Whoopin’ western style
kggie Wranglers boot, scoot n boogie their way around A&M y the globe
By Jessica Lenchner
THE BATTALION
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Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 • Friday, October 17, 2003
ilack Wrangler jeans and boots made for scooting.
Riggs, an agricultural education graduate stu-
ient, was one of six Aggie Wranglers who two-
iiepped all the way to Doha, Qatar, to perform at
fexas A&M’s newest campus in the Middle East.
Ik Wranglers showed off their dance moves and
>avethe 29 Qatari students a taste of the Aggie spir
it a Texas-style barbeque.
Traveling around Texas, the United States and
ihe world has become the norm for the Aggie
Wranglers. The organization has gone from a group
of students who shared a love of dancing when it
first formed in 1984 to a group of ambassadors
by.
Riggs said it has been a great experience for the
Wranglers to work closely with the University and
lo represent A&M.
“We’re not just a group that likes to go out to
Harry’s and dance,” he said. “We spread love for
A&M through what we do best - dance.”
And, dance the Wranglers have. Their high-
ed polka and freestyle jitterbug routines have
been seen all around the globe. From Japan to
Germany to Costa Rica, people everywhere are get-
a glimpse of the Aggie version of country and
western dance.
The Wranglers are up to dancing just about any
where. Public Relations chair Kristen Mobley said
she had fun performing last summer on a Caribbean
cruise the Wranglers took to Montego Bay and the
Islands.
was amazing how everyone was standing and
for us in the huge auditorium,” said
Mobley, a junior bioenvironmental science major.
It definitely adds a level of difficulty dancing on a
rocking ship.”
The Wranglers made new fans on their trip, but
also ran into an old fan when the ship stopped in the
Cayman Islands, Riggs said. They visited the Lone
Star Bar and Grill, where they'd heard the owner
was an Aggie. Riggs said the owner was thrilled to
see fellow Aggies and asked them to perform.
In Qatar, the Wranglers had the chance to inter
act with the Qatari students. They perfonned five
times and helped teach them about A&M traditions
like Howdy, Gig ‘Em and whooping.
‘‘It was like going to Fish Camp for them after
being in school for a month,” Riggs said. “We real
ly bonded in the short time we had.”
Former President George Bush is also fond of the
Wranglers and has invited the Wranglers to the
White House in the past, Mobley said.
‘‘He gets a kick out of seeing us perform every
time,” Mobley said. “We love performing for him.”
The Wranglers look forward to perfonning for
Bush again next month when a Chinese delegation
is scheduled to visit the George Bush Presidential
Library and Museum in College Station, Riggs said.
After one show, Bush gave the Wranglers an
autographed photograph of himself skydiving that
read, "Here I am - sky high. This is how 1 felt when
the Wranglers performed at the Bush Library.”
Along with working closely with the University,
an Aggie Wrangler must also find a partner whom
they can work closely with.
Riggs said he was fortunate to find his partner,
senior Wendy Covert.
“We really clicked in our dancing abilities and
fed off each others’ strengths,” Riggs said. “She had
experience with tap and ballet and was good at
remembering sequences, and I had experience in
music and knew about rhythms, beats and tempos.”
As well as the weekly group practice on Tuesday
nights, Wrangler couples spend countless hours
practicing together. Mobley said practice is definite
ly year-round for the physically demanding and vig
orous routines.
Aggie Wrangler tryouts consist of two parts and
are held each April so the focus of the summer can
be for everyone to learn the routines, Riggs said.
First is dance ability, in which potential Wranglers
demonstrate their dance skills by doing the two-step,
polka and jitterbug. The second part is teachability
where those trying out must repeat a dance taught to
them only minutes earlier. An interview process is
also involved, Riggs said, to make sure members will
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The Aggie Wranglers perform onstage at Reed Arena
have the right morals to be a Wrangler.
Aggie Wrangler adviser Kim Novak said some
memorable moments working with the Wranglers
include seeing Wrangler alumni and current mem
bers come together to select the best new members.
“To see the former students come back to support
and choose who will be part of their team was inspi
rational and reminded me just how phenomenal an
experience being a Wrangler is intended to be,”
Novak said.
The most intensive practice is done months
before making the team, Riggs said. He recom
mends that anyone interested in trying out should
File Photo • THE BATTALION
in September 2001.
take the lessons offered by the Wranglers twice a
semester and take advantage of the dance partner
database at aggiewranglers.com.
“The style we teach is the style we look for in
tryouts,” Riggs said. “I guarantee, if you're dedicat
ed, then we can teach you how to dance.”
To the Wranglers, each performance is as impor
tant as any other, no matter who they are performing
for, Novak said
“They are highly trained professionals who
spend hours improving their performance,” Novak
said, “because they truly love their school and the art
of Aggie Wrangler dance.”
MSC Arts
Awareness
Week
October 20-24, 2003
Monday:
12pm Noon Time Concert @ Langford Atrium
12pm Lunchbox Concert @ Rudder Fountain
7pm “Carpe Diem” - Rudy @ MSC 292A
Tuesday:
12pm Hip-Hop Freestyle Contest @ Rudder Fountain
8:30pm Open Mic Night @ MSC Visual Art Gallery
Wednesday:
1:30pm “Saxomophones” @ Sul Ross Plaza
7pm Ron Clark Art Opening @ MSC Visual Art Gallery
7:30pm The Pianist @ MSC Forsyth Center Galleries
Thursday:
12pm Slam Poetry @ MSC Flag Room
12pm Lunchbox Concert @ Rudder Fountain
2:30pm Poetry Performance Workshop @ Rudder 401
7:45pm CineStudent: Kill Bill @ Cinemark
8 pm Coffeehouse - Poetry Night @ Rumours
Friday:
8pm MSC Aggie Nights @ MSC
8pm The Debut @ MSC 201
All Week Long:
11-2pm Creation Table @ Rudder
1 l-2pm Big Banners @ Rudder/Wehner
Brought lb You By: MSC ACE, MSC ALOT, MSC Film Society, MSC LAC, MSC OPAS, MSC Town Hall, MSC VAC and PhilSA
For More Information Visit wvsFW.msc.tamu.edu
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