Southern University will hold its annual Dancing Dolls tryouts June 21 – 22 in the rehearsal hall of the Issac Greggs Band Hall.
There will be an estimated 100 ladies with aspirations of becoming Dancing Dolls attending this year’s tryout, but there are only 12 slots available; “you have to bring your ‘A’ game,” said Lawrence Jackson, Southern University graduate and the director of Southern’s Human Jukebox marching band.
“Becoming a Dancing Doll is a very prestigious position to be in, to have a great place in history and the legacy that dates back over 40 years. To be a part of this close-knit organization is something to behold,” expressed Jackson.
The legacy of the Dancing Dolls dates back to 1969 when Dr. Issac Greggs, long time Southern band director, signified himself as “the architect of what you see today,” according Jackson.
Today it has become a great privilege to be selected to the “world renowned, internationally famed Dancing Dolls,” said Jackson. “A Dancing Doll, is a beautiful young lady, who has great dancing technique.”
“To become a Dancing Doll you must display great dancing techniques (ballet, jazz and modern dance), as well as be a beautiful, graceful woman with a super personality,” Jackson added.
Tryouts will include a three-step process over the course of two days.
The first step will be the auditioning process. Ladies will perform basic movements through a progressions and skills evaluation (pirouettes, struts and jazz walking). Forty ladies will be excused during this process.
Next, ladies will be given a dance routine to be performed before a panel of judges. Twenty ladies will be selected to continue on to the interviewing process of the tryout. “Dress for success,” Jackson urges. From the remaining 20 ladies, 12 will be selected as Dancing Dolls and representatives of the university.
Ashley McJowan, former band member and graduating senior from Raymond Mississippi believes that the Dancing Dolls are “great.” They are one of the major recruitment tools for the university. They are women of integrity, intelligence as well as poise and elegance.
“We look for the best dancers and the beauty of the person trying out. Make no mistake; we don’t select people based on shades of color. Its discrimination when you start picking dancers by color. That’s the worst type of discrimination,” Jackson added. “When you discriminate against your own race.”
“Also, we want a bouquet of roses. The best bouquet has all colors. There are times we may have one shade more another,” said Jackson.
The only criteria for the dancers: dance well, have a presence about yourself, maintain a GPA of 2.0, match well with the other girls’ “body cuts” and uphold the Dancing Dolls’ high standard of excellence.
“We are the face of the elegance and class of the ladies of Southern University,” said Nancy Lynch, former Dancing Doll and senior from Dallas, Texas. “We display the many different variations of the faces of the ladies of Southern.”
There will be a judging panel of three individuals with dance experience to help select the most qualified dancers.
“I think it’s important that every young lady on the campus who has a desire to try out should fill out an application with the band department,” said Jackson.
Applications will no longer be accepted after June 11. There will be absolutely no exceptions and no walk-ons.
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Dancing Doll tryouts approaching
April 17, 2008
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