Everybody knows that homecomings are for parties, reconnections and, of course, football, but “the game” is really all about tailgating and the halftime show—which includes the band and dance teams that mystify with their smooth, gravity-defying, unapologetic blackness.
Costume designer Brea Stinson—an HBCU alum who has worked her style magic on the likes of Beyoncé, Nas, Kelly Rowland, Usher and Willow Smith—has partnered with Tampax and the Always Radiant Collection, in conjunction with the HBCU Dance Corp., to host the #RadiantDanceOff. The national online dance competition is open exclusively to majorette teams at HBCUs.
The winning HBCU dance team will receive a donation of $25,000 to cover team expenses and custom uniforms designed by Stinson, a proud alumna of Clark Atlanta University.
“Working with some of the biggest entertainers in the world, I know how important it is to have high-performance dance gear that is both stylish and functional, something HBCU majorettes can relate to,” Stinson says.
A recent survey conducted by the Always Radiant Collection found that a quarter of African-American women avoid dancing while on their period, and nearly half of African-American women bring a jacket or sweater to wrap around their waist during their period when they’re going out to meet friends or on a date.
Kicking off the 2017 homecoming season, Tampax and the Always Radiant Collection aim to encourage black women to feel empowered and confident to dance no matter what time of the month it is.
HBCU majorette teams can submit their online videos though Monday, Oct. 30, at noon EDT. The voting period is now scheduled to begin Nov. 2 and end Nov. 15 at noon EST.
The top five videos with the highest number of votes will be judged to determine the winner. So get to voting!
Contest details can be found at radiantdanceoff.com.