About This Book
In 1975, Susan Angell-Gonzalez and Diana Finlay Hendricks entered (Southwest) Texas State University, and through auditions and interviews, succeeded in earning their places in the Strutter line, as members of an elite precision dance team. Little did Angell-Gonzalez know that this unique dance troupe would have a hold on her heart throughout her career. Today, a half century later, Angell-Gonzalez and Hendricks have collaborated on this memoir, focusing on 1997-2013 Texas State University Strutters, while offering detailed information on how she built the classic organization into the largest precision dance team at a university in the United States. After a successful career as a dance team director, and owner of the nationally acclaimed dance camp and contest company, ShowMakers of Americaâ, Angell-Gonzalez came home to Texas State in 1997, as the second director/choreographer of the Strutters, following Barbara Tidwell who had established the group in 1960. The dean of students and athletic director charged Angell-Gonzalez with taking this new generation of dancers to the next level. “The Angell Line” would include more than dance routines, manners and make-up skills. Angell incorporated comprehensive precision, inventive choreography, contemporary dance techniques, strategic strength training, nutritional education, and leadership, while maintaining the traditional style, values, lessons and sisterhood that Tidwell had established in 1960. The Strutters have performed in movies and on tv, at presidential inaugurations, and around the world in exhibitions and festivals, as ambassadors of Texas State University and the United States. These students continue to honor the rich history and traditions of a long line of dancers. The motto continues to ring true: “Once a Strutter, Always a Strutter.”
