In 1973, Mt. Zion was introduced to its new all-girl swing choir consisting of 9 members. That year, Roberta Vest stepped onto the scene as a graduate of Millikin University. Unsure of exactly what a swing choir was, she described her first year as a learning experience. Teaching music wasn't difficult for her, but learning about choreographing a swing choir - putting the steps to music posed a challenge.

At the end of Roberta's second year, some boys asked to try out for the group. She thought they were just kidding. Eighteen boys showed up for auditions, after some encouragement from fellow classmate Doug Karl. The addition of males to an all female group brought a new dimension to the Mt. Zion swing choir.

In 1977, Dwight Jordan, Mt. Zion's instrumental director approached Roberta about adding a combo. Soon afterwards the swing choir had a combo consisting of trumpets, percussion, and a bass guitar. With the addition of boys and a combo, giving the group a new name became a priority. The group is now known as Les Femmes but before that it was known as Swingsations which is still the name of the mixed group. The all girls group changed from Swingsations to Les Femmes.

After the 1999-2000 school year, Directors Connie Mulligan and Cyndi Johnson moved on. In the fall of 2000, Jeff Gemar accepted the position of Director, leaving his former choir and band responsibilities in Mitchell, SD. That same year, Heather Pistorius (alumni) returned to Mt. Zion as Assistant Director and continued through the end of the 2001-2002 school year.

Carla Moebius joined the Swingsations and Les Femmes in the 2002-2003 season as Assistant Director, and Combo member while the group enjoyed successful years with Grand Champion titles.

Laura Marcotte joined the Swingsations and Les Femmes in the 2004-2005 season, replacing Ms. Moebius who left to pursue her master's degree.  Ms. Marcotte was also a Combo member, and the group continued their winning ways. Ms. Marcotte moved back to the Chicago Suburbs to get married and teach there.

Dave Helm was the Assistant Director for Swingsations and Les Femmes for the  2006-2008 school years. 

Michel Winslow came on as director for Swingsations and Les Femmes in 2007 and continues to direct these and the junior high group Sound System now.

In what has now become a relatively long history in the show choir field of competition, the Swingsations and Les Femmes have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success and notoriety as a trendsetter in the show choir circles. Each year they raise the standard for high energy choreography, challenging vocals, dynamic visual effects while bringing miles of smiles and tons of fun to the stage. Backed by the strong support of the Swingsations and Les Femmes parents and Mt. Zion community, Les Femmes will continue competing and performing for the community for years to come.