Columnist Susan Snyder: Rhythmettes still in a united state

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 5:14 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4082.

WEEKEND EDITION

April 9 - 10, 2005

If you haven't yet figured out why you should see the resurrected Helldorado Days Parade on May 14, here's the reason:

The Las Vegas High School Rhythm-ettes will return to march as they did back in the day when the precision dance team was the first and best known of its kind in the country.

From 1949 to 1967, the 18-member team was directed by gym teacher Evelyn Stuckey. The "dancing darlings" performed Rockettes-style at halftime shows, community events and rodeos. They danced atop the Hoover Dam and on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

"We all still have the same feeling about being Rhythmettes," said Terry Thomas Abbott, who gathered with seven other alumnae in a restaurant Wednesday evening to plan the parade appearance and a May 15 reunion.

They aren't teenagers anymore. Some of their children aren't even teenagers anymore. But they're still Miss Stuckey's girls -- polished, pretty, fun-loving and a team.

Black jeans will replace the kicky miniskirts (hemlines were always 27 inches from the floor to create the illusion that they were all the same height). And there will be none of this kicking-over-their-heads business.

"We are not marching. We are walking and hopefully not too far," giggled Dee Trumble Hale, a Rhythmette from 1953 to 1957.

Over pizza and salad, they examined the red straw cowgirl hats they plan to wear and discussed whose granddaughters will tote the banner. There is time for only one rehearsal before parade day, but they weren't worried.

"If we stood all these women in line and said, 'five, six, seven, eight,' we'd all turn our heads to the side in unison," said Janie Greenspun Gale, a Rhythmette from 1965 through 1967 (and whose family also owns the Las Vegas Sun).

Splits are past. Their biggest strain today is recalling on demand in which years, exactly, they danced for "Miss Stuckey."

"Let's see, I started high school in '55 -- no, '56 ..." Donna James Miller recalled thoughtfully.

"And in '59, I was a sophomore ..." Karen Sarret Bartolo added. They reminisced about the hard work -- rehearsals every weekday at 6 a.m. and again on Thursday evenings. They had to keep their grades up, their weight down and be mindful of whom they dated.

"I think she was afraid we'd get married too young," said Terri Jeffers Gialketsis, a Rhythmette from 1954-'57, a former Miss Nevada and the daughter of late Sun columnist Ruthe Deskin.

Miller joked about being jealous of Abbott, whom she said "was hinged differently." But in a more serious tone, they agreed that Stuckey's influence was profound.

"I was so self-conscious about being tall, and she really helped me," the 5-foot-9-inch Gialketsis recalled.

"She looked out for our futures," added Karen Weller Powell, a Rhythm-ette from 1959 to '60. "When I went off to college she told me, 'When you get into social situations, never start your conversations with "I." Always talk about other people. You'll learn more.' "

"She took girls who were very shy -- somebody like myself. And it was a life-changing experience for me," Hale said. "We were special."

It you are a former Rhythmette and would like to attend the reunion, call Abbott, 896-4036.