Though she’s known for transforming the Laker Girls, creating the Knicks City Dancers and going on to have an illustrious career in dance entertainment, Petra Pope wasn’t a dancer herself. What led to her incredible career were moments of play at a kid.
“Everyone asks me about growing up as a dancer, but I wasn’t,” Petra Pope shares. “I actually did martial arts and have a black belt in Taekwondo.”
It was the power of play that helped her gain confidence and find comfort in the challenges she faced growing up.
“I grew up stuttering, it was really bad,” Pope said. “I was able to cope through play - through my martial arts, through hiking, being outdoors. My early play was less contingent upon having to speak and that saved me. When you’re competing and good at something, it blurs a lot of lines that make children uncomfortable. Play saved me in that way.”
Petra conquered her stutter through speech therapy, but play helped her move through the world in so many other ways. Growing up as a military child, Petra moved every few years, constantly stepping into new places, new schools, and new friendships. But no matter where she landed—from Germany to Texas—play was the constant that made the world feel a little smaller and a lot more welcoming.
“We were always outside,” she recalls. “Riding bikes, exploring, finding adventure wherever we were.”
Play wasn’t scheduled or structured—it was spontaneous, imaginative, and deeply connective. Whether it was roller skating, softball, or camping through Girl Scouts, play became her way of building friendships and finding belonging, again and again.
But one of Petra’s most defining moments came from something wonderfully simple: putting on shows in her neighborhood.
Armed with construction paper, popsicle sticks, and a big imagination, she would gather the neighborhood kids and produce her own productions. There were handmade flowers, improvised acts, and a full audience of proud parents and neighbors.
“And I remember thinking, wow… I’m making people happy.”
That moment of play sparked a love of entertainment, storytelling, and bringing people together. It eventually led her into the world of professional sports entertainment, where she helped reimagine performance and fan experience on some of the biggest stages.
But even as her career grew, the heart of it never changed. It was still about play. Still about joy. Still about connection.
That’s why when Petra shares her proudest achievement and moment of play, it’s not on the world’s biggest stage, but in a school gymnasium.
While leading the Knicks City Dancers, she built a school-based dance program from the ground up in some of the toughest schools in New York City.
At the time, many of the students she worked with were struggling—academically, socially, and emotionally. The expectations were low. Even school leaders cautioned her not to expect much engagement from families.
Petra had a different vision.
Instead of a one-day camp, she created a full-year dance program—something consistent, something joyful, something the students could own. Week after week, they showed up. They moved. They practiced. They played.
And something incredible happened.
Students' grades improved. Confidence grew. Energy shifted. Kids who had once stayed in the background stepped into leadership roles.
At the end of the year, Petra insisted on a full recital—costumes, choreography, the whole experience. Again, she was warned: Don’t be disappointed if families don’t come.
But when the curtain rose, it was standing room only.
“They had taken up every seat,” she remembers, with tears in her eyes. “It was the best time those kids had ever had. They were so proud of themselves.”
It wasn’t just a performance. It was a transformation.
For Petra, that moment reinforced something she’s always known: play isn’t extra. It’s essential.
“You change people’s lives through play,” she emphasized. “Play builds memories, and I think that's the foundation of who we are as people.”
That belief in play is what fuels Petra’s support of Project Sunshine as both a board member and volunteer. She’s seen first hand, even in the hardest moments, play has the ability to create joy, spark connection, and offer a much-needed escape.
“Play makes children [who face huge medical challenges] forget even for that moment, which is incredible,” Petra says. “If it makes you laugh, if it gets you moving, if it helps you forget—even for a moment—that’s play.”
And that’s exactly why it matters.
Join Project Sunshine in celebrating the healing power of play this year. Sign up for the Summer Solstice Play-A-Thon and celebrate the loooooooongest day of play on June 21. Grab your friends, start a team, and helps us bring the healing power of play to kids everywhere.