Gold and Bluez “Better Than Ever”

Whether academic or artistic, there are many organizations on Southern’s campus that are dedicated to showcasing the many talents of the student body.
One of the many recognized organizations would be the Gold-N-Bluez dance team, a staple and monumental force of a dance team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which was created by Director of Student Life, Jonas Vanderbilt in 2000.
While the Gold-N-Bluez mainly perform during and at the SU basketball games, they also compete in various competitions, work with industry choreographers and dancers across the world, and participate in many community and campus events.
“I think this year’s team is going to be great because we had a lot of talent that came in this year,” said Vanderbilt.
“That’s actually what caused me to select many more than usual. While we usually have 12-13 dancers, this year we have 18 dancers. We figured since it’s the centennial year, why not try something new,” finished Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt also mentioned how basketball dance teams are usually huge, so he’s very excited to work with the ladies that were chosen for this year’s team.
“They are my mixture of The Pussycat Dolls, the Miami Heat, and the New Orleans Pelicans,” said Vanderbilt.
As well as being dancers, the ladies of the Gold-N-Bluez are also students, and have to excel, not only in the dance world but in the academic world as well.
Alexandra Clark, a 20-year-old junior nursing major and accounting minor from Baton Rouge, has been dancing with the Gold-N-Bluez for one year. Clark is going into her second year as a dancer for the Gold-N-Bluez.
“I don’t sleep,” says Clark with a laugh. “I bring my books everywhere with me, and my friends catch me in between and on Sundays. Sundays are normally when I just relax.”
Clark is actually really excited for a bigger team this year. Clark thinks the 2014-2015 team will be better with more ladies a part of the team.
The audition process is very “grueling,” as Vanderbilt described it.
“I try to prepare them for the professional dance world. A lot of my dancers have gone on to be NBA or NFL dancers,” said Vanderbilt.
“Day one is like a boot camp. You come in, and we teach you everything that we do. Day two, we immediately judge and cut. As soon as we cut they have to learn a second dance. This year we started out with 66, then dropped down to the top 22.”
Clark also agrees that the audition process is very nerve wracking, along with newcomer A’Daja Magee, an 18-year-old freshmen psychology major from Bogalusa, LA.
“I was extremely nervous! I think people assume that since this is my second year that this will be a cake walk, and that’s not the case,” said Clark.
“It’s new choreography for everyone, and there’s always a possibility that someone will outperform you.”
“Even though I’ve been dancing a while tryouts are always nerve wrecking,” says Magee.
“Performing at the mall was different for me because I’ve never had to do anything like that before for a tryout, but once they called my number it felt really good.”
Vanderbilt stressed how the Gold-N-Bluez are a separate entity from the Dancing Dolls.
“The Dancing Dolls stick to tradition. The Gold-n-Bluez are more edgy and have more of a repertoire than the Dancing Dolls,” says Vanderbilt.
Although the Dancing Dolls and Gold-N-Bluez are separate, there is an understood comradery among the groups.
Connor McGrew, a 21 year old senior psychology major from Mobile, Alabama, danced with the Gold-N-Bluez for two years before moving on to Dancing Dolls. McGrew is entering her second year dancing as the Dancing Dolls.
“Dancing Dolls and Gold-N-Bluez are two separate teams with two separate styles,” says McGrew.
“We understand that we are two different teams with two different purposes, however, we are all in support of one another. Not only do we have love for the university, we share the same love for dance.”
All the dancers are looking forward to the year with this new and improved team. Magee, also known as “Sunshyne” by the dancers, is just looking forward to bonding with the girls.
“I’m looking forward to getting close to my rookie sisters, and the veterans. Just bonding,” finished Magee.
The Gold-N-Bluez have many plans for this year, so be on the lookout for them as they continue to dance their hearts away!