Turning 30 is a major milestone, something that the New York Liberty and Ellie the Elephant kept in mind when brainstorming ways to celebrate its 30th season in the WNBA. All eyes would not only be on the team to start the season strong with a win (which they did!), but also, on its beloved mascot Ellie. Ellie’s half-time show performances have become a marquee event for Liberty fans—and everyone else online—so the team had to go big. And nothing says legendary quite like an ode to the late, great Whitney Houston.
Deciding to create a performance inspired by the true diva was a reverant nod to Houston’s ties to the New York Liberty, which go way back to another major milestone for the team and the WNBA. “We wanted to anchor Ellie’s first half-time performance of the season in something that felt both nostalgic and distinctly New York,” says Criscia Long, senior director of entertainment at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, “which led us back to the very first WNBA All-Star Game [in 1999], hosted by the Liberty, where Whitney Houston delivered an iconic National Anthem performance.”
“When I think of Whitney, I think of legacy,” Ellie the Elephant tells Vogue. “So many have been inspired by her presence and performance. She’s raised several generations of vocalists through her eternal art. I strive to have a legacy that exudes that level of confidence, originality, and inspiration.”
Photo: Marcus Stevens / ESPN Images
Training to Be Ellie Houston
The performance has been months in the making, with Ellie deep in rehearsals and training to get her stamina half-time ready. Ellie’s workout regimen mostly included running a few miles every day (a Whitney playlist was queued up on Spotify) for cardio. While rehearsals were physically intense, they also demanded a lot of mental preparation from Ellie and her team. “I’ve studied everything: [Whitney’s] vocals, her movement, her energy, her presence,” Ellie says. “I spent hours immersed in her performances and interviews, making sure every detail feels authentic.” An even more impressive athletic feat, considering Ellie…is an elephant.
Narrowing down the great Whitney Houston catalog to just five minutes was no easy task, either. Long and her team worked with DJ Jay Jung to create a tight, hits-spanning set list. What started out as a mashup of 15 career-traversing songs was cut down to an energetic six—“The Star-Spangled Banner,” “How Will I Know,” “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay,” “I’m Every Woman,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” “We had to be intentional about pacing,” says Long. “Balancing big vocal moments with high-energy sections to keep the performance dynamic from start to finish.”
