeved tops. No bare mid-rifts or cleavages.

Pope described the new outfits as "classy" and said they will give the team a sharp, professional look that will resonate with all fans.

"It's about being welcoming to everyone," Pope said.

She noted that although men make up a sizable part of the NBA audience, pro basketball is a "family-centric" game.

"These men have wives and children and they bring them to games," Pope said. "These women are athletes."

Watson plans to tap the state-of-the-art technology at the new arena to make the in-game entertainment a key part of attending a Bucks game.

He's reaching out to the community, seeking performers with skills like breakdancing who would appear in addition to the dancers, Rim Rockers and other performers familiar to fans.

RELATED: Milwaukee Bucks set auditions for break-dancers, tumblers who will perform during games

"My goal is that every single night I want them to have several 'wow" moments," Watson said. "The new building is going to speak for itself. I want the product on the floor to be just as good."

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Pope said the dance team will be central to Watson's approach.

"I'm bringing Johnny's show to life," she said. "It will be athletic. It will be hard hitting."

The Bucks expect to have 18-20 women on their dance squad. The team will hold a pre-audition clinic July 31 and then an open call audition Aug. 11.

Pope has worked with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets dance groups. Her time with the L.A. Clippers Spirit dancers, which she still leads, was the subject of a 2016 reality show on E! Entertainment. In the show, she comes across as a professional, no-nonsense leader.

The Bucks Dancers auditions will likely have some of the same tension and drama as on the television series, Pope said.

"They're petrified of me," she said of the dancers. "They're petrified the moment I walk in."

She added: "I tell them to take a breath. Life is short, enjoy the moment."