LSU Golden Girls Going Strong after Six Decades

09:20 October 02, 2019
By: Graham Andreae

The LSU Golden Girls are an icon of Louisiana Football and have been since the late 60's, though they did not always carry that moniker. The original name for the group was the LSU Ballet Corps Dance Line, according to reporting by The Advocate. The group earned the moniker Golden Girls in the 1965. The program has a storied history going all the way back to 1959 when the band was not only not known, but heralded by the headline, "Ballerinas to make debut at LSU," in The Advocate.

In interviewing a number of former Golden Girls some interesting stories came to light in reporting of the group. According to Charlene Muffoletto Favre, the team had a surprising moment when, in 1970, they were invited to play in the Chevrolet sponsored All-American College TV Band contest, which they won. The group passed on the opportunity to instead perform before and at halftime of the Orange Bowl, at which LSU was playing.

Adam Duvarney, of the LSU Reveille, wrote about the group's history. The members of the team are selected after an arduous day of auditions from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The program, which has been running for 60 years as of this year, is one of the first things that prospective freshman interested in the group go through upon arriving on LSU campus.

The program is home to a diverse group of young women both academically and culturally. The interests and careers of members span multiple fields, which include among them science and engineering. The Golden Girls have transformed from a young group of ballerinas, into a fully fledged professional dance group comparable in professionalism to a Las Vegas Dance Team. This year marks the sixth decade the program has been running and it doesn't look to be stopping any time soon.


Photo courtesy of Tammy Anthony Baker, source, licensed under creative commons 2.0

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