The Rangerettes are the world's best-known collegiate drill . We're going to need tissues. They were required to wear their hair in a ponytail on top of their heads. They were not saying these lines out of heartfelt gratitude or common courtesythey were saying it because if they didnt, something horrible would happen. More importantly, they become part of the Texas tradition and a lesser-known American legendthe team that invented the half-time show and the sport of precision dancing. "But the Rangerettes stand out on their own. There are sidewalks for a reason, they say, and cutting corners is a no-no. Said Blair: "I think the football team would watch us practice and say, 'Yeah, that looks hard.' She became the assistant director and choreographer to . What if she was the one to mess up? And although the numbers are low, both current members and Blair agree that the numbers are representative of the proportion of minorities who try out. She was sentenced to two concurrent 5-year terms and had to serve at least half of her 5-year sentence before she was eligible for parole. Everyone must go through periodical weigh-ins, although no one is bound by the same number. This is her zone. Handbook of Texas Online, Kilgore Campus 1100 Broadway, Kilgore, Texas 75662 | (903) 983-8209 KC-Longview Campus 300 South High Street, Longview, Texas 75601 | (903) 753-2642. KV: A drill team is a group that performs to music, usually as halftime entertainment at football games. The revenue generated by the shows make it one of Kilgore College's highest grossing events. [44], Until the 1970s there were no African American members of the team. According to Emily Diehl, the 2014-15 captain, Blair and essentially any Rangerette -- current or former -- the rules have their reasons. This all takes a ton of agility and concentration and power. Founded in Kilgore, Texas, in 1939-1940 by the incomparable Gussie Nell Davis, the Rangerettes have performed for national and international . They are just about as "Texas" as Jerry World itself. Many of these women were good at drill team or dance team or cheerleading in high school and had an itch to pursue drill team at Kilgore College for the same reason a basketball player might want to pursue basketball at a Big Ten or Big 12 university. Members of the troupe are selected each August at a two-week tryout camp, during which as many as 150 applicants vie for some thirty openings. So began the Rangerettes, a precision drill team that was, at the time, unprecedented. Her work has appeared in Best American Sports Writing 2005, Best American Sports Writing 2006, the Oxford American, the Texas Observer, and on the radio program This American Life. In Lovett's masterfully composed photographs, the Rangerette performances captivate with their multiplicity of "shapes, patterns, and designs.". But if being a part of the Rangerettes' bubble of perfection means following a laundry list of rules, getting a rewards card at Sephora and putting much of your social life on hiatus, then so be it. January 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? ), no more, no more, fakin' it (kick!).". "We're fit, young women, not skinny," said Leslie Rowe, a Rangerette from 2013-15. I doubt any Texas Rangers, be they policeman or baseball players, could perform such a physical feat. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? Back inside, past the common area and kitchen, down the hallway that looks like a five-star hotel, are the bedrooms. The Rangerettes are one of the world's best collegiate drill team that performs nationwide and even on world tours. That hair has to meet a length requirement as well: three inches above the belt when it's straight, and touching the shoulders when it's curled. Ask anyone from this east Texas town what their community is known for, and they'll tell you oil and the Rangerettes, and probably not even in that order. 2023 Kilgore College Rangerettes All Rights Reserved. Rangerette Showcase and Museum. Kilgore Rangerettes - YouTube The Official Facebook page of the World Famous Kilgore College Rangerettes! To Teresa Kaelin Shore, whose daughter Catherine was on the 2014-15 line, the benefits of Rangerettes stick with her today -- so much so that she speaks about her involvement in present tense. It just exploded.". Freddie Deloise Goosby Evans was the first-ever African American to high kick her way across the color line in East Texas when she was chosen as a member of the prestigious Kilgore College Rangerettes. A mans world? A Gregg County judge has awarded $575,000 in a combination of compensatory and punitive damages to the victims of a 2016 aggravated kidnapping which targeted the director of the Kilgore College Rangerettes and her daughter. [68], In the February 14, 2020, comic strip Over the Hedge, the Rangerettes were mentioned as sending a Valentine's Day card to one of the characters.[69]. [50], On April 29, 2019, Motes pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one with a deadly weapon and one with deadly force. Dressed in laced-up black boots, they practiced the same move over and over, stopping constantly for critique from their choreographer and director. Apparently, in order to join the elite dance drill team of Kilgore College, girls must be able to kick high enough to touch boot toe to the front brim of their white cowboy hats. The Kilgore College Rangerettes have traveled the world, performing in dozens of different countries and representing Texas in a way that no football team ever could: 71 young women, rigid with white smiles, wearing the mini-est of mini skirts, white boots and cowboy hats, dancing in lockstep. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball. (Photo by Andrew Evans, National Geographic Traveler), Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. When out-of-towners flock to AT&T Stadium each year, says Dana Blair, they get a "little bit of Texas" when the Rangerettes perform, white-tasseled cowboy boots . [49], On January 22, 2019, a start date of April 15, 2019, was set for the criminal trial against Motes. Outside judges are also brought in to assist in evaluating hopefuls during tryouts. "We'd love to have more diversity.". Wearing their traditional red, white, and blue uniform, Rangerettes have exhibited anall-American image since 1940. If this is really the dungeon, wait 'til you see the "Taj Mahal." Kicking is the foundation of what the Rangerettes do, and it's what thousands of fans come to see. | Stadium Entry Waiver. The idea is to instill in them an ability to listen. Highlights of performances -- at Cotton Bowls, at presidential inaugurations, at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades -- are shown on two small televisions. Yes maam, Thank You Missus Blair, The girls replied cheerfully in unison with flawless smiles plastered on their faces. "When we say 'Yes ma'am, thank you,' we take that criticism and apply it to ourselves. You're supposed to be presentable at all times.". I had traveled to Kilgore to see the East Texas Oil Museuma fascinating tribute to the petrochemical wealth of East Texas and the boom that sprung serious life into this corner of the state. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. "It was in God's hands, I remember Ashton saying," Ginger Terry says before her voice breaks again. For kick endurance, you can't run. KV: Well, the Rangerettes appeal to people who like tradition. KILGORE, Texas (KETK) The 83rd line of Kilgore Rangerettes were announced on Thursday morning and 11 East Texas girls are among them. Rangerettes aren't even supposed to leave the room without re-fluffing the pillows. The legacies have gathered in the "dungeon," which is lined with lockers and mirrors and filled with plush blue couches. It's helped me with my confidence and communication, just talking to other people.". Whether she knows it or not, every girl who has ever dreamed of taking her place in a line of high-kicking dancers on a football field at halftime has been inspired by the Kilgore College Rangerettes, the world's first precision dance drill team. [70] In addition to Sweethearts of the Gridiron, the Rangerettes have appeared in four additional feature films: Seven Wonders of the World (1956), Beauty Knows No Pain (1971), Semi-Tough (1977), and Johnny Be Good (1988). "You have a weekend coming up, and I suggest you use that time to figure out how you're going to get your kick endurance up. This entry belongs to the following Handbook Special Projects: We are a community-supported, non-profit organization and we humbly ask for your support because the careful and accurate recording of our history has never been more important. His introduction to the Rangerettes came by way of an assignment from Paris Match magazine to document Texas culture in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. The Rangerettes portray a narrow image of beauty, especially when the program's diversity is evaluated alongside it. "Hopefuls" aren't allowed to wear makeup during the tryout process. Chatting with Jan at the museum, she said, Tyler used to beat us in football but we sure beat em in halftime. Indeed, Kilgore College was the birthplace of the half-time showthe Rangerettes spawned a tradition that gets replayed across America every Friday night in football season and at every Superbowl. TSHA | Kilgore Rangerettes - Handbook of Texas It's something that Blair says the squad wants to solve: "With as few that try out, the odds are just low," she said. texasmonthly.com: Do you think an organization like the Rangerettes could exist today outside of a small town? The first count included two charges: aggravated kidnapping with intent to terrorize and aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon. She was not realmore of a permanent paper doll glued to the side of a beige brick building at Kilgore Collegebut she served her purpose in drawing me away from the oil museum and pulling me towards the Rangerette Museum.