Far from Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the Golden Girls and Tiger Girls will perform in a new venue — even a new country.
The two dance teams have been selected to perform as part of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year celebration, beating out teams including the Miami Dolphin cheerleaders, a news release said.
Feb. 3 ushers in the Year of the Rabbit in China, and the girls are participating in the Cathay Pacific International New Year Night Parade.
“We were very excited and still are,” said Roy King, Tiger Band director. “It’s an honor to be selected to represent not only the University but also the state of Louisiana and the country.”
King said the 32 girls will make multiple television appearances during the parade, as well as during stage performances. They will perform three 20-minute performances in the days after the parade.
  Video: Golden & Tiger Girls Dance Rehearsal
 
Danielle Hardy, Golden Girls captain, said both groups will perform some of their halftime dances from football and basketball games before coming together for a joint performance.
“We’ve never done anything with [the Tiger Girls] before, and it’s actually going really well,” Hardy said.
Courtney Labat, a senior in the Golden Girls, said the two groups were able to keep their separate styles but also do a show together.
Hardy said during the parade, the Golden Girls will wear their traditional white gameday outfits, and the Tiger Girls will wear one of their basketball performance outfits and carry pompoms.
For the joint performance, the girls will wear matching outfits. Jessica Baer, Golden Girls assistant captain, said while they represent the University in different ways, the performance will be a way to represent LSU together.
Baer said the University and both programs are getting publicity and recognition from the multiple TV appearances.
“We all work so hard. … We woke up at 4:30 this morning [to practice],” Baer said Wednesday.
  Gallery: Practice for Hong Kong
 
Baer said the teams were hoping for a football national championship this year, but the trip to China is “icing on the cake.”
“I’ve never been out of the country, so it’s great to be able to go to a place like that, and what better people to experience it with?” Hardy said.
Pauline Zernott, University spirit coordinator, said the parade coordinators contacted her in October, and they were selected in December. Zernott said they beat some “very impressive teams” to earn the spot.
Besides a choir, Zernott said the girls are the only group from the U.S. to perform in the parade.
“The most important thing is that the Golden Girls and Tiger Girls are so excited to do this together,” Zernott said. “In the hotel, we’re pairing up Golden Girls and Tiger Girls to get to know one another.”
Zernott said the girls will have two days of rehearsal when they arrive, then the parade and two days of performances. She said they will go on tours to experience the Chinese culture and have some free time to shop.
“We are excited to experience the culture of Hong Kong,” King said. “And the Hong Kong Tourism Board made all this possible.”
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board website, the night parade “features illuminated floats accompanied by spectacular international and local performing groups.”
The parade will include “a range of international participants including a themed float and performers from Thailand; cheerleaders and a choir from the USA; an all-female Mikoshi group from Japan; a variety of dancers and performers from China, Japan, Korea, Peru, Taiwan and the UK; plus a majorettes group from the Czech Republic.”
  Blog: China rings in Year of the Rabbit
 
 
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]