The Prestigious Divas have always shown out to the Mavs community. Their hard work and dedication have been shown through every performance that they have had. With the step and cheerleading team showing out and giving their all, shows how much heart they have for the craft.
All of this has been documented. The Prestigious Divas have been working on and released an episode of their documentary “One Step Closer,” which focuses on the day and life of performers and what they go through to prepare for performances. Each performance looks good on paper, and the documentary explores that. The difficulties, high moments, low moments. Showing the world how much performers deal with to be the best and how much of a different world. Everything you can expect is in this documentary. You can thank the captain of Prestigious Divas, Eli Brooks, for that.
Elijah “Eli” Brooks is the one who made the documentary happen and has been making everything happen for the team. The graduate student has many things to do to keep himself active. From being a residential assistant, he earned a video and film production degree and is the president and head coach for Prestigious Divas. Brooks sees these moments as capturing the best moments he has experienced throughout the team and something the people at Mercy can enjoy.
Brooks produced the documentary/film “One Step Closer,” a three-part series that highlights the Prestigious Divas and their ongoing journey as a performance organization. Brooks was inspired to make this happen since he participated in Step during his fourth-grade year. His passion for it has been set ever since. This passion got Brooks into Step competitively until his first year at Mercy University.
Brooks elaborated, “I started to step in fourth grade and have been doing it competitively until my first year of college. In high school, I used to take this dance on the weekends, but it never stuck like a step. There was also a point where cheerleading was at the forefront of my mind, but unlike Step, it did not stick with me. The love for each of these never disappeared; I just had to prioritize. When I first joined college, I was on the “Divas Have Mercy” step team for two years before becoming captain, which was unexpected now, but I was super grateful and excited.”
Prestigious Divas was created on Dec. 5, 2021. It was announced five days later at the annual December highlight on Dec. 10. At the time, the team was not known as “Prestigious Divas” yet but labeled as “Step Team Divas.” Eventually, the step team acquired a dance and cheerleading team, adding both teams to the step team.
“As time went on, we got more recognition from the school that allows Prestigious Divas to flourish as much as possible! Just recently, cheer received brand new cheer uniforms, which was such a huge step for P.D.! We also received support for performing and attending the Apollo, for which I am incredibly grateful.”
“Creating successful teams has been a different journey for each. One team may require me to learn a different technique that I am used to improve the overall technique or vigorously perfect the craft I already have. Overall, ensuring each team is strong and confident in the material being done is the most important thing.”
Brooks had an experience involving step and dance before having his presence known in Mercy back in late 2021.
“I hosted my first December showcase, which is an annual event that gets hosted each year. Creating the showcase from scratch that year was nerve-racking. That was the first event I planned from the ground up alone, and I wanted to ensure everything was perfect. That year’s showcase was important because it was the first event I hosted as captain. This also was the first time people would see what we had been working on for months, and the pressure of wanting to be impressive was huge. The feedback I received from that showcase made me proud of my work and excited me for the future.”
Ever since then, Brooks has done a showcase every year and feels with everything going on, Prestigious Divas can run smoothly and have everyone around the team help get better.
Eli Brooks speaks about the idea of the documentary and the reason behind it. He states that it was initially planned to be a one-part video but decided to become a three-part documentary. Brooks wanted his story and the performers’ stories to be told, and he wanted their experience as prestigious diva performers to be told on screen for the audience to see.
“When we officially started filming for a project, we thought we had an idea for it, and it went in a different direction. I started to realize that behind us, trying to ‘set the record straight,’ our story was being told! The story as a performer, their experience on a team, their experience in college and in an organization, and being a Prestigious Diva performer was being told on screen.”
“When thinking of names for this documentary, multiple ideas will be brought to the table. As I started creating outlines for episodes, the recurring theme was us preparing for the December showcase. Each performance in the Fall semester ultimately leads us to the annual event and, in many ways, one step closer to our goal. Hence the name of the film! We are currently preparing for a reunion, which will be one step closer to giving everyone a chance to speak their truth and to catch everyone up on the status of each team. The organizations and the newest updates! I never thought this small idea would lead to what it is today!”
The prestigious divas have been showing out for when it most counted. Thanks to the talented Elijah Brooks, who makes all this happen for the mercy community to enjoy. The graduate can do it all. Yet what makes the diva’s family so important is the person behind it who can hold the team together for success. It is the respect they have for the students and the respect the mercy campus has for Brooks for setting up these events to create moments. The first episode is now on their YouTube channel, and more episodes will be released for the audience.
