{"id":9690,"date":"2019-01-18T19:04:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T19:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=9690"},"modified":"2019-01-18T19:04:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T19:04:55","slug":"utrgv-alumna-soars-to-success-as-member-of-world-famous-houston-rockets-power-dancers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=9690","title":{"rendered":"UTRGV Alumna Soars to Success as Member of World-famous Houston Rockets Power Dancers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pharr native and UTRGV alumna Sarah Nicole Zepeda is one of three rookies on the Houston Rockets Power Dance team for the 2018-2019 season. Zepeda was selected from more than 100 women who tried out for just 11 spots this summer. Zepeda graduated from UTRGV in December 2017 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and a minor in communication. Courtesy Photo<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

by Ester Navarro<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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RIO GRANDE VALLEY \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0When the\u00a0Houston Rockets<\/a>\u00a0kicked off the season in October, Pharr native and UTRGV alumna Sarah Nicole Zepeda hit the court for the first time as a\u00a0Rockets Power Dancer (RPD)<\/a>\u00a0for the NBA team.<\/div>\n
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A rookie on the dance squad, Zepeda was selected from more than 100 women who tried out for one of just 11 spots. Now, she is one of three rookies on the team for the 2018-2019 season.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRPD represents strength, power and confidence,\u201d Zepeda said. \u201cEvery aspect \u2013 from performances, uniforms, giving back and fan interactions \u2013 shows the environment that the Rockets organization has created, and I knew I needed to be on the team.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Zepeda graduated from UTRGV in December of 2017 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and a minor in communication.<\/div>\n
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She plans to get a master\u2019s degree in communication from UTRGV, and hopes to one day be a sports entertainment director for the NBA.<\/div>\n
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To become an RPD, Zepeda competed in a two-round, day-long audition to determine who would move forward to the week-long finals, which included new routines and intense trainings.<\/div>\n
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Throughout the process, Zepeda said, she not only danced, but also was required to go through interviews and was tested on the Houston Rockets history.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m a lucky woman to be able to do what truly makes me happy every single day,\u201d Zepeda said.<\/div>\n
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As an RPD, Zepeda practices three times a week and meets with trainers once a week. Aside from rehearsals, there are also game days and appearances.<\/div>\n
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On game days, the dancers perform during timeout breaks for a minute and a half. During appearances, the RPDs interact with Rocket fans throughout the Houston community and volunteer for events in the area.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRPD requires dedication and commitment, and hours and hours of rehearsal,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to maintain our image, and of course how we represent ourselves to our fans.\u201d<\/div>\n
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When she completes her rookie year, Zepeda hopes to return as a veteran Rockets Power Dancer for the next basketball season.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt may seem like a part-time job, but it\u2019s a full-time schedule,\u201d Zepeda said. \u201cIt\u2019s all possible if you have the passion for it.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ester Navarro RIO GRANDE VALLEY \u2013\u00a0When the\u00a0Houston Rockets\u00a0kicked off the season in October, Pharr native and UTRGV alumna Sarah Nicole Zepeda hit the court for the first time as a\u00a0Rockets Power Dancer (RPD)\u00a0for the NBA team. A rookie on the dance squad, Zepeda was selected from more than 100 women who tried out for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9696,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9690\/revisions\/9696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}