RANGERETTE TRYOUTS JUNE 11-14 | 86th line to be set; final intensive for hopefuls is Sunday
Tryouts for the Kilgore College Rangerettes – the world’s most famous drill team – are set for June 11-14, on campus.
This will be the Rangerettes’ 86th line.
Check-in time on day one is 9 a.m. through 11 a.m., and the Rangerettes’ welcome tea will begin at 12:30 p.m. The tea is, as described on the pre-tryout schedule, a get-acquainted session for the hopefuls and the sophomore Rangerettes, at the McLaurin Administration Building.
Orientation will follow, and Rangerette hopefuls should have $200 cash, for their registration.
Full details and a complete schedule for tryouts are available on the team’s site here: Rangerette Tryout Information | Kilgore College Rangerettes.
Also at that link, hopefuls will find a checklist, authorization for medical treatment and emergency contact, a tryout waiver, and more.
As it states under the tryout information link (2025 Pre-Training Official Tryout Information), all tryouts are closed to the public.
During tryouts, all hopefuls will stay at Stark Hall on campus.
In addition, there will be a link provided to hopefuls on Sunday, June 8 that will have choreography they’ll need for tryouts.
The 86th line, as all Rangerette lines, is chosen by the director, assistant director and dance technician with, as it states in the information packet, assistance from returning Rangerettes and an outside panel of judges.
The 86th line will be revealed on Saturday, June 14, at 10 a.m.
All freshmen selected to the 86th line are required to move into the Rangerette Residence on campus Aug. 8-10. A complete timeline is detailed in the tryout packet, the PDF document link above.
The Rangerettes were created in 1940 by Gussie Nell Davis, and they debuted in Kilgore College’s 1940 season. But to call the Rangerettes a halftime act is like calling Elvis Presley just a singer. The Rangerettes have become a worldwide phenomenon, traveling worldwide since being established all those years ago, including performances in the U.S. at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade each year, Presidential Inaugurations, and more. There’s also the Rangerette Revels, a springtime spectacular visited by thousands each year, and a Christmas performance that is must-see.
For a more detailed, elaborate history of the team, read here: History | Kilgore College Rangerettes.
A former Rangerette herself, Dana Blair is the Rangerettes’ director, having accepted that position – the third director in Rangerette history – in 1993, succeeding Mrs. Deana Colvin in that role. Colvin had followed Gussie Nell Davis.
Blair, who served as assistant director prior, is also a member of the Texas Dance Educators Association’s Hall of Fame.
Houston native Shelley Wayne is the Rangerettes’ assistant director and choreographer, also a former Rangerette. She has served in that role since 1993, alongside Mrs. Blair. In addition to her responsibilities, to her duties, with the Rangerettes, Mrs. Wayne teaches dance in the KC Dance Department, and is also a member of the TDEA Hall of Fame. She is also co-owner of Encore Creative Productions, a private instruction dance and drill team company.
Angela Aulds is assistant choreographer and dance technician, a former Rangerette who now serves as head of the Kilgore College Dance Department, and also the artistic director of Industry Dance Company. She also teaches for Encore Creative.
Rangerette hopefuls for the 86th line: there have been a handful of hopeful intensives – workshops to help prepare for Rangerette tryouts – in recent months. There is one final intensive before next month’s tryouts. That intensive is this Sunday, May 18.
At the intensive, hopefuls can expect both instruction and critique, preparation for solos to be performed at tryouts, and feedback.
The intensive will begin with registration from 8:15 a.m. until 9 a.m. There’s no on-campus housing available for this, but lunch is provided, and there will be a hopeful question-and-answer session.
Solo critiques will begin around 3:30, although that is optional and those not wishing to perform are free to go. The cost of attendance for the intensive is $125.
Here is a link to the intensive’s registration form: Hopeful Intensive | Kilgore College Rangerettes.