Feet Don't Fail Me Now: Devastating Divas in Drill and Step

By William Y. Cooper and Brenda Washington Lacey, PhD

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 7, 2007
• ISBN: 9781467808088

William Y. Cooper

William Y. Cooper is a writer, painter, art teacher and illustrator. He resides in Buffalo, New York with his wife Glendora Johnson-Cooper and his two cats. He paints and writes in his studio at the Buffalo Arts Studios in the Tri-Main Building. He is the father of three sons: Michael, Yancy and Joel and four grandchildren; Erik, JC, Jaxon and Kristina. Cooper is also the author of 77 Jackson Street, Rear,a middle-grade adventure and Nakai and the Red Shoes, a story for children 8-12 years. The Mopane Tree is his first novel.

Book preview

Feet Don’t Fail Me Now

Devastating Divas in Drill and Step

by

Brenda Washington Lacey, Ph.D.

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© 2007 Brenda Washington Lacey, Ph.D.. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/15/2007

ISBN: 978-1-4259-6019-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4678-0808-8 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Historical Perspective

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Conclusion

Appendices

Appendix A 1

Appendix A 2

Appendix A 3

Appendix B 1

Appendix B 2

Appendix C

Appendix D

Video Documentary

Bibliography

About the Author

Dedication

To my parents, Mrs. Shirley Washington, Mr. George Washington, Mr. Jesse Edmonds; my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. James (Margaret) Pierce and Mr. and Mrs. Jacob (Bertha) Early for your prayers and preparing the way spiritually and financially for my love of music, dance, singing and teaching.

Unforgettable thanks to Miss Marguerite, my church drill instructor for giving me my first drill opportunity on Duffield Street and marching down Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Loved those white boots.

To my husband, James, Jr., for his understanding, support and patience and my children, Jamelle, Brienna and Barrett, for their encouragement and affection during this long project. I love you for dancing with me in and out of the study hole during this worthwhile endeavor.

FEET DON’T FAIL ME NOW

-Brienna June Lacey (2004)

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Photo by Brienna June Lacey

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Photo by Jamelle Brooke Lacey

Acknowledgements

To the Drill Teams United of Buffalo and Western New York community and its coordinators, Mr. and Mrs. Marcus (Margaret) Brown, judges, team advisors and the school administrators for their receptiveness and untiring dialogue with me during the research.

To Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Kappa Upsilon Zeta Chapter for their experience with drillin’ and their encouragement to complete the study.

To Glendora Johnson Cooper (librarian, State University of New York at Buffalo), Valerie J. Willis (Founder/Artistic Director, Imani Dance Workshop Ensemble) for their inspiration and spirituality.

And finally, to the young African American females who were the Divas of Drill and created the drama of drillin’ that inspired me to inquire and write their story. I thank these creative young ladies in the study for their participation and cooperation, not only with the scholarly dissertation, but with their practical knowledge that was exposed and examined within the arena of contemporary drill team performance. My future as an educator has been tremendously stimulated as I continue to work with youth in urban school and community settings.

Historical Perspective

Historical references in the literature about West African and African American dance provided a concrete framework for the study of drill and step team performance. Literature specifically addressing the contemporary dance phenomena of drill and step team performance was significantly limited to selective sources listed in the bibliography (Fine 2003, Malone 1996) at the end of this book. In addition to books, the bibliography lists movies and videos such as School Daze (1988), Drumline (2002), and Stomp the Yard (2006) which depicted the phenomenon of stepping.

One major topic which was a firm foundation for my research was the retention of African dance in the New World which can be traced from West Africa through the Middle Passage, from the plantation period to theatre dancing during the Harlem Renaissance and to the present urban styles of public streetdancing.

There was a strong connection between drill/step and the African Circle or Ring Dance, Juba (Giouba) dance, tap dance and breakdance as a result of the retention and transformation of African dance in the United States. The aesthetics and synchronized movements of the hands, body and feet created in African religious and ceremonial dances and the dances created by enslaved Blacks on the plantation were represented in drill and step performance. This connection was rhythmically bonded in African American dance performance and permeates contemporary drillin’ and steppin’. Much of modern African American dance including drill and step was directly influenced by African cultural traditions.

Foreword

When we see the precision of modern day drill teams, stompers, fraternity, sorority, and community step dance teams we must pay homage to South African miners and their Gum Boot dance.

South African coal and mineral miners are living under siege for the sake of supporting families and loved ones. These miners live without the support of wives, husbands and relatives. They inhabit work environments that are not conducive to the well being of the human spirit. Historically, South Africans use the Gum Boot dance as a vehicle for relief, restoration, regrouping and strength competition.

The indelible rhythms are spiritually played when feet stomp and hands slap the human body temple. Rhythm infused with dance originating from within depicts the release of exhaustive feelings. In this regard, to view the South African Gum Boot dance is aesthetically pleasing and exciting. However, the Gum Boot dance is sacred to Africans like a prayer. Moreover, the rhythm and movement propel each other into an inseparable marriage.

Firefighters in the United States and all over the world use a fire boot design comparable to the South African Gum Boot. The boots are made with similar material-fabric, weight, and structure design.

Reading the text will journey in detail the humble beginnings of our modern stomper, drill teams, fraternity, sorority and community step dances. These modern day dances are still symbols of celebration that transgresses levels.

In present day language, the human spirit in the United States and the world uses the South African Gum Boot Dance to restore, regroup and replenish. The execution of the dance juxtaposes prominence of friendly competition, strength and precision. During my classes, I have stated that the South African Gum Boot dance nourishes the human spirit. We must honor our ancestors (and elders) who are looking forward from the past and making room for their legacy to continue.

Valerie J. Willis

Founder-Artistic Director

IMANI Dance Workshop Ensemble

Preface

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