Cast your vote for the top 5 HBCU Dance Teams now!
Historically Black College & University (HBCU) Dance Teams bring infectious energy and excitement to sports games, pep rallies, and parades EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Through their high-energy synchronized style of dance, HBCU Majorettes showcase the rich and beautiful legacy of our history and culture.
In the 1960s, majorette dance teams rose in popularity at HBCUs, infusing jazz, West African, and hip-hop dance styles. Derived from the Dutch word “Dansmarietjes,” the original majorettes were carnival dancers who twirled batons in their performances. When the style reached the American South, it morphed into what HBCUs know today.
The 1968 Orange Blossom Classic, an annual HBCU football sporting event in Florida, hosted the first known majorette performance with the introduction of Alcorn State University’s Golden Girls majorette team. Gloria Gray Liggans was a part of the original eight dancers on the line. The Golden Girls’ eight-girl lineup made their debut with “long, golden boots, and gold capes” at the halftime show with their team against Florida A&M University, as reported by Essence in November 2022.
Majorette dancers mix multiple styles of dancing, including jazz, hip-hop, ballet, burlesque, cabaret, kick lines, and more, to entertain audiences while simultaneously honoring the dancers who came before them.
“The majorette dance style is a very unique mixture of stunting, marching, [and] energetic fast clean movements rooted from the Southern areas of the United States,” Dayjasia Wright, the captain of the Golden Girls, told Essence in 2022.
HBCU majorette-style dance is important not only to HBCU culture but to Black culture as a whole. It is continuously being praised, receiving widespread recognition in the media.
From Beyoncé’s historic 2018 Coachella performance and its tribute to HBCU band and majorette culture, to Southern University’s Fabulous Dancing Dolls ESPN+ docuseries, to popular majorette-style TikTok dance trends, it’s safe to say that HBCU dance teams’ relevancy and impact is substantial.
That’s precisely why we highlight our HBCU dance teams every single year.
We invite you to cast your vote in this year’s Top 5 HBCU Dance Teams and tell us who is the “hottest of the hot”!