Feet Don't Fail Me Now
Devastating Divas in Drill and Step
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It was Drillarama's 25th Annual Competition and the young African American females on the Diva High Drill Team were in the locker room dressed to drill. This dynamic team of young African American females was decked out from head to feet. They tightened the color-matched tassels on their white heel-tapped boots and checked themselves out in the mirror. In the four mirrors in the locker room, eighteen young ladies were elbow to elbow putting it all together and getting rid of any loose ends. The mirror was a reflection of their inward and outward commitment to perfection as they prepared to showcase their drill team talent. Inwardly, you could sense the anticipation and feel the adrenaline flowing as they focused on what they must do on the drill floor. Their facial expressions were concentrated and free from distractions as they mentally prepared for their performance. Outwardly, they helped each other with their outfits to ensure uniformity in their appearance. Two by two, team members paired up to lend a hand with attire and support each other in preparing for the competition. Their two-piece uniform was polished and accessorized including gloves to complement their drill routine. Each team member exited the locker room, signaled her teammate and aligned on the sidelines of the drill floor. The sounds of their heel-tapped boots signaled the energy of these performers as they proceeded to their assigned locations in the arena. These young African American females were pumped and primed for drill team perfection and the team strived to eliminate any chance of losing points during inspection. The team spirit was all for one and one for all as they prepared to drill their way to first place and bring home the trophy. There were over 3,000 enthusiastic spectators crowded in the arena and ready for the annual Drillarama competition. While the audience chattered and anticipated the drama of drill performance, the music permeated the atmosphere. The energy of the Diva High Drill Team was deeply concentrated as they kept their eyes focused on the prize. While Diva High has performed for over 27 years and co-sponsored the annual competition, the majority of teams who registered for Drillarama were predominantly female. The female teams stood out against the odds and challenged spectator support for the male teams. The male teams were typically known to put on show-stopping, sexualized routines that worked their bodies and aroused the audience to cheer and applaud. The female teams were competing against the stereotyped images and negotiated the perceptions of how they should move their bodies, what was acceptable in a drill routine and whether the audience would accept their style and creativity. Despite the socialized challenges and expectations of how females danced and moved their bodies, these performers on the Diva High Drill Team were hooked on the thrill of drill as a creative avenue of self-worth and self-expression. The Diva High Drill Team established an alternative outlet for showcasing their unique, competitive drill ability on a local and regional level. The team extended the legacy of traditional African American dance and expanded the arena of contemporary youth dance culture in urban settings.
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About the Book
Drill team performance is a phenomenal expression of African American rhythmic dance performance created exclusively by African American youth. The purpose of the book is to understand and document what young African American females say about their dance creativity through their self-evaluation of how and why they perform on drill teams in urban public schools. In examining the socio-cultural institutional contexts in which drill exists and flourishes, this book will enable readers to better understand black female dance creativity according to the young African American females who created this phenomenon. This book gives substantitive voice and vision to the creative self-expressiveness of how young African American females represent themselves during their drill team performance amidst the popular gendered perceptions and stereotypical cultural expectations of others who attempt to influence and mediate their dance creativity. While drill team performance was bonding and liberatory for these young African American females, they were subject to other's expectations about how their bodies should move on the drill floor. Young African American females on drill teams "faced down" stereotypical images of women and sexism in expressing their creativity during a drill team performance. Race, gender, and sexism are fundamental factors which influence black female youth identity within contemporary urban dance culture. Young African American females have a unique vantage point about their creative role and style in performing drill routines. Drill was empowering for the individual and the team. The self-reflection and self-evaluation of young African American females about their drill team performance style within the contemporary urban dance arena has not been explored nor recorded. Moreover, the emerging viewpoints and visibility of young African American females on a drill team is undocumented in the literature. This book will stimulate further awareness and exploration of the contributions of young African American females to dance culture as well as inquiry and discussion about the impact of gender and sexism in youth dance ethnology. Undoubtedly, this book expands the body of knowledge about drillin' outside the historically Greek organizations on Black college campuses and contributes to the field of urban youth dance creativity.
About the Author
Dr. Brenda Washington Lacey's professional and personal experience as an educator and entrepreneur for over 25 years reflects her scholarly committment to student success and life-long learning. Dr. Lacey earned her BA and MS in Elementary/Special Education and Ph.D. in American Studies/Women's Studies with a concentration in Learning and Instruction. Lacey's philosophy of teaching is based on her belief that "all students can learn" with the application of multiple intelligences theory and implementation of effective research-based instructional strategies that improve student's academic and affective learning skills. As an observer and participant, Dr. Lacey has researched the connection between student's academic performance and the performing arts. She is the founder of S.M.A.R.T. Services which provides mentoring and tutoring services for students. As a college professor, she teaches students with and without disabilities and promotes student achievement in academics and performing arts. Her doctoral dissertation titled "Feet Don't Fail Me Now: A Study of African American Females Performing on a School-based Drill Team" documented the ethnography/oral history of drill and step team performance and contributed to the discourse on African American youth dance culture. Dr. Lacey is a native New Yorker and has presented her research at numerous national and international scholarly conventions in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Italy, Mexico and West Africa. She is married to James C. Lacey, Jr. and they have three children, Jamelle, Brienna and Barrett.