“I was always raised to have as many paths as you wanted, make your life limitless,” she says.
Chelsea Varsaci, lawyer and Miami Heat dance team leader. [ PEDRO PORTAL | TNS ]
Chelsea Varsaci’s two careers couldn’t be more different.
During the day, she handles cases as a maritime lawyer. After work, she changes from her two-piece black suit into a two-piece black sweatsuit to prepare for the night as a Miami Heat dancer and captain.
But for Varsaci, they’re two parts that make her whole.
Varsaci is working on her ninth season as a Miami Heat dancer and, now, as a captain. She’s also in her third year working with a Miami-based law firm.
“It’s full days, but I love the balance between my professional and performance life,” she says.
Chelsea Varsaci, a lawyer and Miami Heat dancer, leads a warm-up during an audition workshop at the Kaseya Center in Miami on July 24.
Varsaci also just completed Miami Heat dance auditions, including leading a workshop. The upcoming Heat games start with an Oct. 6 preseason contest at Kaseya Center in downtown Miami.The 32-year-old dancer and lawyer, born in Ohio and raised in Port St. Lucie, Florida, says she never wanted to pick just one path.
“My mom put me in any crazy activity I wanted to be involved in. I was always raised to have as many paths as you wanted, make your life limitless.”
Chelsea Varsaci give sosme advice to dancer Natasha Madrigalm right, during the Heat's pre-audition workshop at the Kaseya Center in Miami on July 24.
Raised by a single mother, Varsaci was encouraged to go for what she wanted. Growing up, Varsaci saw her mother as “a living example of a woman who can do it all.”
Varsaci’s interest in dance is rooted from her love of gymnastics and experience in Irish step dancing at Port St. Lucie High School. Later, when she went to the University of Central Florida in 2014 for her bachelor’s degree, she was introduced to professional dance.
After dancing for an arena football team in Orlando as well as for the Universal theme park, she became a Miami Dolphins cheerleader in the 2016-2017 football season. She then started dancing for the Miami Heat in 2017-18, and now she also serves as a dance team captain.
Amid the high-energy environment of a basketball game, Varsaci loves to center herself in the moment.
“I take a few seconds before the game starts. I look around the court and the crowd; it helps me stay grounded.”
Chelsea Varsaci works with Miami Heat dancers during a pre-audition workshop at the Kaseya Center in Miami on July 24.
The Heat dancers perform before games and at halftime with high-energy choreography and music ranging from hip-hop to pop to salsa. After nine years with the Heat, she still practices, performs and conditions with newer members.
“The Miami Heat organization has seen me grow up from a young girl to an established grown woman. It would be a hard thing to ever let go,” said Varsaci, who lives in northern Miami-Dade.
And her teammates feel her work ethic and leadership.
“Working with Chelsea has been an absolute joy. She brings a sense of calm and leadership that makes everything easier,” Heat dance teammate Hadley Hancock said.
In college, as she pursued dancing, Varsaci also studied law. She graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2014 with her bachelor’s degree in legal studies. In 2019, she got her law degree from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.
Varsaci then worked as an associate with the Lydecker law firm in Miami in 2021. In 2023, she joined Foreman Friedman as a law associate working on maritime law. Varsaci does her work both in the office and in the courtroom.
“The subject matter of the cases are often dynamic and unique and no two days are the same,” Vasaci said. “It’s the kind of work that reflects the energy and complexity of Miami, which makes it all the more engaging.”
While it’s still a juggling act, she finds a way to manage and make her two parts whole.
“When I’m at work, I’m at work. I’m 100% attorney Chelsea reporting for duty. Towards the end of the day, if I have games or practice, that’s when I’ll start switching and become that Heat dancer.”
Working as a dancer and a lawyer — in the court and on the court — she expected her firm to look at her differently. But that hasn’t been the case.
“I don’t think that they looked at her any differently. She never missed work, and she never had to leave early. We think it’s great,” said Jeffrey Foreman, partner at Foreman Friedman.
Her work ethic has allowed her to manage and perform in both fields.
“Her poise and dedication have earned her the title of captain, allowing her to mentor new dancers and guide them through their journey,” said Natalia Gonzalez, director of Miami Heat talent. “Off the court, she has exemplified leadership by balancing her dance commitments with becoming a successful lawyer.”
Varsaci says that both sides of her career require skills that allow her to succeed in both fields.
“The qualities of an NBA dancer, being able to dance in front of thousands of people, I have a presence that I can now bring into the legal field,” she said. “I know what I can bring to the table.”
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