Satin Dolls
The New Orleans East Satin Dolls Dance School is a non profit school that provides professional and creative dance training. The girls performing in the parade ranged from eight to 18.
The N.O.E Satin dolls performed in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale on Sunday afternoon on February 8, 2026. Femme Fatale was founded in 2013 as the first krewe founded by African American women, for African American women, although all women are welcome. This years theme was “Femmes Just Want to Have Fun”.
The Satin dolls was just one group of 38 groups and floats.
The N.O.E Satin Dolls danced throughout a 4.5 mile stretch from Jefferson ave to the central business district in downtown New Orleans. They expressed themselves through hip hop style dance and each girl was an absolute diva. They definitely just wanted to have fun.
Karen Jordan, 60, founded the Satin Dolls dance school in 2017 to provide young women with an outlet to create friendships and to grow their passions through the art of dance. She also wants the girls to have an space to grow confidence within themselves and their bodies.
Jordan started the school because she herself grew up dancing and found it to be a place where she could release her stress and she felt it was her purpose to provide that to the youth. “I do it to tell a story about how I’m feeling— because I’m happy. God has given this opportunity. And to love what I do and love these kids— giving back to the youth is what’s saved me,” said Jordan.
Tiny, 9, right, and other members from the New Orleans East Satin Dolls majorette dance crew warm up before heading to their only Mardi Gras parade performance of the year, Femme Fatale, on February 8, 2026. The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade, founded in 2013, was the first Mardi Gras krewe to be founded by African American women for African American women.
Members of the N.O.E Satin Dolls School of Dance wait around before dancing in the Mardi Gras Femme Fatale parade on February 8, 2026. N.O.E Satin Dolls Performance Arts School of Dance is a non profit that was founded to create a welcoming and empowering space for children learning to dance.
The N.O.E Satin Dolls walk away after getting their portrait taken at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026. The dancers wait their turn in line before performing in the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in the heat of the day.
The N.O.E Satin Dolls dancers begin on Jefferson Ave to begin their 4.5 mile journey in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade on February 8, 2026.
Shantelle Robinson, a board member and the director of coaches for N.O.E Satin Dolls, touches up the girls makeup before they perform in the Mardi Gras Mystic krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026.
Tiny, 9, a member of N.O.E Satin Dolls stands for a portrait before she dances in the Mardi Gras Mystic krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026.
Members of the N.O.E Satin Dolls majorette dance group begin their performance in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 8, 2026.
Members of the N.O.E Satin Dolls majorette dance group perform in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 8, 2026. The girls use dancing as a release, for fun, and to express their creativity.
Brideisha Harness, a previous board member of N.O.E Satin Dolls Dance, cheers for the girls on the team near the Magnolia Bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026.
Tiny, 9, walks through the streets in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade on February 8, 2026.
Karen Jordan, 60, comforts a dancer in the heat after they've walked over two miles in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026. "God has given me the opportunity to love what I do, and I love these kids. Giving back to the youth is what's saved me."
Monae, 8, is the youngest dancer performing for the N.O.E Satin Dolls dance in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026. Monae has been dancing for 3 years with the Satin Dolls.
Karen Jordan, 60, hypes up one of her dancers in the N.O.E Satin Dolls performance in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026. Jordan founded the dance school in 2017 after being a dancer herself her entire life. She uses teaching as a tool to release stress and tell stories through dancing.
Members of the N.O.E Satin Dolls walk underneath the famous Magnolia Bridge downtown in the Mardi Gras Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026.
Members of the N.O.E Satin Dolls Dance wind down in the bus ride back to their studio after performing in the Mardi Gras Mystic krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026. This was the only parade the Satin Dolls performed at in Mardi Gras, but has multiple other events throughout the year to keep them busy. Through the dance acadamy, the young girls have become passionate about dancing and many have formed friendships through classes.
A child eats a snack and takes her shoes off in the bus after performing in the Mardi Gras Mystic krewe of Femme Fatale parade in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 8, 2026. The girls walked 4.5 miles in the hottest part of the day starting on Jefferson Ave and ending in the Central Business District downtown New Orleans.