Dancer Gets 'Golden' Chance At Next Level

By Chrissy Smith
The Daily News Online

FRANKLINTON - Danielle Hall is in an elite group of dancers.

Out of 74 hopefuls, Hall was chosen as one of the 16 Golden Girls at LSU.

The Golden Girls dance with the band at the football games. In previous years, the dance team has only traveled with the football squad for one away game, but this year, the Golden Girls will be sparkling at every game.

Hall planned on going to LSU long ago, ever since she decided to become a dental hygienist. Once she was accepted at LSU, she chose to tryout for the dance team.

There were 74 girls who showed up and each one had to perform a solo routine for the judges. After that, 40 girls were let go. The remaining 34 girls had one hour to learn an advanced jazz routine.

"It was really hard," Hall said.

From that, only 16 girls were picked for the final team, and Hall was one of those young ladies.

"I didn't think it was true. It just didn't seem believable," Hall said when she found out she made the team.

The 18-year-old will graduate from Bowling Green School next month. She was on the Treasures from seventh to ninth grade at BGS and was the captain her final year. Then from tenth to twelfth grades, Hall was on the Buccanettes where she was the captain her senior year.

Hall started dancing when she was 3 years old at Dawn Alsord's Dance Academy. She danced there for 15 years and along the way has been helped by Brian Applewhite and Kathy O'Quinn.

Hall has been dedicated to dance all her life. For two months during her senior year, she took a dance class in Baton Rouge every Monday.

"I didn't get home until 11 p.m. or midnight every night," Hall said.

Her parents, Donna and Donnovan, have been supportive of their daughter's dancing path, and are even more pleased now that Hall is on the team at LSU.

The $1,000 scholarship the high school senior gets for dancing at LSU will certainly help in the financial end.

"I'm living in a dorm, and school is expensive living in a dorm," Hall said. She also has TOPS.

Hall's schedule at LSU will be just like a student-athlete. She has to take at least 12 hours a semester and has practice every Monday through Friday from 3:50 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. She also has to maintain a 2.0 GPA.

"Dancing is a sport because you have to have endurance and be a team," Hall said of how her extra-curricular activity is just like anyone else's.

She will get ready for graduation in May and then move to LSU shortly after that.