CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The Charlotte Hornets open their basketball preseason in North Charleston on Sunday against the reigning NBA champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And when the home team takes the court, there will be a familiar face on the sidelines cheering the guys on.
“I love it! It’s such a great experience. Just getting to be with the team. They’re just like my second family. Just hearing the crowd, just roar, scream,” Charlotte Honey Bee SaVannah Pasley said.
Pasley is in her second year as a Charlotte Hornets Honey Bee.
“So, being a Honey Bee, is it hard work? Yes, it definitely is a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of dedication, discipline, and a lot of high skill professionalism as well,” Pasley said.
The West Ashley native is well-prepared for the high energy and commitment it takes to be a professional performer.
She’s been dancing since she was two years old.
“Yes, I danced at Charleston Dance Center. It’s formally known as Just Dance. I danced there from probably like five-ish all the way to 12th grade as a competition dancer, where you do like different styles and travel as well, like jazz, hip-hop,” Pasley said.
SaVannah continued growing her dance skills in high school at Charleston County School of the Arts, and at South Carolina State University as a champagne dancer for the Marching 101 band.
While she was in grad school in Atlanta, she worked as a dance coach for a high school, then in 2023, moved to Charlotte.
She thought her days as a performer were over, but she could hear the hum of the Honey Bees.
‘I wasn’t sure yet about auditioning for a team, but once I saw it just randomly popped up on my page, the Hornets and the Honeybee, and I was like, maybe this is my year,” Pasley said.
She had her doubts about whether she could make the squad, and that’s when her mentor and first coach stepped in, her big brother Kedrick Pasley.
“She was like, ‘I’m just a little hesitant,’ and I was like, if it scares you, do it. Simple as that. Uh, fear, the only way to break down fear is to go through it,” Kedrick Pasley said.
Kedrick is a professional dancer now living in Las Vegas. He’s the one who got SaVannah into dance.
He performed in the Super Bowl halftime show with The Weeknd in 2021 and has appeared in commercials and TV shows.
More than 2,000 miles away from Charlotte, on the other side of the country, he coached her over the phone.
“I set my phone down, I’d back up, and I’d try to demonstrate it for her. She’d copy. She’d be in her gym at her apartment, and I’d be like try it like this, try it like that, and yeah, we just kept working on it,” Kedrick Pasley said.
After a month-long process, she landed a spot. But being a Honey Bee is a part-time job. Her full-time gig is working as a buyer for a luxury retailer. Most sports teams require that dance squad performers have responsibilities outside of the team, whether that be a full-time job, being in school, or charity work.
Pasley is now in her second year as a Honey Bee, and she can’t wait to kick off the new season in front of the hometown crowd in the Lowcountry.
“I am very excited. I feel like it’s such a great opportunity to be back in Charleston as well and just see my family and friends and just cheer on another team, which is the Hornets in that arena,” Pasley said.
You can watch Pasley cheer on the Hornets against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. at the Charleston Area Convention Center. Click here for tickets.
And if you’re ever out in Vegas, catch her big brother Kedrick in the “Disco Show” at The Linq Hotel and Casino. It’s an immersive event where the audience is up and dancing as part of a Studio 54-style performance and not just watching the performers.
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