Honeybees' manager buzzes with activity

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ As the manager and choreographer of the N-B-A Hornets' Honeybees dance team, Ashley Deaton is one busy woman. <br/><br/>Between coordinating busy schedules and preparing costumes

Sunday, November 6th 2005, 11:28 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ As the manager and choreographer of the N-B-A Hornets' Honeybees dance team, Ashley Deaton is one busy woman.

Between coordinating busy schedules and preparing costumes for 21 girls, Deaton says she sometimes wonders how she even ended up in Oklahoma City.

Deaton and 10 Honybee dancers came to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina ravaged parts of New Orleans in September. Twelve Honeybees stayed behind in Louisiana and will perform at the six games the Hornets play in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In her first year as the only full-time employee for the Honeybees, Deaton has been thrown one challenge after another.

Less than a month after the Hornets arrived in Oklahoma City, Deaton and the Hornets staff held tryouts and picked 11 new dancers. In less than three weeks, the dancers had to learn routines for opening night and get costumes, something the team usually has about three months to do.