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USC Football & BBall Players Call Dance Class “Brutal”
from Lisa Dopke-Tuck
So honored to be invited to the reunion!
When I attended USC, there wasn’t a dance major. My instructors noticed I was taking alot of dance classes. They told me they didn’t have a dance major, but they would use my class selection to create one! There were two of us who graduated that first year. It was so crazy those last few weeks. I had nightmares that I wouldn’t receive a diploma. One class in particular I had to teach a class of football and basketball players. Flexibility and rhythm are key for alot of sports. I had some big names in my class! They told their coach my class was brutal. Harder than they expected! It still makes me smile to think about them sitting on the floor trying to touch their toes!
Recently I checked what classes were required for a current dance major. It reads almost identical to my classes after all these years. So I guess that’s my one claim to fame.
So excited to see the new facilities at USC. We were limited to one room upstairs in the athletics building. I have wanted to go back and see the changes. Haven’t had the opportunity. Still hope to go some day.
I remember Carol Montez. Such a beautiful lady, and a sharp ballroom dancer. A couple of my peers and instructors wanted to dance like her. I was dancing with the jitterbug team. I think Jimmy McDivitt was my partner for tryouts. Loved dancing with him! So much fun! I ended up with someone else for performances. I was too short for Jimmy! Don’t remember why, but our team was televised for a local channel. My parents were so surprised to see their daughter on tv dancing!
I would love to see everyone again. I will try to come to the reunion. I am still in California, so not a huge commute. Please
send me information. I am including my email address below.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Lisa Dopke-Tuck
1974-1979
Oh Myyyyy!
The team had won the US Formation Championship Gold Medal in September of 1977. Wishing to keep performing to sharpen our skills, the team went up to the San Francisco International Grand Ball at the SF Hilton. The performance went great but we were on quite early in the evening, so by 9pm we began to think about doing what all Trojans do on annual Bay Trip- Parteeee! Ron suggested we ask one of the local hotel workers what a good club for dancing. Remember this was 1977 and disco clubs were hot, and we wanted to dance. Well the young, very good looking waiter said the best club was on the waterfront warehouse area under the Bay Bridge. It was a hot, new club called Trocadero Transfer. We piled into three taxis and hustled over. Imagine our preppy USC eyes when we see a line of guys, some in tiny spandex briefs, spray painted silver with glitter head to toe, with little wings on the shoes and head. It was definitely a spectacle and we were definitely going to see it. With Ron in the lead we waltzed (hustled) right in. Surprisingly there was no alcohol- only fruit juice drinks, but the music was off the hook! We danced for several hours before heading home and I’m sure our dancers doing Disco Cha cha and Disco Samba were as much a spectacle to the Trocadero’s usual patrons. Years later fans of Hustle Music refer to Trocadero Transfer with the kind of reverence held for Studio 54 in NY and Circus in LA.
https://apostrof.com.ua/rizne/vyrobnycztvo-dymohidnyh-ta-ventylyaczijnyh-system-suchasni-rishennya-vid-glemanlas/