by Johanna Orca Handyside

Thanks to unparalleled synchronicity and flawlessly confident moves, dance teams have become an expected and highly anticipated element of halftime performances. From high school to college to the professional level, the history of the dance team has been propelled by the ideas and achievements of ambitious, inventive individuals looking for something unique to enhance the viewing experience of sports audiences. These revolutionaries created a form of dance organization that kept the crowd's eyes on the field even when the players weren't on it.

In 1929 at the ambitious age of 23, Gussie Nell Davis created what has been recognized as the first dancing pep squad and the precursor to the dance team. As the physical education teacher and pep squad director at Greenville High School in Greenville, Texas, Miss Davis called upon her creativity, knowledge of music as a groomed concert pianist, and physical education training to form the Flaming Flashes, an all-girl performance group boasting the use of props in addition to rhythm and dance steps. Because of her ingenuity, Miss Davis was recognized and called upon by B.E. Masters in 1939. Then the president of Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, Masters was searching for a unique way to "keep people in their seats at halftime" and to bring more females into his student population. Davis answered in the form of the Kilgore College Rangerettes. This legendary dance group added a bit of showbiz pizzazz to the average halftime show, blazing new ground in the dance and sports worlds and forever binding them together.

Since their collegiate debut in 1940, the Rangerettes have moved on from Kilgore College's R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium to be featured at the Cotton and Sugar Bowls, in Sports Illustrated, on "60 Minutes" and in other media outlets and events. Following in the steps of their founder, the Rangerettes stepped outside the bounds of the United States, bringing their special brand of charm and skill to South America, the Far East and other international destinations. Miss Davis directed the Rangerettes for 40 years before retiring in 1979. During that time she, along with retired Southern Methodist University Mustang Band Director Dr. Irving Dreibrodt, created the American Dance/Drill Team organization, which was devoted to the proper instruction of dance/drill teams within the U.S.

Also laying claim to the creation of the American dance team are the Texas State Strutters. This high-kicking college organization was formed in 1960 and has since been featured on several major television networks and during professional sports events nationwide. On an international scope, the Strutters were the first dance team to perform in the People's Republic of China and have represented the U.S. in 22 countries. Like the Rangerettes, the Strutters' founder Mrs. Barbara Guinn Tidwell served as director and choreographer for nearly 40 years. Although they have recently been renamed from Southwest Texas University to Texas State University, the Strutters are still recognized as one of America's premier dance teams.

From Greenville High School to Kilgore College and Texas State University, the dance team has been strongly associated with school sports since its conception. But such an innovative and captivating concept was bound to break into primetime, and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders facilitated that transition. The brainchild of Tex Schramm and Dee Brock, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders as we know them today marked the culmination of the union of dance entertainment and sports. With the help of Dallas dance studio owner Texie Waterman, the modern Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders debuted during the 1972-1973 National Football League season. The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, unlike their traditional counterparts, added elements of jazz dance and brought their original routines to their larger than life stage for aesthetic and choreographic appreciation.

A decidedly Texas invention, the dance team carries characteristics of its birthplace. In a state where everything is bigger, it brought vitality and style to the field in a big way. Gussie Nell Davis led the way for dance teams like the Rangerettes, Strutters, and eventually the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders to expand on a simple base of entertainment to one of perfection and awe. But the dance team isn't confined to cheer-based motions. Instead, it has been melded to include aspects of jazz and other dance forms. Judging from what we have seen from dance teams so far, the evolution of this dance form is sure to be an exciting one that millions of people will be paying attention to for years to come.