I have spent many days, weeks, months and years visiting Ms. Tera’s Tap ‘N Toes dance studio in Pleasanton as my daughter has danced there for 11 years, but in July I was there for a completely different reason and with a new sense of pride.

Confident and lovable as always, the world-famous Kilgore Rangerette Darcy Macmanus sits with me in the studio to conduct this interview.

Darcy is the only daughter of Tera and Paul Macmanus of Pleasanton and will graduate from home school in 2023. Tera was keen to show her daughter the opportunities and experiences that dance could offer her. She enrolled Darcy in dance at the age of three. Since there was no place to dance near her, she, who has been dancing her entire life, opened a small studio in Jourdanton.

Darcy wasn’t the biggest dance fanatic at first, but as older dancers joined her, she made wonderful friends and discovered her love of dancing.

I watched Darcy grow up without realizing it. You could always see her with her blonde curls following her mother around, taking care of little dancers and wanting them to do their best.

Darcy has been competing in dance competitions for over a decade. She has the pins, plaques and trophies to prove it. She’s no stranger to the stage. After being mesmerized by the dances and dancers at the Kilgore Rangerettes Revels Spring Show, she decided the high-legged life was for her.

“I had an overwhelming feeling of home,” Darcy said of the Revels show.

When it was over, her mother asked if that was something she would like to do.

Darcy replied from the bottom of his heart, “I don’t think I have ever wanted anything more in my life.”

“I went to the principals and said, ‘I want to be on this team, but I’m homeschooled.'”

Homeschooled students have a harder time with activities since they are at home and not part of a regular school with easy access to team sports. The directors suggested that she choose many styles of dance, including ballet and anything that requires fast movement. Darcy took lessons not only at her mother’s studio but also at a company in San Antonio.

And so began her journey to the 84th Line. Darcy worked hard, attending camps and private lessons in the hopes of achieving her dream.

Let’s pause to give the world famous Kilgore Rangerettes the introduction they deserve. The Kilgore Rangerettes were the first to drill on a football field in 1940. Dr. BE Masters, then dean of Kilgore College, brought Miss Gussie Nell Davis onto the team in the hopes she would find a way to fill the seats during halftime and bring more young women to the college. Davis, who knew dancers from her career as a physical education teacher and pep squad leader, put together a team and gave us all the halftime shows we are used to. She chose red, white, and blue for their uniforms because school colors may change, but the country’s colors remain the same. These uniforms inspire so much pride.

The Rangerettes perform all over the world. This year alone, they will dance at the Cotton Bowl, participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the London New Year’s Day Parade. Previously, they traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Pearl Harbor Parade and performed at the Texas State Fair.

After that story was told, Darcy was on her way to tryouts for the 84th line. Wearing the number 27, she completed the tryouts and became a world-famous Kilgore Rangerette on June 28, 2023.

Training for the Rangerettes can be grueling. During the semester, they practice for hours every day, at least six days a week. To keep the athletes in peak condition, summer workouts are offered and Zoom classes are mandatory.

Living with her “sisters” in the Rangerette dorm has given Darcy so much.

“It’s more than just a dance group. It’s a family,” she said.

The camaraderie fills her heart as much as the dancing, if not more. It creates lifelong bonds.

The Revels Spring Show is one of her favorite times of the year. She loves when all the seats are filled with high school drill team members and other spectators. This event features routines from the season and is sold out.

“It’s hard to describe. There’s a quote about the Rangerettes: ‘From the inside out, you can’t explain it. And from the outside in, you can’t understand it,'” Darcy said.

“When we do a practice run or a dance at a performance and it’s really good, we get ‘overhead claps’. They clap their hands above their heads. It’s just so great to know that,” she sighs proudly. “We work, work, work to get better. We want to be super clean and as good as we can be. As close to perfect as we can be. And then to finally do it and see that, it’s like YES! We did it!”

Kilgore College is a junior college, so Darcy will finish her time as a Rangerette in 2025. After graduation, she is keeping her options open. She plans to try out for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, possibly the Radio City Rockettes, and wants to study dance and nutrition at Texas A&M.

Darcy would like to give back to the Rangerettes who have given her so much by possibly teaching there one day.

“It’s a great honor to perform,” Darcy said. “Before you dance, you look down and see the red, white and blue and it’s just like… I can’t describe it.”

And so I applaud you, Miss Macmanus. You show that there is always something to strive for. You show dancers to believe in themselves and their craft. You do the same for me. I am proud to know you and to know that my daughter can look up to you.