By Stephen Witt
Move that body! And few do it better than Park Slope resident and New Jersey Nets dancer Angelique Bonner. The trim and beautiful brunette, originally from San Diego, has been living in the borough since shortly after arriving in the city in November 2001. “I consider myself a late bloomer when it came to dance. I started training a little in high school and college, and then after college I started seriously doing it,” said Bonner. It was while dancing for the Beachers Comedy Madhouse, a small supper club in Manhattan, that Bonner saw an audition notice to become a Nets dancer in Backstage magazine. “One of the other dancers knew about the Nets and said how amazing it was and such a great opportunity, so I decided to audition, and I was lucky enough to make it,” said Bonner, who is now in her third season with the team. Bonner said there are 13 women on the dance team, and they practice the well-choreographed routines twice a week and rehearse a little bit on the court before each home game. “We have an amazing chorographer, Dominique Kelley, who is actually performing with the Wicked cast right now, and in dancing in front of thousands of fans you get such an adrenaline rush,” said Bonner. Bonner said the job is part-time, but the Nets organization provides a positive environment where all the dancers are encouraged to become the best they can be. “Another aspect is we do a lot of community work with such organizations as the Boys and Girls Club and Read To Achieve,” said Bonner. “It’s nice to be close and personal with fans, especially with the younger community, who look up to us as role models,” she added. Bonner said she is also excited by the prospect of the Nets coming to Brooklyn, and said the move has even put a renewed interest in the New Jersey home games where attendance is up 2,000 per game for the year. “Brooklyn has such a pride to it and for them to have a team of their own is very exciting,” she said. “People I have talked to said as soon as they move to Brooklyn they will get season tickets.” The 5-foot-5, 115-pound Bonner said she keeps her figure by doing cardio through her dance rehearsals and games, but also lifts weights at a local gym for the upper body strength that is required of the dance routines. Bonner said that after finishing her dance career she plans on going back to school for a master’s degree and becoming a high school guidance counselor. But guys looking for a beautiful and talented woman should be advised that Bonner is taken. She and her boyfriend, a gym teacher and lifeguard from Park Slope, plan to get married in June. “While I still have a soft spot for California, I definitely love Brooklyn and do see myself living and settling down here,” Bonner said. “Park Slope has a strong sense of community. Everyone is very nice to each other, and people know their neighbors. I also love Prospect Park. I often go there with my fiancé to run, throw the football around or have a picnic,” she added.
