Kilgore College Rangerettes
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| Motto | Beauty Knows No Pain |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1939 |
| Type | Precision Dance Team |
| Location | |
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Membership
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72 |
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Founder
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Gussie Nell Davis |
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Director
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Dana Blair |
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Assistant Director
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Shelley Wayne |
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Parent organization
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Kilgore College |
The Kilgore College Rangerettes, also known simply as the Rangerettes, are an American precision dance team from Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas. The team was created by Gussie Nell Davis in 1939 and debuted on September 12, 1940. The Rangerettes have performed on four continents, in eleven foreign countries, twenty-three states, and Washington D.C. They have also performed in 66 Cotton Bowl game halftimes in a row (1951-2017), and they make regular appearances at Dallas Cowboys pre-game and half-time shows, national parades and presidential inaugurations.
The Kilgore College Rangerettes were founded by Gussie Nell Davis, a physical education instructor from Farmersville, Texas who had previously taken an all-girl's group called the "Flaming Flashes" from being a simple high school pep-squad to an elaborately performing drum and bugle corps in Greenville, Texas. In 1939, Miss Davis was hired away from Greenville High School by the Kilgore College Dean, Dr. B.E. Masters. Dr. Masters wanted something different than the traditional women's drum and bugle corps; he wanted something new and unique that would primarily increase female enrollment at the college, but would also keep fans in their seats during football half time shows instead of drinking alcohol and brawling under the stands. Opting early to forgo the use of musical instruments, Davis focused her new team on dance and choreography, later naming the group the Rangerettes. The Rangerettes became a success early on despite criticisms of their uniforms featuring skirts above the knee, which by the 1960s had become much shorter. In 1975 the Houston Contemporary Museum of Art honored her for creating a "living form" of art. Davis served as the group's director for forty years, until 1979, and died December 21, 1993.
Blair and Wayne began their 24th year together in August 2016.
Performance Locations
Partial List of Major Performances
Rangerette Revels is an annual variety show centered around a theme and performed at Kilgore College. Revels features performances by Rangerettes and guest performers. There are typically five showings within the week of the program, with the last show on Saturday night. Rangerette Revels is the last major performance of the year for the group, and is universally considered by the Rangerettes themselves to be their most important performance of the year. The revenue generated by the shows make it one of Kilgore College's highest grossing events. The last segment of the show is always an extended production kick routine, featuring all of the Rangerettes in the traditional uniform.
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