DoneBySightPhotograd, January 27, 2013
Check out Edward Waters College dance troupe Purple Thunder
during the 2013 Honda Battle of the Bands
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“Leave the Door Open” ASU Honeybeez 2020-2021
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases two YouTube videos of plus size dance lines from two Historically Black Colleges And Universities: Purple Thunder -a dance line auxiliary of Edward Waters University's (Jacksonville Florida) marching band, and the Honey Bees, a dance line auxiliary of Alabama State University's marching band.
Information about these dance troupes are included in this post along with selected comments from these videos' discussion threads.
The content of this post is presented for cultural and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who have been or are now associated with Edward Waters University's Purple Thunder dance troupe and those who have been or are now associated with Edward Alabama State University's the Honey Bees dance troupe.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/a-weighty-subject-being-thick-in.html for a related 2011 pancocojams post entitled "A Weighty Subject - Being Thick In African American Culture".
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INFORMATION ABOUT EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Waters_University
"Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their children. It was the first independent institution of higher education and the first historically black college in the State of Florida. It continues to be affiliated with the AME Church and is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida."
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INFORMATION ABOUT EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY'S PURPLE THUNDER DANCE TROUPE
From https://ewcbands.com/purple-thunder/ Edward Waters College
Triple Threat Band
Purple Thunder
"During an efficient day of band practice, several young ladies from the choir were teasing the former band director Mr. Marques Graham, confidently stating they could execute the same dance routines as petite dancers but better! Mr. Graham asked them to demonstrate their techniques. Mr. Graham then put forth the idea of having the first plus size dance squad, featuring the young ladies with the Triple Threat Marching Band during the 2002 homecoming show for the first time and everyone LOVED IT! At that time, Ms. Kathy and Bertran Daniels (the founders and leaders of the Purple Thunders) molded the dance squad to what it is today! The Purple Thunder has been an active squad since 2002 and will be often imitated! Our team performs throughout the year at various events, football games, basketball games, pep rallies, parades, and several Battle of the Bands."
INFORMATION ABOUT ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY'S THE HONEY BEES
From
The infamous dance squad has changed the game by promoting
body positivity, confidence and self-love
Maya A. Jones, November 1, 2017
… "At ASU, band director James Oliver has been leading the
charge for plus-size appreciation since creating the Honey Beez in 2004, four
years after he began his collegiate career with his alma mater.
In all of Oliver’s years of being a high school band director and moving on to ASU, he noticed something was missing. The cheerleaders and drill teams were uniform in their looks. The Stingettes, ASU’s dance team, boasted energetic, petite young women clad in brightly colored two-piece dance suits, leotards and bodysuits that didn’t seem to go beyond a size 6.
[…]
“There have been plus-size girls that wanted to try out for
the dance line. And of course, when I got here, all we had were the
Stingettes,” Oliver said. “You can’t really give them that spot on the
Stingette line because the uniform doesn’t fit like it should, so usually the
plus-size girls run to the flag team. I decided that this is not fair for these
girls. I wanted something different.”
[…]
“I asked five of my plus-size girls that were in the band,” Oliver said. “I said, ‘I have this idea. Do I have some plus-size girls who know how to dance and want to dance?’ And I had five girls who came out and said they’d try it.”
[…]
Their first official performance came a few months after the
group was established. Their test run would be a home football game against
Southern University in 2004. As their first uniforms, the five dancers wore
bodysuits beneath football jerseys. According to Oliver, the response, for the
most part, was positive. There were cheers after the performance and
congratulatory messages to Oliver and the girls. But after the game, Oliver was
confronted by detractors.
“There were people complaining to me and asking me why I was making fun of these girls,” Oliver said.
Oliver was in a tough position. Something that he viewed as a positive and inclusive moment had become tainted. Maybe those with opposing views were right. He didn’t want to put his dancers in a position where they’d be subjected to name-calling and more bullying. Discouraged, Oliver pulled the girls from the next game. He needed time to think.
“Did I want to continue to deal with the negativity? Or did I want to keep this going because the crowd loves it?” Oliver asked himself. “But the girls love it too. I made the decision that I was going to keep going. I didn’t care what anybody said. I thought these girls deserved a platform and I’m going to keep them.”
It was a decision Oliver will never regret. With the help of coordinator Ruth Anna M. Williams, the Honey Beez have a complete look with beautiful uniforms that the dancers can wear with confidence — and fiery, attention-grabbing routines to match.
[…]
The Honey Beez are now becoming a national sensation. The
team has already appeared on Steve Harvey’s daytime television show and
performed on the popular NBC program America’s Got Talent. Oliver’s ultimate
goal for the girls is to get them featured on Black Girls Rock!, an award show
created to “celebrate Black women who are trailblazers, change makers or
dynamos in their respective fields.”
“With God’s will, their platform is out there
now and they will tear the house down every time,” Oliver said.”
-snip-
Alabama State University's athletic team name is "the Hornets" and the main dance line is named "the Stingettes".
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SELECTED COMMENTS
Numbers ae added for referencing purposes only.
Discussion thread #1 (This is the discussion thread for the first embedded video in this post.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27OXYXgJIV8&ab_channel=DoneBySightPhotograd
1. WhoIsSuper, 2013
"I was there and when I saw that literally everyone around me
(including my self and my friends) went crazy!!"
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2. Ibdatvanicca, 2013
"They did that routine!!!! yeesss PT!!!"
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3. Melvin Byrd, 2013
"Yes, i too was shocked and amazed by what I saw.... You go
girls, break those stereo types!!! PURPLE THUNDER!"
**
4. WhoIsSuper, 2013
"I was there and when I saw that literally everyone around me
(including my self and my friends) went crazy!!"
**
5. Christopher Hammett, 2013
"this group stole the show...i was in the stands speechless
when this girl did the flip!! AwSOME!!!"
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6. yuk747, 2013
"Just goes to prove big girls can be nimble too."
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7. Blue, 2013
"I LOVE these girls!!!!!!"
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8. Domonique White, 2016
"That was great! I really wish our school had a plus size
Majorette team. Yall killed it."
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9. Yun 11, 2017
"Oh i was there@ this one!
Omo! I loved their performance! The really got the crowd hyped! Can't
wait to see what's in store at the next one!"
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10. UNPACKED with Chief Ja'Nese, 2021
"She KILT that flip. My alma mater 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥"
Discussion thread #2 (This is the discussion thread for the second video in this post.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnEN6y99ubY&ab_channel=Bee.U.Niversty
All of these omments are from April 2021 through Septemper 2021.
1. Cartina Overton
"YESSS, HONEYBEES BETTA WORK. Yall look good, I love it. They
deserve more coverage."
TLD1979
2. "
**
3. littleHERSHEY girl
"Our dance line and color guard is
switched. We got big girls on our color guard and smaller girls on our dance
line!! I’m loving this though!!! They are moving!!😍😍"
**
4. Lozet Riley
"That's right big girls can dance and
still show up classy, the wardrobe was
very tasteful and they danced with grace. I loved it."
**
5. BUTLERU
"There aint nothing like an HBCU. Ya'll
did that!"
**
Reply
6. Sharon Watson
"You know"
**
7. Patsy Brown
"WORK IT GIRLS 🤗👊🤩"
**
"Let's give it up for Queen 👑 on the frontline not
looking back one time and to all these beautiful ladies representing❤️❤️❤"
*️*
9. Marcus Washington
"So.... I actually enjoyed them more than
the Stingettes. Their style was more graceful.
Very nice ladies"
-snip-
The Stingettes is the name of the main dance line that is an auxiliary to Alabama State University's marching band. The Stingettes was formed in 1977.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_State_University
**
Reply
10. Ernestine Miles
"Why does everything have to be this is
better than that?"
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11. Tracy Henderson
"I love the honey bees it gives a lot of thick madame girls
ladies understanding that we love to dance just as well and how the appearance
can make other people think otherwise but looking at them and give other young
or older people happiness to to do something that they love to do is
"Dance"... Just like it make anybody other than Plus happy when they
dance we're happy when we dance but we get shunned away because of the
appearance of our size when we dance"
**
Reply
12. Inspirebymikaeli
"Keep dancing your confidence and attitude is what everyone
will notice and your size is just an asset."
**
13, LatinDynasti
"Yass for the thick girls! Yall are beautiful"
**
Reply
14. Renaissance Woman
"Thick and curvy are not the same as plus size. You can be
any size and be curvy aka "thick".
The ladies are beautiful, point blank, and they do inspire people to be
themselves."
**
15. In Control
"....and never forget how good you look doing it Sis, it AIN'T nevah bout ya size, but ya swaga😉💯"
**
16. Gwen Washington
"Good job ladies. Keeping it classy. Beautiful moves. Represent!"
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