Documenting Some Of The History of The Prancing J-Settes (Jackson State University Marching Band's Dance Line)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the history of The Prancing J-Settes, the auxiliary dance line of Jackson State's marching band. Jackson State University is a historically Black college and university (HBCU). Its marching band is known as "The Sonic Boom Of The South".

A video interview with the Kathy Worthy, the J-Sette coordinator (1975-1997) is included in this post along with two videos of the Prancing J-Settes' field routine for the record song "I Go To Work" (1999/2000 and 2014).

Selected comments from these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

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The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all past and present Coordinators and members of The Prancing J-Settes. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on historically Black college and universities (HBCU) marching bands' auxiliary dance lines and other majorette dance lines (j-setting performance groups.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/04/stand-battles-changing-meaning-of.html for a 2014 pancocojams post entitled "Stand Battles & The Changing Meaning Of "Majorettes" In African American Culture".

Also, click the "HBCU dance lines" tag and "majorettes dance line" tag for additional pancocojams posts on the subject of dance lines of HBCU marching bands and other majorette dance lines.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not affiliated in any way with Jackson State University or with any other university or any dance line organization.

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ARTICLE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY'S "J-SETTES"
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: I'm re-posting this complete article for the folkloric record as a means of helping to ensure that this article is archived.

I posted excerpts of this same article in the 2014 pancocojams post entitled "Stand Battles etc." whose link is given above. However, the link for that article [an old link for the sonic boom blog] that appears in that 2014 pancocojams post is no longer active. That causes me to be concerned about how long the current link for this article will be active.]

From http://websites.one.jsums.edu/sonicboom/?page_id=522" under the name The "Prancing J-Settes: Origin and Development of the Prancing J-Settes”.
"“Prancing J-Settes” is the official name of the Jackson State University dance line, an auxiliary group of the Jackson State University Marching Band, “The Sonic Boom of the South.” The Prancing J-Settes are supervised by Mrs. Chloe Ashley Crowley, J-Settes Director. The Jackson State University Marching Band, “The Sonic Boom of the South” is an ensemble of the Department of Music, Dr. David Akombo, Interim Chair.

“The thrill of a thousand eyes,” were the words spoken by Dr. Jimmie James, Jr. at the onset of the “Prancing Jaycettes” in 1971. Shirley Middleton, a former majorette, initiated the concept of the majorettes abandoning their batons and dancing to popular musical selections. As the majorette sponsor, Shirley Middleton and the majorettes met with Dr. John A. Peoples, the University’s sixth president, and requested that they be permitted to “put down their batons.”

Dr. Peoples agreed and thus legends were born. In 1970, Middleton assembled 18 majorettes, and their notoriety immediately began to soar in rapid proportions. Their beauty, grace, and poise were astounding and their dance routines to songs such as “Kool-Aid,” James Brown’s “Make it Funky,” and “Hot Pants,” were magnificent, unmatched by any other competing groups.

The group was initially named the “Prancing Jaycettes.” The group’s name became official in 1971. However, in 1982, the Prancing Jaycette organization officially changed its name to Prancing J-Settes, because of a name conflict with a local organization known as the Jackson Jaycees/Jaycettes.

As a trained ballet dancer, Shirley Middleton held the J-Settes to a very high standard of perfection. Also, the late Hollis Pippins, a JSU twirler and a dancer of high performance in his own right, took great pride in providing the J-Settes with excellent choreography. In addition to emphasis on perfecting dance routines, it was completely unacceptable for any J-Sette to display mannerism and stature of anything less than a model citizen.

HISTORY
Shirley Middleton served as sponsor of the J-Settes from 1970-1975. In 1975, Narah Oatis was appointed the sponsor of the J-Settes. Under her leadership, the Prancing J-Settes became nationally renowned. During her reign, J-Sette marching technics such as the “Salt and Pepper,” “J-Sette Walk,” “Strut,” and “Tip Toe” were perfected. The J-Settes consisted of lines of 12-16 young ladies who marched in rows affectionately named “Short and Sassy,” “Magnificent Middle,” or a “Tall and Tough.” Mrs. Oatis’ tenure is best remembered by many for the J-Settes’ stellar performance at the 30th Anniversary of Motown in 1990, the “Coming to America” , “Proud Mary,” and the “Liturgical Dance” routines. (“Coming to America” and the “Proud Mary” routines were both originally performed in 1995. The “Liturgical Dance” routines was first performed in 1996.) Narah Oatis served as director (sponsor) of the Prancing J-Settes for 21 years. She resigned as sponsor of the J-Settes in February 1997.

In the Spring of 1997, a former J-Sette captain, Mrs. Kathy Pinkston-Worthy was appointed director (sponsor) of the Prancing J-Settes. Under her direction, the J-Settes have become nationally known for their rapid-fire highly technical dance routines to selections such as “I Go to Work” and “Swoop.” Perhaps, the most celebrated marquee performance by the Prancing J-Settes was rendered at the 34th NAACP Image Awards in Hollywood, California in 2003 where the J-Settes performed on National Television with “Cedric the Entertainer” and “Sugar Bear” of E.U. Both routines were choreographed by Mrs. Worthy.

Mrs. Worthy served 16 years as the director of the Prancing J-Settes. In the Spring of 2013, another former J-Sette captain, Mrs. Chloe A. Crowley was named sponsor of the Prancing J-Settes."
-snip-
Given this history, I believe that the Prancing J-Settes are the first HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities majorette dance line.

Additions and corrections are welcome.

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THE TIGERETTES NAME FOR THE PRANCING J-SETTES
Here are four comments for the discussion thread for the 2008 video "The Prancing Jsettes I go to Work" that is given below as Video #2:
1. karamalebro, 2008
"The J-Settes are always known as the J-Settes-the Prancing J-Settes to be exact. Under the supervision of Ms. Oatis, however, the J-Settes went under the pseudonym-the TIGERETTES-whenever they put on those tiger print uniforms. Remember I stated, "Back in the day."
Thanks for enligtening all on the name of the uniform"
JSU Alumni, 1996."

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REPLY
2.vbrot11, 2008
"I was told "Tiger Girls" "

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REPLY
3. karamalebro, 2008
"The J-Settes sport at least two tiger-printed outfits.
Back in the day, whenever they wore those outfits, they were usually called the Tigerettes."

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REPLY
4. "The Jxn St. Unv. J-Settes have another set of Golden Girls to contend with. The UAPB Golden Girls, who entered into the SWAC in the mid 90's, are taking up the slack from the ASU Golden Girls. UAPB is good. The J-Settes know that they need to deliver each time to show UAPB who's on top. I think UAPB got the picture. Not only did the J-Settes show out, but they did as The Tigerettes. The Tigerettes, who are black and gold, always clown on the field. UAPB got shut down by their own golden color."
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Here are explanations for the abbreviations that are found in comment #4:
-"Jxn St. Unv." = Jackson State University
-"UAPB" = The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States.
-"Golden Girls" = the name of the UAPC dance line, an auxiliary of the university's marching band. The "Golden Girls" wear gold colored outfits.
-"SWAC" (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Athletic_Conference
"The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly referred to as Division I-AA.

The SWAC is widely considered the premier HBCU conference and ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of alumni affiliated with professional sports teams, particularly in football.[1] On the gridiron, the conference has been the biggest draw on the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of the NCAA, leading the nation in average home attendance for 37 of the 38 years the FCS has been in existence.[2] In 1994, the SWAC fell just 40,000 fans short of becoming the first non-Football Bowl Subdivision conference to attract one million fans to its home games."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE J-SETTE DANCE LINE AND THE TERM "J-SETTING",
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-Setting [retrieved October 13, 2018]
"J-Setting
The word J-Setting is an informal word or slang that means to dance like the Prancing J-Settes, the popular collegiate female dance team of the Jackson State University's Sonic Boom of the South marching band.

J-Setting has evolved to also become the name of the style of dance and dance culture that is modeled after the dance formations, movements and dress style of the "Prancing J-Settes". It originated in the late 1970s from African-Americans in the Jackson, Mississippi, area of the United States.

This dance style is characterized by a lead and follow format where one dancer initiates a series of high-energy dance moves, and the other dancers join in the movement.* J-Setting features specific dance steps based on Prancing J-Settes marching techniques including the "J-Sette Walk," the "Salt and Pepper," the "Strut," and the "Tip Toe". In particular, the "Salt and Pepper" is a type of prance step for which the Prancing J-Settes are named and known. It is a high-knee lift or "high step" style of marching. Alternating legs lift with a bent knee to bring the foot up to the height of the opposite knee before returning the foot to the ground.

The JSU Prancing J-Settes typically march and perform in rows organized by height. J-Setting dancers also typically perform in a line or in multiple lines. While performing, dancers may also change dance formation similar to the way that marching bands change formation during shows on football fields.

[...]

Mainstream media attention
In 1990, the Prancing J-Settes performed the J-Settes style of marching and dancing on the "30th Anniversary of Motown" television show. The dance team appeared as part of the JSU Marching Band in performances to "I Heard it through the Grapevine"and other songs. A video of part of this performance is available on YouTube.[1]

In 2003, the Prancing J-Settes performed the J-Settes marching and dancing style on the "34th NAACP Image Awards" television show. The dance team appeared as part of the JSU Marching Band in performances with comedian "Cedric the Entertainer" and "Sugar Bear of E.U." A video of part of this performance is available on YouTube.[2]"...
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This article continues with information about the formation of J-sette dance troupes by Gay males throughout the United States and the popularity of dance off competitions by these dance troupes throughout the United States. That article also provides information about a 2015 12-episode documentary series entitled The Prancing Elites Project on United States television". That television series focused on the j-setting group with that name from Mobile, Alabama.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/j-setting-jsus-prancing-j-settes-and.html for a 2015 pancocojams post entitled "J-Setting, JSU's Prancing J-Settes, And Black Gay J-Setters".

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Off the Record | Katherine Worthy coordinator of the Prancing J-Settes | @TheeFClub



TheeFClub, Published on Sep 24, 2012

Katherine Worthy coordinator of the Prancing J-Settes of Jackson State University talks to TheeFClub about the history of the Prancing J-Settes!
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Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread which corrects a statement that Katherine Worthy made about when the Prancing J-Settes started:
JSUalumTwirler01to03, 2013
"Ok, Mrs. Worthy... Its was 1971, not 72... But I know she knew that...lol"
-snip-
Here's another comment from that discussion thread about Katherine Worthy:
redbone971, 2012
"she was the captain for 3 years. She was the captain last in 78 I think. I send you the link of her line on the field. She also made up their dance routines for the NAACP Awards show and their NBA appearance. She can move lol"
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"Captain" here means the captain (leader) of the Prancing J-Settes dance line
Here's a list of Coordinators for The Prancing J-Settes as found on http://websites.one.jsums.edu/sonicboom/?page_id=1039 [retrieved October 15, 2018]
"Shirley Middleton Blakely - - 1970-1975

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Narah Oatis - 1975-1997

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Kathy Worthy - 1997-2013

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Chloe Ashley-Crowley- 2013-Present"

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Video #2: The Prancing Jsettes I go to Work



ChicagoMarchingBands, Published on Apr 24, 2008

From the UAPB game 2000. Dance line: Prancing JSettes School: Jackson State University
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Unfortunately, the visual quality of this video is quite poor. However, I've included it for its historical value.

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Video #3: Prancing JSettes (2014) - I Go to Work - HBCU Marching Bands



/\/\ MARCHINGSPORT, Published on Aug 31, 2014
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
1. Darnell, 2014
"I've been waiting for a line brave enough to revamp this Classic. Job well done!"

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2. DTO 79, 2014
"Thumbs up, Prancing J-settes, I look forward to seeing your strengthening, as the season progresses... Refer to season 2000 footage of the routine performed, to this selection, as it relates to your current feature... In that footage, observe the energy and sync pattern. Overall, you look great ladies... Rock the House!!!!"

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REPLY, 2017
4. Amil Now
"I miss these days"

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5. Sublime Existence, 2017
"Its hard when u have so much regard for the 2000 version of the routine...I can't look at this one without bias. To me this one had great stunts, but the timing was def off. Its like they said lets see how many stunts we can do without actually dancing."
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Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPsGwcVYknA for another YouTube video entitled "Jsettes I go to Work (2 routines) 2000"

Yet another YouTube video of that highly regarded 1999/2000 Prancing J-Sette field show of "I Go To Work" can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_4-F_uVZzk for "2014 J-settes Field Show (I go to work) Famu".

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