Post #2: Majorette Dance Team

   Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right. The pattern I think of as I march down the Milwaukee streets for my high school's Homecoming parade. Smile hard. Back straight. Knees slightly bent. I think this to myself as I smile and wave, glad to be a part of this exclusive institution at my high school. We are known as the Majorettes, a dance team characterized by tall white boots, glittery gloves and flirtatious dresses. We would dance for major football games, and band performances. Our dance moves were characterized by high leg kicks, neat waves and big smiles. We were known for our polite mannerisms and lady-like ways. But once upon a time, these were not the ways of every young lady on the team. They became our way of life. This specific institution engraved these body practices into our bodies through everyday practices, exercises and the repetition of performances. Our body eventually became the living, breathing example of the ideal lady that we portray while in uniform, but now was who we were outside of the uniform. We found ourselves sitting up awkwardly straight just to simply walk to the bathroom. We find ourselves waving with stiff fingers and a phony smile, with even causal greetings. The ways of a Majorette. The Majorettes epitomized the idea of constitutional habitus for me.

   The Majorette's signified power while in the uniform, but even more without it. Along with power, it signified a lady. Regardless if in reality we were the most ill-mannered, unrefined girls of the school, the smiles, walks and gestures that were built into us through the Majorettes, came with a title. A title that signified grace. And finesse.