Some think band is too 'jiggy'

Web posted October 13, 1998

By Faith Johnson
Staff Writer

Some members of Hephzibah High School's band have been accused of getting a little too ``jiggy wit it.''

Jiggy, according to the song by rapper/actor Will Smith, means stylish -- with flair.

People who've complained to members of the Richmond County School Board said the dancers' flair needs to be toned down a bit.

The red and black, swimsuit-like, sequined outfits are too revealing, they said, and the girls ``gyrate'' in bad taste.

``It always happens during football season,'' board Trustee Jeff Annis said of the complaints. ``Band directors are warned to hold down on the hoochie-cooch. We can't run out on the field and throw a blanket over them, but we try to snuff out hoochie-cooch wherever it's found.

``Of course, if we spent as much effort snuffing out incompetence, laziness and malfeasance, we would have a better system,'' Mr. Annis said with a laugh.

Mr. Annis said the board has a strict, unofficial ``anti-hoochie-cooch'' dance policy named in honor of the late board Trustee Johnnie Jackson. Before he died in January, Mr. Jackson complained numerous times about the humps and grinds performed by dancers in bands at T.W. Josey, Glenn Hills and Lucy C. Laney high schools.

Members of Hephzibah High's Rebelettes said the group's clothes and dances do not reflect who they are.

``The way we dress and dance attracts people to the game,'' said Sonja Blue, a 16-year-old junior. ``We still look like ladies. We are just having fun, that's all. There's nothing provocative about what we do.''

The team votes on its outfits and makes up its own dance routines, she said.

Last Friday night, people lined the fence surrounding Hephzibah High's football field to watch the ``The Big Red Machine'' perform Another One Bites The Dust and rhythm and blues songs.

A few people booed the opposing team's band, whose girls wore long-sleeved purple velvet dresses that nearly touched their ankles. Band members twirled flags to songs like, Just a Closer Walk With Thee and Amazing Grace.

Doug Lively, parent of a Hephzibah High School student, said he liked the band from Houston County High better than his home team's.

``The other band's style showed more discipline,'' Mr. Lively said. ``We went to Glenn Hills High in 1977, before this new type of presentation.''

Cleavy Stanley said he wouldn't want his daughter to be a Rebelette.

``I guess it's a sign of the time,'' Mr. Stanley said. ``Cheerleaders and dancers for college and professional teams are doing the same thing. It's a striking difference in the way the ladies from Houston dressed, but I don't think we're going to see much of that.''

Yoko Whetstone, mother of one of the Rebelettes, said her daughter's dancing and outfit are OK with her.

``She likes it and she doesn't get into trouble, so I don't care,'' Mrs. Whetstone said.

Others said complaints about the dancers are unfounded.

``They are not trying to overexpose anything,'' said Larry Lynch, father of a Hephzibah High football player. ``They have on tights and nylons. It's the '90s. People who are complaining need to change with the times. Everything they do is in good taste. If it was such a big thing, you wouldn't see the large crowd cheering on the Big Red Machine.''

Mr. Lynch said he wouldn't mind if his daughter were dressed like the dancers.

``Some students wear worse things to school,'' he said. ``If the school wants to put a dress code on the band, they need to put a dress code on the entire school.''

At the beginning of the school year, Hephzibah High Principal Susan Rogers told the band and other school groups that when they perform they are representing the school.

``We try to make it the kind of show that any parent would be glad to have their daughter participate in,'' Ms. Rogers said of the half-time show. ``I would like to see a better selection of the outfits, but nobody has complained to me about them.''

The schools belong to the community, Mr. Annis said.

``If people in the community like it, it's in the eyes of the beholder,'' Mr. Annis said. ``But if a great majority of the community has a problem with it, there should be a discussion.''

Faith Johnson covers education forThe Augusta Chronicle. She can be reached at (706) 823-3765 or faithj@augustachronicle.com.