Sophie Triche

Crossing her fingers tightly, senior Sophie Triche smiles proudly for her senior photo. Triche plans to attend Kilgore college and is hopeful to continue high kicking with the Rangerettes in the fall. “When I first saw the Rangerettes, I was enamored by how professional they were,” Triche said. “It made me absolutely fall in love with them and everything they do. I knew I wanted to dance after high school and the Rangerettes to me, feels like home. I could not be more excited when I made the official decision to try out and let my friends and family know that I was committed to be a hopeful for such a world renowned dance team.” Photo Courtesy of Sophie Triche

The hours of training, listening and stretching are not quite done as she takes another leap yet again. She carefully makes sure that everything is in line from her training routine to her staying in line during kick technique camps. She’s continually making strides in hopes to be strutting along other hopefuls on the RE St. John Memorial Stadium in the fall.

Senior Sophie Triche has been a part of the Celebrities dance team for the past three years, recently serving as first lieutenant this past school year. Soon to be graduating, she said she is ecstatic to be following many inspirational young women in order to become a world famous Kilgore Rangerette. With her long dance background filled with technique and drill team based classes, she is optimistic about becoming a member of the 85th line.

“I grew up doing classical ballet since I was little, and only imagined myself going the professional ballet route after high school,” Triche said. “But when I became a Celebrity my sophomore year and my directors took the team to see the Rangerette spring show, Revels, I immediately fell in love with the organization. I decided on Dec. 16, 2022 that I wanted to audition for the Rangerettes. I want to be on a team where everyone wants to be there, works hard everyday, has a sisterhood, and will help me grow not only as a dancer, but also as a person.”

Triche explains how the tryout process and becoming a freshman Rangerette can be daunting but yet filled with many life lessons that can help young women throughout their young adult life. 

“Rangerettes is extremely disciplined, and has almost a military-like structure,” Triche said. “As a freshman Rangerette, you stand at attention when you aren’t dancing, always smiling, don’t speak in practice unless asked too, open the doors for your sophomore Rangerettes, and many other rules that make the organization so put together as it is.”

Triche explains the long process of how she stays in shape in order to prepare for this next chapter of her future life. It seems like it’s no easy task, but for Triche, she said she is hard at work making sure that every move she makes will put her right into this famous history.

“In order to be fully prepared for tryouts this summer, I must be active and dancing every day,” Triche said. “Currently I am a student at Austin School of Classical Ballet under the highest level of our studio and I train in classical ballet 4 days a week. I train with a strength trainer to work on the parts of my body that need to be strengthened, go to the gym about five times a week to stay in shape, and stamina kick on my own five days a week in order to maintain my kick height and technique. Additionally, I attended multiple intensives that the Rangerettes host in preparation for tryouts, and other collegiate dance team clinics and intensives, including the LSU Golden Girls, Texas State Strutters and University of Texas Pom Squad.”

 Tryouts for Rangerettes start June 12 and end the 15. After the dancers arrive and find their dorms, they review the tryout dances with the directors that were sent out to them a few days prior to arrival. The second day is when tryouts officially start, and it starts by a welcome tea.

“The welcome tea has been a tradition for a very long time, and it’s extremely modest and put together,” Triches said. “Tryouts will continue later that night, likely consisting of doing the routines that were sent out to us in small groups of about four, and performing in front of the directors, outside judges and the sophomore Rangerettes. After a couple hours, we all do something that’s called talent night. Talent night is where each hopeful shows a one minute solo to the Rangerette directors, the sophomore Rangerettes, and all hopefuls. The solo can be whatever style we like and it has to follow certain guidelines.”

The third day is the final tryout day, where the dancers continue the tryouts in small groups and any callbacks will be done at that time. After the final tryout day is over, they are done for the night.

“In order to find out if we made the 85th Rangerette line, we do something called sign drop,” Triche said. “On June 15, all of the hopefuls will dress in their Sunday best, and sit on the stage holding hands in the Dodson auditorium. The current sophomore line will be in their full uniform, standing in a semi circle on the stage in front of the hopefuls. The directors will speak to the hopefuls, and once they are done, a sign will drop from the top of the stage with the tryout numbers of the members who have been selected for the 85th line. If you’re selected for the line, you stay on the stage while the sophomores do the fight song in a circle around the new freshman Rangerettes.”

Triche not only continues to work hard for her dancing, but also continues to be hard at work from an outside perspective. Those selected to be a Kilgore Rangerette stay in the Gussie Neil Davis residence dorms on campus.

“I have a roommate for tryouts and if we both make the 85th line we will be roommates together in the dorm,” Triche said. “She is a member of the varsity dance team at Glenn High School, and she is truly one of my closest friends. We met at a hopeful intensive in the summer and we have been very close ever since.”

These big goals not only plan to take Triche even further after her high kicking accomplishment, but she hopes to continue dancing and majoring in a study that will help other dancers’ bodies improve everyday.

“If I’m selected for the 85th line of the Kilgore College Rangerettes, I will attend Kilgore for my freshman and sophomore year,” Triche said. “After my two years there, I will transfer to Louisiana State University to major in Kinesiology. I also plan to audition for the Golden Girls dance team. Post college, I hope to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.”