Perfection, poise, and practice, practice, practice. Penn State’s first majorette dance team, The Luxurious Lionesses (TLL), works to make the university a community better built for sisterhood, inclusivity and fitness. VALLEY sat down with president and founder Alece Morgan to learn more about the organization’s growth and goals.
The Luxurious Lionesses focus on “upholding the culture of majorette dance.”Majorette dance incorporates jazz, West African and hip-hop styles. University teams arose in the South and at Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the 1960s, so a team at Penn State was long overdue (instagram.com).
Morgan wanted to establish a dance team for a couple of years, having experience in ballet and African dance from her youth, and experience in teaching what she calls “praise dance” to young girls. Seeing teams like the Alabama State University Stingettes and Cardinal Divas of the University of Southern California, she knew she wanted that community at Penn State. She also noticed the lack of diversity in athletic performances at Penn State. In April of 2023, she officially created The Luxurious Lionesses and the organization had their first tryouts in the Fall 2023 semester.
Morgan was blown away at the turnout — 70 girls wanted to become members. This amazed her because she delayed establishing the dance group (since 2021) for fear that no one would want to join. Her goal of building the sisterhood she wanted in college was coming true.
The team has naturally faced obstacles in their first year. It has been difficult for the group to gain mainstream popularity at Penn State, being a black organization at a predominantly white institution. Morgan notes that Penn State has never seen anything like The Luxurious Lionesses, so pioneering this type of community here takes hard work on and off the stage. The team uses the challenges they’re facing as fuel to come to practice and perfect their routines.
Part of TLL’s mission is “perfecting body coordination with poise” (orgcentral.psu.edu). Morgan says this is a central aspect of the team because they “don’t want to look chaotic on stage”; a team will only grow if they perfect their art. Members do conditioning every week along with practicing their routines. Staying in shape helps with stamina too, which is important since many moves require lots of energy.
The personal growth of each member is palpable in and outside practices. Since tryouts, Morgan has observed the dancers being more clean, on point and comfortable with their routines. Some girls knew little about majorette dance, but their dedication has allowed them to learn more about the art form. Confidence exudes from the team’s routines, which Morgan says has transformed members into being more confident outside of TLL as well:“I’m really proud of them”.
Overall, Morgan finds that seeing a team full of black women brings a new atmosphere to the black community at Penn State. Having a community based on uplifting black students was something she wanted for years, so her hard work alongside other team members helped her reach her goal.
Luxury and pride is a mindset that the team holds true, too. TLL refers to themselves as a “dance team” or “organization” rather than a “club.” “Our goal is for it to be a team, an athletics team at Penn State.”, says Morgan. So, the distinction is important.
The Luxurious Lionesses welcome everyone to come and watch their performances. “No matter if you’re in the white community, the black community, the Spanish community, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings, and we’re just here to perform and bring culture on campus,” says Morgan. They will be performing on stage during THON, so keep an eye out for them!
Let VALLEY know on Instagram @VALLEYmag if you plan to see them at THON!
