It seemed like the other prospects had way more experience than her –– there was no way she was going to make the team. The dance combines energetic high-step marching, hip-hop, jazz, West African and modern choreography.īlock, a junior majoring in kinesiology, was nervous to try out because she had no prior experience and was so anxious she wanted to quit after the first day. The majorette-style dance started in the south at historically Black colleges and universities in the 1960s. Traditionally, majorette teams are small, with 11 or 12 dancers as the max. The first tryouts were met with over 100 team candidates - for only 12 spots on the team. That was something that I always wanted to do - I’ve always wanted to perform with people, make it enjoyable and bring that sense of Black community on campus.” “I wanted to bring something that I can stick with and do. “I wanted to do something where I can find my place in school, instead of dropping out,” Aminah said. The Divas are getting ready for a dance workshop collaboration with majorette dance team, Bay Dolls, of Cal East Bay.(Gina Castro / Golden Gate Xpress) ( Gina Castro) Members of the Dancing Divas practice inside the Mashouf Wellness Center at SF State on March 8, 2023. She decided not to join the cheer team at SF State and as a result, the Dancing Divas were born. She said it wasn’t easy finding a community on campus and felt lonely at times, which reminded her of growing up when she felt she was always the token Black girl on her cheer teams.Īminah always loved the idea of a majorette team and her favorite style of dance is hip-hop. Isis Aminah, head coach of the Divas, began her college career in 2017. She watched videos here and there to learn some skills, but at Dancing Divas she was finally part of a team.ĭancing Divas of State was born from the desire to not only be a dance group, but also to bring community. Growing up, she only ran track, but dancing was something she always wanted to do. Anaya Block never had the opportunity to dance until she stumbled across the Dancing Divas Instagram profile.
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