|
| |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
American Dance/Drill Team® is proud to be leading the dance/drill team industry for over fifty years by presenting quality dance education through summer camps, winter dance intensives, special events and competitions around the United States. It is our goal, through hiring the top dance educators in the country, and by constantly striving to meet the current needs of dance teams, to continue to present the most organized, fair and professional activities for young dancers today. |
|
The American Dance/Drill Team® was originated in 1958 by Dr.
Irving Dreibrodt and Gussie Nell Davis to provide a medium for
professional instruction for dance/drill teams around the United
States. Joyce E. Pennington, Pres. CEO and C.R. Pennington,
Jr., V.P. & CFO, current owners of American Dance/Drill Team®, the company has continued the legacy of presenting the
highest quality of camps, contests, and clinics available.
|
|
Gussie Nell Davis, of Kilgore, Texas, was best known for
creating a "first" for Texas and the Nation. In
1975, the Houston Contemporary Museum of Art honored her for
creating a "living art form." A talented
musician, Miss Davis was groomed to be a concert pianist,
but upon entering the College of Industrial Arts (now Texas
Woman's University) in Denton, Texas, she selected physical
education as her career choice. She went on to earn a master
of science degree from the University of Southern
California. |
 |
|
In 1929, Miss Davis started the first dancing pep squad at
Greenville High School in Greenville, Texas. Then in 1940 she was hired by
Kilgore College to organize a group of girls to perform at the halftimes of
college football games. The world famous Kilgore College Rangerettes were
born as a result. During her 40 years as director of the 65 member
Rangerette organization, the group traveled over a million miles representing
the United States and Texas in South America, the Far East and other points on
the globe. The Rangerettes have been featured at numerous football bowl
games across the nation, on national television, in movies, and hundreds of
magazine covers. |
|
|
She was inducted into the TEXAS WOMAN'S HALL OF FAME; named Honorary
Citizen of Fort Worth in 1965; the recipient of the International
Citizen Citizenship Award in 1969; the Cotton Bowl Association 25th Anniversary
Participation Award in 1974; received a State of Texas House of
Representatives Certificate of Citation; a Distinguished Alumnae of Texas
Woman's University in 1978; and a woman's dormitory at Kilgore College bears
her name.
In 1996, Miss Davis was recognized by the Texas Dance/Drill Team
Educators Assoc. as an outstanding contributor to the dance/drill team
industry. At the 1996 Texas convention she was inducted in to Texas Dance Educators Association Hall of
Fame. |
|
In 1998, ADTS® established the Gussie Nell Davis Dance Classic competition at Kilgore College to benefit Rangerette Scholarships. Miss Davis was most definitely the "First Lady of Drill Team." On
December 20, 1993, she died in her sleep in Kilgore, TX, and remains in the
hearts of all drill team members whose lives she touched. (Learn more about Gussie Nell Davis on our Education Support page.)
|
|
In 1956, Dr. Irving D. Dreibrodt came to
Southern Methodist University, after being a high school band director in San Antonio, Texas for over ten
years, to be the Director of the Mustang Band. He took charge of the program
and turned the small band into one of the most prestigious programs in the
country, earning the titles of "Show Band of the Southwest", "Best Dressed
Band in the Land", and "99 Guys and a Doll". He had worked with Gussie Nell
Davis, Director of the Kilgore College Rangerettes, on many Cotton Bowl
parades and halftimes.
|
 |
|
Dr. Dreibrodt had a great interest in high
school drill teams and wrote his Masters thesis on drill teams, when it
was still an unpopular subject with most high school band directors.
Together, in 1958, Dr. Dreibrodt and Miss Davis collaborated to start the
first drill team training camp in the United States on the SMU campus.
That summer, drill teams came from all over the United States to
AMERICAN DRILL TEAM and PEP SQUAD SCHOOL. For over fifty years,
the company, now named American Dance/Drill Team®, has lead the nation and
set the standards for the entire industry to follow. |
|
|
Dr. Dreibrodt continued to
influence the drill team world by working with area drill team directors
in 1979 to develop the first professional organization for directors, DANCE/DRILL TEAM DIRECTORS OF AMERICA. He was recognized by the TEXAS MUSIC/SPORTS BROADCASTERS HALL OF FAME in 1986 the year he
retired as director of the MUSTANG BAND and was inducted into the TEXAS MUSIC EDUCATORS HALL OF FAME the summer of 1993.
In 1996, Dr. Dreibrodt was recognized by the Texas Dance Educators
Association as an outstanding contributor to the dance/drill team industry. At
the 1996 Texas convention he was inducted in to the TDEA Hall of Fame.
Dr. Dreibrodt
was born in 1920 and passed away in January, 2007. Dr. Dreibrodt played an active role in the dance/drill team world
while serving as Chairman of the Board for American Dance/Drill Team®. |
|
Joyce and CR Pennington are current owners of American Dance/Drill Team. In 1982, Joyce became Exec. Vice President, hired by Dr. Dreibrodt and Miss Davis. In 1984, Joyce and CR bought majority stock in the company, and in 1994, purchased remaining stock to be sole owners. It is their goal to carry on the legacy that was started in 1958, by Dr. Dreibrodt and Miss Davis.
Today, Joyce Pennington is President and Chief Executive Officer, while C.R. Pennington is Chief Financial Officers of the company. Their sons, Brad and Doug, also work full time for the company in operations and, their granddaughter, Brittany, is a member of the dance and judging staff. They are joined by Barbara Schoepf, Accounts Manager, and Lucinda Garza, Director of Personnel and Activities.
The corporate headquarters is located in the historical village of Salado, Texas.
|
|
