Whether it’s becoming a star running back, olympic gymnast, or broadway star, every little kid has dreams of “going pro” in whatever activity they’re signed up for. Most let those dreams fade as they get older, but one Cottontown native, Sydney Jordan, latched onto her dream even tighter, leaping toward her ultimate goal, to be a professional dancer. 

All her hard work and dedication paid off this month when she earned a spot on the 2023-24 Denver Nuggets Dance Team. “From the outside looking in, most will look at professional dance teams and not understand the amount of work they put in to get there,” said Sydney. “I’ve spent basically my whole life working toward this.”

Sydney began her dance training at three years old. For the next 15 years she trained at Dance South Performing Arts School under Director Tiffany Payton. As her skillset grew, so did her love of dance, but her commitment didn’t come without a price. Once she was in high school, Sydney spent four or five days a week at the studio taking classes in ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, and modern dance. 

“My junior year, I really started to consider pursuing dance as a career,” said Sydney. “It has always been my passion— I knew it would be hard, but I knew it would be worth it.”

In her time at Dance South, Sydney was a four- time DisneyWorld Performer, cast in the Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker nine times, attended summer intensives at the University of South Carolina and Florida State, and was accepted into three Joffrey dance intensives. 

“Foremost, a dancer must have a strong technical base to be successful, but the truly gifted ones have something that comes from within,” said Director Payton. “There’s a spark that ignites from a dancer's soul straight to the heart of their audience. It’s magnetic. Sydney has always been acknowledged for outstanding technique, but it’s that spark that’s made her brilliant.”

After graduating from Davidson Academy in 2019, Sydney attended the University of Tampa pursuing a degree in Dance with minors in Film and Psychology. While in college, Sydney was a member of the Spartans Scarlets Dance Team, a three year attendee of the American College Dance Association Conference, was chosen as a choreographer in the Student Showcase four times—which is extremely rare—and received the coveted Charlene Gordon Award for Dance her senior year. 

After receiving her degrees, Sydney landed a gig at Busch Gardens and volunteered with Juntos, a global non-profit whose mission is to bring classical dance instruction to parts of the world where it’s not commonly known. Sydney enjoyed her experience volunteering and found it rewarding. “My time with Juntos was eye-opening,” said Sydney. “I feel so blessed to have had that experience!”  

Then finally, after almost two decades of training, Sydney set her sights on her dream job. Earlier this summer, Sydney began attending prep classes offered by the Nuggets Dancers to get a better understanding of their audition process, how the team members train, and learn their choreography. 

“I kinda had to live out of my van this summer,” laughed Sydney. “I did as many prep classes as I could though, and they were extremely helpful.” 

Once the auditions rolled around, the competition proved to be fierce. One hundred dancers showed up for the first day with only half making it to the next round. On day two they narrowed the competitors down to 30 dancers and invited them to training camp which lasted an entire week. 

“Training camp was intense,” said Sydney. “They were looking at how fast you could retain choreography, how well you applied feedback, and of course, technique.”

In addition to the rehearsals, training camp included an official photoshoot and one-on-one interviews with multiple judges. 

“They really focused on more than just your dancing but who you are as a person,” said Sydney. “The judges want to see how you interact with others and if you have the capacity to make a positive impact on the community. I really appreciated that.” 

At the end of camp, after two hours of deliberation, the judges narrowed the field of 30 dancers down to 18 team members. Sydney was one of only five rookies to receive a spot. 

“I’m proud of myself, " said Sydney. “All the work I’ve done, since I was three years old, I’ve been training my whole life. As dancers, we are athletes and we are artists. I’m so excited to live out my dream.” 

Not every day one of our own goes pro. We’re all cheering for your success, Sydney. Congratulations!