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Each month, Texas State University President Dr. Kelly Damphousse sits down with faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and community members for a conversation about all things TXST — the past, the present, and the bright future of the university.
Part of the TXST Podcast Network: https://www.txst.edu/podcast-network.html
- And then you mentioned a professional dance career.
- Yes.
- Talk a little bit about that.
- Yes.
- Because I think that's pretty cool.
- Yeah, so when I graduated from Strutters, I probably in April, a month before the auditions for Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, I just decided I wanted to audition. I looked up to them my whole life. I've been a Cowboys fan since I was a little girl.
- Same here.
- And there we go.
- It's hard sometimes being a Cowboys fan.
- I know.
- It's okay. We got this, we got this.
- Yeah, the cheerleaders always win.
- Exactly. We always say, if you're not a Cowboys fan, you can be a DCC fan.
- That's right.
- We love talking about things are happening at Texas State, especially things that are like quintessential Texas State like when you hear about this issue or this item or this project or this process, you know that's a Texas State thing. And nothing is more quintessential than the famous Strutters. And so I'm so happy to have Selina Lloyd here. Selina Flores Lloyd, I'm not sure - we're going now. So I've known Selina ever since I got here from very beginning here. In fact, I think Beth and I took a picture with you and your crew.
- Yes.
- Your first day.
- Your first day on the job. And it's been so great getting to know you over the years. But let me allow you to introduce yourself to our listeners by telling us your Texas State story. Start about where you grew up.
- Okay.
- And then how you ended up at Texas State.
- Yeah, so I grew up in San Antonio, Texas. You know, I'm dance teacher, so I'll talk about my dance career. Grew up dancing, started at three, started in the studio every day after school. So, that was a lot of fun. And then I realized that you could be on a dance team and I thought, "That's awesome." I can make some friends out of this and add my passion into it. So I did middle school, high school, college, and professional dance teams and just wasn't ready to let go of dance after that, and so I originally came to Texas State to be a teacher. I actually taught two years in kindergarten. And that was a wild ride. And I absolutely loved it. But I realized that I didn't wanna let that dance portion of my life go, so became a dance teacher and started in Houston and then it led me to Texas State and now I'm here and met my husband here in Austin. And we have a dog. And now I'm just living the dream and absolutely love what I do every day.
- So your original goal is to be a teacher?
- Yes.
- Yeah. And so, but you still are a teacher, right?
- Yes, yes, absolutely.
- Because you're teaching the dance team. And so you were a Strutter. Yeah, so talk about, did you, you came here to be a teacher. You didn't come here to be a Strutter, but a lot of students come here to be a Strutter, right?
- Yeah, it was kind of both.
- Kind of both? Okay. 'Cause you could've gone anywhere to be a teacher, right?
- Right, right. Both my parents actually came here. My mom got her master's at UTSA, but she got her first degree here, her bachelor's. And at Southwest Texas at the time.
- She wasn't a Strutter, was she?
- And she was not a Strutter.
- Okay.
- I'm so sad.
- How great that would be.
- She was a dancer. I know, but she didn't audition for Strutters, so she was part of the dance group and she loved it. But I'm still kicking her sometimes for that. But that's okay. She's been able to support me ever since I started in Strutters, so she's an honorary Strutter I'll say.
- Yeah.
- But she met my dad here. He played football. And so that's where they kind of met, and so I knew about Texas State, and I knew they had a great education program, but I also wanted to dance. And so there were former dance team members on my high school team that were Strutters and they would come in and teach us kick routines. And I really liked the style and so I kind of looked into it, and just thought, "Oh, this is perfect. It's kind of what I wanna do. And this is kind of the degree I want."
- Tell me about like your first week of being a Strutter. What was that like? Did you come into school early as a freshman, like the summertime or?
- So you start training camp on Strutters, that's your first dabble into Strutters.
- And you're brand new.
- And you're brand new.
- Were you nervous?
- I was probably pretty nervous.
- [Dr. Damphousse] Yeah.
- I knew one person really well. Also from San Antonio. We grew up in the same church, and so we roomed together for training camp. So, that made it a little bit better.
- Did they bring all the freshmen in early or does everyone on the team come?
- Everyone actually used to come in at the same time and we would stay in the dorms for two weeks. And that was a really fun bonding experience. And now it's just the freshmen that come in.
- Did you try out before?
- Yes, yes, so you try out first. Yeah, right, so I try out in the spring and then you come for training camp. It's a few weeks before school starts and you're all day, you have pretty much two to three a days and you're learning all the football routines, you're making friends, you're learning, you know, making relationships with the directors. And so it was just, it was a lot, but it was great. And they just kind of throw you in and say, good luck. This is your new life and it was, it was great.
- Being a Strutter is, first off, it's gotta be, it's gotta be kind of like a, feel like a, like a responsibility because you're carrying on a really cool heritage and it's such a unique thing for Texas State. But it's also a lot of work, right?
- Yes.
- So like, and you're, you're a student. You might have a, did you have a job too?
- I did, I worked at a dance studio.
- Yeah, so you worked at dance studio, you're a Strutter, you're a student, you got a life to lead in addition to all that. So it's gotta be kind of pretty demanding for Strutters to be Strutters.
- Definitely. I think something even now today, you know, you make the team and you're super excited to get to be ambassadors for Texas State and still get to dance and make this community with your team.
- Yeah.
- But sometimes you don't realize, and I didn't realize how much, what the difference Strutters is into other college dance teams. So not only are you getting to dance and represent the university and represent athletics, but you're also learning a lot about yourself as a adult and kind of building in that character, your communication skills and just being able to, to be, like I said, that ambassador. And so that's something that you don't really realize. And then you get taught manners and you go through all these trainings and learn how to talk to people and.
- How to do the high pitch screaming thing.
- And your Strutter yell and all the traditions, right. And that's super important too. And so then you learn all that on top of being a Strutter, learning how to organize your time, how to go to school, you know, homework, how to study 'cause that's kind of new when you go to college from high school. But it's, it's honestly, it can, that's the most prepared you're gonna be.
- You know, I always tell people that if you're looking to hire some people and if they look exactly the same except for one's a student-athlete or one's a leader in a student organization. Or one of 'em is part of a group like Strutters, you gotta hire that person.
- Yes.
- Beause they learn so much about life beyond just what you learn in the classroom.
- Exactly.
- And you mentioned, you know, time management and study skills and working in groups and so on. Nothing is probably harder than I think in working in groups is working with so many personalities on that team. How many members of Strutters did you have when you were a student?
- So there was a year there was 128.
- Yeah, yeah.
- That was a lot.
- That's a lot.
- And you had to know everyone's name and I did. And it was great. But yeah, it was a big team.
- That's a lot of personalities too.
- Yes, yes.
- And so, 'cause they're not all the same, so, well you graduated what year?
- 2015.
- 2015. And then you mentioned a professional dance career. Talk a little bit about that.
- Yes.
- Because I think that's pretty cool.
- Yeah, so when I graduated from Strutters, I probably in April, a month before the auditions for Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, I just decided I wanted to audition. I looked up to them my whole life. My, I've been a Cowboys fan since I was a little girl.
- Same here.
- And there we go.
- It's hard sometimes being a Cowboys fan.
- I know, it's okay, we got this, we got this.
- Yeah, the cheerleaders always win.
- Exactly. We always say if you're not a Cowboys fan you can be a DCC fan.
- That's right.
- So I auditioned, just kind of ran into it. Didn't really know what I was going for other than watching the show for several years. And I made it all the way through training camp. I was one of the last cuts before they announced the team. And so I just kind of, that became my goal. So I moved to Dallas. I was working, I was student teaching and I was taking classes to prepare to make that team. And I joined a professional team under another former DCC. And she really helped shape the way that I danced and then kind of was able to make DCC that very next year. So did that for two years.
- And we have a mutual friend, Heather Hamilton.
- Yes, yes, Heather.
- She's one of, one of my former students who was on.
- It's my rookie sister.
- Oh really, I didn't even know that.
- Yep, we made the team together, and another Strutter alum also made it my year.
- Were you on the show?
- Yes.
- I gotta go back and watch the show because I watched it to watch her. I was always like, there she is right there. She wasn't like the star of it, but she was always in the thing.
- No, yeah, I like to fly under the radar.
- Oh yeah. You don't wanna be on the radar.
- Yes.
- That's gotta be, I mean think about this, you're, you're part of the Strutters, which is an important thing and now you're like this internationally famous dance team with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. That's gotta be kinda like, do you like pinch yourself at some point and say, I can't believe I'm doing this. 'cause there's probably no other group that's comparable to this in the world.
- There's not. I would say though, I attribute everything that I learned from Strutters to be able to make DCC. Like I said, I went into it blind, so I knew how to be confident. I knew that I had good character skills. I knew that I had good communication skills. And so I walked into an interview and that was a lot of those ladies first time being able to do something like that. And I just, I felt really good about it. I kind of messed up, but that's okay.
- Somehow you got through it.
- Yeah, exactly.
- Were you teaching while you're on the DCC?
- I was, I was, it was a lot. If I could go back, I maybe would've separated those two lifestyles, but I did the best I could and I learned so much from it. I made the best sisterhood from it.
- How long were you guys, or how long were you part of DCC?
- Two years.
- Two years, okay. And that was enough, right?
- Yes, yes.
- Put that on your resume, come back. So, so what brought you back to Texas State?
- So, like I said after DCC I was teaching kindergarten at the time and I just didn't wanna let go of that dance career. I just, I couldn't imagine my life without it. And I had already, I knew that all I wanted to do in life was dance and be a teacher. So, okay, might as well put those things together. And so I moved to Houston, that's where I found a dance job. And I did that for a few years and then was able to be the assistant director for Strutters that next year and learned under Tammy Fife, which was my director my last two years of college. And just had an incredible time with her, as my mentor. And then she retired and I took over as director. This is now my fifth year.
- Five years goes by fast right?
- I know, it really does.
- Wow. Let's talk about the story of the Strutters.
- Okay.
- Because I know you guys have to learn the history of it.
- Yes, I love talking about Strutters.
- And one knows it better than a director, right?
- Yes.
- By the way, if you haven't had a chance to, you need to go to the Strutters Gallery and see the history of it. That you have the old uniforms that are there. And pictures from, you know, parades you guys were performing in and so on from around the world. Literally around the world. But the, the history of the genesis of the Strutters and the history of the Strutters itself is fascinating. You guys just celebrated a big celebration, right?
- 65.
- 65 years. So talk about how it all came together at the beginning.
- Yeah, so if you come by the gallery, I like to do my little tour. So that's kind of how I like to talk about it. So Strutters started in 1960. Ms. Barbara Guinn Tidwell, she started the team and President Flowers actually asked her to start the team. She was a Kilgore Rangerette. And he thought, who better to do this than someone who kind of started in the dance world. And so she started Strutters.
- Was she already on campus doing something else?
- Yes, so she was getting her master's in English.
- Oh, okay.
- And so he asked her, knew her background and she said absolutely. And so she handpicked some ladies and they became what's known as the Strutters now today. And with that, a lot of those ladies, they didn't know how to dance. So she actually taught them how to dance. Taught them how to kick. And then from there, you know, the more time goes on, you're pretty trained by the time. So now, now you know, we get all of our high school students or transfer students, they've been trained well into dance. And so that's kind of crazy to talk about that 65 years ago she was teaching people how to do this.
- So some of her early dancers, they'd had some dance experience But didn't know the kicks and so on. Do you have more of your, sort of jump ahead here, more of your students are coming from the, the Strutter kick style, or are they coming from everyone and you still have to teach 'em the style?
- Most, the majority, you have to pretty much come in trained now just 'cause the dance world has evolved. Whereas back then it wasn't like that. You know, DCC actually started with high school students.
- Oh really?
- I don't know if you knew that.
- No, I did not know that.
- Yeah, they hired high school students to be on the sidelines and then they eventually created a dance team from it. So yeah.
- Learn something new every day, so that's good.
- So dance world has evolved now. Now they're pretty trained and by the time they, if they make Strutters, they're, they're ready to go. They have their high kicks, they have jazz technique down and they've been well versed in it.
- So Mrs. Tidwell has created this.
- Yes.
- You know, program in 1960 at a school not many people know much about.
- Right.
- In Southwest Texas State at the time. And then it becomes this phenomenon.
- Right.
- How does that happen?
- So they traveled a lot. She took 'em to inaugural parades, presidential inaugural parades. She took 'em to, they were the first dance team to perform at the People's Republic of China. She traveled, she went to several countries by the time she retired. So she was the director from 1960 to 1997. And then Susan Angell took over and just kind of carried that tradition, started incorporating more shows. So something we always say is a lot of D1 dance teams compete. You know, if you saw, I don't know if you're familiar with UDA.
- Yeah.
- So that's something we don't do. We're a performance based dance team. And that started because Mrs. Tidwell started taking Strutters all over the world to different countries and just really getting our name out there and being able to find opportunities where Strutters could perform. And then Texas State's name was also out there as well. So I think that was great, especially for being ambassadors for the university. So Susan Angell came on and I actually had Susan Angell for two years, my first two years in Strutters. She was a former Strutter, a captain.
- All the directors.
- Except for Mrs. Tidwell, of course, the founder and originator. So then Susan Angell was one of her captains, head captain. Then she came on to be the director, started some shows, started a lot more performance opportunities, traveled a lot with Strutters. And my first year they went on a cruise to Mexico, Honduras, Belize. I didn't go on that trip. But then Tammy Fife took over in 2014. And my senior year we went to Paris and London. We did a parade in Paris at the Disney Paris and then performed in front of the Eiffel Tower. So that was really cool, yeah. And then just did a little trip in London and danced a bit. And then Tammy retired in 2020 and now it's me. So.
- Number four. Number four, fourth director.
- I know you all went to Chicago.
- Yes.
- Last year, was it Thanksgiving?
- Last year for the Thanksgiving parade.
- Thanksgiving parade.
- Yes.
- Are you, do you have other trips planned?
- Yes, so two, let's see, four years ago we went to Disney, we did our performance stage and then the year after that we went to Costa Rica. So that was the 27th country we've been to now. So that was a new country for Strutters and that was awesome. Super fun. And then next year we're going back to Disney. We're doing it as a big fundraiser. So we'll bring lots of high school teams come in, we'll teach 'em a parade routine, and then they'll get to do that and then the Strutters will get to dance for them. So they're kind of the exhibition routine.
- So what's, what's the future of the Strutters? I mean, we've talked about the history, but what do you think the future's gonna be?
- So this is the 65th year. We've celebrated a lot of our history. And something we really like to do is bring out a lot of our old uniforms that we've worn over the years. And I think it's just kind of a great testament of those who have came before us and they get to come to the show.
- So all the, all the uniforms are in storage somewhere.
- Oh yes. We've been wearing them a lot this year. But we'll, we have got a big number in the show in April that we're excited to debut, so that'll be great. And so by the time we get to the 70th, that's, that's a big one 'cause the 60th was a big reunion. Big gala. And so we'll do something for that. And so I'm hoping to start having more alums come in and get to do some, maybe some performances. Look at some old uniforms and just kind of have some fun and hopefully continue to travel and fundraise and really just build our brand and, and recruit.
- It's fun seeing all the alumni come back. I'm not sure they've, I've seen them perform at all but I know that they had such a great experience like you had that it's a foundational memory for them to be part of this.
- Yes.
- Like many students who get involved in Greek life or athletics or a club on the campus that the classes in the major are one thing, but it's the other stuff that becomes kinda your centering point. And you have a lot of alumni who, who love to come back.
- Yes.
- You know, I think, and some of them have actually helped financially with your program as well.
- Oh absolutely, they are wonderful. And I think it, they're also great role models for the Strutters. So I actually had an alum come to practice today. She is now, she started dancing professionally for a year and then they asked her to be the coach. So now she's a professional dance coach for one of the teams in San Antonio. And so I had her come today and just kinda talk about her time on Strutters. And I always like to ask alums, do you have any advice for the team? Because sometimes you're in it every day and you forget how, you know, just how grateful you should be for every day that you get on here at Texas State, but also on Strutters and we practice early in the morning. And so that's always fun to have someone come back and be that role model and share their experience and what they're doing now and just be able to kind of see how far they've come as well.
- Do you have, do you have a story or an example of someone who's not an alumnus of the Strutters program, maybe kids or something that have engaged with your, with your young people and, and to see how they're inspiring them?
- Yeah, absolutely. So we hold junior Strutters clinics every year. And so it's been really fun the last few years I've seen a lot of that retainment. So I'll see one kid one year and then they'll come back for Christmas show and then they come back the next year. And so it's fun to see them at a game or even at the kids' game. The women's game on Thursday, they had all the elementary schools in and one of those kids was from Junior Strutters. And she looked at me and I looked at her and I was like, oh, hi. She said, where are the Strutters? And so it's just fun to see that impact they have. And sometimes we'll walk around the games and you see little girls wearing the hats and the boots. Their parents will make 'em a replica of the uniform. And that just, that shows the team that people are looking up to them every day.
- And that's part of the responsibility too, right? You carry this legacy, but people are looking up to you and that's why you have to be on it all the time.
- All the time.
- There's actually, there's a, there's a family that sits on the front row at the football game.
- Yes.
- And the young, their son has a football uniform on. And the daughter's either wearing cheer or a Strutters outfit. And I love to go by and take a picture of at least once a season because I think that there, those kids when they come to Texas State, where, where else will they go?
- Right.
- Will have that memory of having been in the games like that. And you've gotta have students on your squad now that grew up wanting to be a Strutter.
- Yeah, actually this past year for Junior Strutters, I think it was a sophomore, usually our second years do the junior Strutter clinic. And she showed me a picture of her as a junior Strutter and now she's here with the junior, I mean.
- Come full circle.
- Yeah, that was so cool
- You were kind of a dance person. Like you were thinking about dance as a career.
- Right.
- Are your students all kind of future dancers or dance teachers? Or is there a, like a pretty eclectic collection of majors that they have?
- Yeah, I would say maybe 10 to 20% are going to be dance majors. Most of 'em want to be dance directors. So it's great experience for them and we try to give them those opportunities to be able to grow in their career no matter what. But especially if they're dance, it's just easier to, to hand them those opportunities and tell 'em about it.
- Thanks so much for coming and sharing about your story which is super unique. And I, we have so many people who work at Texas State that went to school here. And I think they have kind of a special bond with the university. It's interesting. I remember we had the Strutters come to our house and they were riding a bus.
- Yeah, oh gosh.
- And you know, I'm gonna tell you the story. So some of our buses are wrapped with like, pictures of students and I went out there to take a picture of the group leaving, of your group leaving and your picture's on the side of the bus. I thought it must be odd to see your picture on this bus, but as a employee to also think back about, oh, when I was a student I used to go sit here and I used to do these kinds of things. And so thank you for coming back.
- Yes.
- And thank you for investing your life here at Texas State.
- Absolutely.
- And thank you for everything you do to lead this quintessential Texas State legacy program that started with Mrs. Tidwell but will continue long beyond all of us, we hope. And it really does represent the best of the best of Texas State. So thank you so much for your leadership.
- Thank you.
- Alright, so now we have a, a special moment in the podcast where we ask our viewers to submit questions for me. And so I'm gonna let you be the podcast host. So you get to ask me a question. And the Oscar goes to?
- Hmm, okay. What do you do in your free time? Or what hobbies do you do when you're not working?
- Oh, so I'm a voracious reader. I love to read. And so if I'm not working, I'm reading something. And so I love to read books. I also have kind of, I started like watching Dateline Murder Mysteries a lot. I don't know why. My, I have YouTube TV and it allows me to like go back and watch old, so I can, I think there's like 20 seasons of Dateline Murder Mysteries. So I just like, if I just wanna like, turn my brain off for a while and kind of figure out, and Beth and I will, will watch 'em together and try to figure out, I think it was the husband that did it, you know, and our kids think it's kind of weird that we watch these shows together. But, so it's like, that's, that's kind of our guilty pleasure is Dateline Murder Mysteries. But then I do love to read. I don't have a lot of free time.
- I was gonna say can off the record, do you clone yourself?
- No, I don't,
- Okay, alright.
- But you know, I'm lucky that Beth loves what I do. And we're able to do things together. That our date nights are going to a basketball game. Or going to a musical theatre program together.
- The Strutters show.
- A Strutters show, which is always awesome to see. And like, we're doing something tonight, it's, oh, the Bobcat Belles are having their, their family reveal today. And so we're gonna just go to that. That'll be our entertainment. I'm super cheap and so yeah, it allows me to do cheap dates with her, but luckily she likes to do that kind of thing as well. So my hobbies are Texas State, reading, Dateline Murder Mysteries.
- There you go.
- Thanks.
- That's awesome.