DRIVING SPARKS YOUTH HIP-HOP DANCERS GET WNBA FANS ON THEIR FEET.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer

The action exploded midcourt with a flurry of turns, drops and sultry moves across the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks emblem.

Only the nearly dozen hoofers weren't hoopsters with the No. 1 women's basketball powerhouse, but the home-game hip-hop team led by Emmy-nominated choreographer Charles ``Chucky'' Klapow.

For the 26-year-old San Fernando Valley dance phenom, it's about the power to inflame fans -- and influence games.

``What's you gotta do is move your face,'' Klapow told his teenage Sparks TROOP before the team's 74-62 win over Houston this week at Staples Center. ``You've all gotta shine, make them love you.

``If you're alive, the energy will be alive -- be alive for the crowd, be alive for the team.''

For the past nine years, Klapow has cranked up the Sparks with his flaming hip-hop style.

Between WNBA plays, young Sparkids and Sparks TROOP teens amp up fans with Klapow's electric dance moves.

This week, the Sparks' head choreographer was nominated for an Emmy Award for his dance choreography in Disney's ``High School Musical.''

``Chucky is amazing, he's an amazing choreographer,'' said Sandra Colton, a song-and-dance star preparing to belt out the national anthem at Wednesday's Sparks-Comets game. ``He's international; we're lucky to have him here.''

``Chucky, he's awesome,'' added director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, of ``Dirty Dancing'' fame, by phone from Sydney, Australia. A Klapow mentor, Ortega shares an Emmy nomination as head choreographer for ``High School Musical.''

``Chucky is a master in the making. His creative instincts, coupled with his technical know-how, love for the work and winning personality make him, in my opinion, the new choreographer to watch.''

Klapow has been hoofing it from the gate.

The grandnephew of a Rockettes' choreographer, the boy nicknamed ``Good-time Charlie'' first danced through the living room of his Northridge home.

By 10, the Paula Abdul fan had mastered tap. He soon added jazz and hip-hop. Two years later, he was backing such singers as Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion and the group Salt-N-Pepa.

The Van Nuys High School Math-Science Magnet grad eventually danced behind Abdul, assisted choreographer Marguerite Derricks and appeared in such films as ``Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,'' in addition to choreographing music videos and the Swedish A-Teens.

In 1997, Klapow -- a major sports buff -- signed up with the Sparkids, among the first performance teams in the WNBA.

In ``High School Musical,'' he directed 130 dancers in the finale.

``It came easy to me,'' said Klapow, with piercing dark brown eyes and a casual faux hawk who now lives in Granada Hills and cruises Hollywood clubs for the latest hip-hop moves. ``To me, nothing was ever hard.

``The biggest challenge is not teaching -- I don't just show the moves. I take my time to teach the moves, really break it down. It comes naturally.''

On the court, the lithe dance leader wove through his 11-member troupe, rolling and shuffling to hip-hop faves MIA and Missy Elliot.

He eyed each TROOPer -- for position, for flair, for exacting synchronicity -- a slow smile widening on his angular face.

``That one you can explode,'' he said, his heavy Sketchers tapping a beat. ``Don't be jazzy, or lazy. Just feel it.

``Joong, joong. Bop, bop. Get into it. Get low on that. Make everything bigger, more specific. This looks good ... yeah, yeah ... and go!''

The hip-hop artists come to life in a radiant mass of dance.

``He's actually one of the best choreographers I have worked with,'' Sparks TROOP dancer Brinn Bierman, 16, of Northridge said between numbers. ``He's very specific and strict -- but still very sweet, which makes you want to work with him.''

In the end, it's all about winning games.

The Sparks (14-5) are leading the league before a driving hip-hop beat. And Klapow's kids -- on the court or in the stands tossing pizzas or leading ``Dancing for Your Doughnuts'' -- help lead the charge.

``Sports is my passion,'' he said. ``I tell the kids that they are such a big part of the game: They have a job to do, to get the audience involved, to keep the energy up.

``To do anything they can to help the team win.''

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Dancers huddle with choreographer Charles ``Chucky'' Klapow, center, at Staples Center before the Sparks-Comets game Wednesday night. Below, Klapow watches the dancers move during the match.

(3 -- color) The Sparks dancers rehearse their moves as choreographer Charles Klapow takes the lead.

(4) From left, Shannon Dang, 14; Carissa Martin, 15; and Brinn Bierman, 16, perform at Staples Center during the Sparks-Comets basketball game Wednesday night.

(5 -- 6) Above, choreographer Charles Klapow waits for the game to begin at Staples Center on Wednesday. At left, Tommy Miller, 12, rehearses his dance moves.

(7) Choreographer Charles Klapow waits for a timeout so the Sparks dancers can perform and give away a Domino's Pizza prize during the Sparks' game Wednesday at Staples Center.

Ana P. Gutierrez/Special to the Daily News