HBCU Dancelines: A Sisterhood Where Black Women Are "Unapologetically" Themselves
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Photo: The Black Foxes of Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). Image Source: Marching Storm Media.
It starts with an eight-count, but dancelines at historically Black colleges and universities are more than just their flashy performances and infectious energy. They are, in many cases, the face of their school. Their choreographed stands — routines done entirely in the bleachers — and hard-hitting presence on the field personify marching band music. They are a force. Furthermore, they are a sisterhood.
Shawn Zachery, director of the Prairie View A&M University Black Foxes since 2013, was on an HBCU dance team in the 1980s, specifically the Southern University Dancing Dolls. She told POPSUGAR that the majorette style of HBCU dance — which started out as baton twirling — originated in Mississippi in the '60s, naming notable schools like Alcorn State University and Jackson State University as pioneers (the Dancing Dolls were established in '69, Alcorn's Golden Girls in '68, and JSU's Prancing J-Settes between 1970 and 1971). Shirley Middleton, a former member of the Prancing Jaycettes at JSU, before they became known as the Prancing J-Settes, is said to have made the call for majorettes to drop their batons.