Raptors North Side Crew features Sudbury dancer

As the Toronto Raptors continue to play against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, one Sudbury woman is proud to say she's attended every home game this season.

Julia Greenough is a member of the North Side Crew, the dance team for the Raptors. Being a part of the team means she gets to attend and dance at every home game.

It's her second year dancing for the basketball team. After she graduated high school in Sudbury, she moved to Toronto to attend Ryerson.

Greenough says she's always been into dancing, and wanted to see what her options were in Toronto. She decided to audition to be a member with the Raptors Dance Pak.

She showed up to audition, alongside 300 other dancers hoping to land the same spot.

"I guess I got lucky," she said. "I ended up making the team of around 20 dancers. It was a really cool experience."

Initially, the team only had female dancers which changed this past season when men were added to the mix. The dance team was renamed the North Side Crew.

"It definitely adds a really cool dimension to our group," she said. "It really changed it up compared to previous years."

Although it's not a full time job, being a member of the North Side Crew is a time commitment. 

Greenough says they meet to practice about two or three times as week, as well as dancing during all the Raptors home games during the regular and playoff season.

"It is pretty busy but it honestly doesn't feel like a job when you're doing something that you love to do," she said.

The job also includes appearances at charity events and interacting with fans. She says the experience has helped her develop a love for the game.

"Going in my first year, I may not have known much about basketball but when you're around the court and you're in the atmosphere so much … I definitely have learned a lot more involved and into it," she said.

Greenough says she just finished her third year at Ryerson and hopes to continue being a part of the North Side Crew for her final year.

"It's the best part-time job for any student that's a dancer down in Toronto," she said.