The Millard South Majorettes took their baton skills to the national level over the summer. Their studio traveled to Notre Dame in Indiana to compete in the national competition. This year they emerged victorious and took home an astounding 13 titles.
“The competition takes around five days, and each day has different events going on,” junior Izzy Johnson explained. “One day we have pom and corps, and the next we’ll have dance twirls and struts.”
One of these victorious performances was the Stranger Things themed pom routine which involved iconic songs and characters from the show, including Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and a chilling voiceover from Vecna. This routine was especially exciting for the team as they competed against much larger competition.
“The final score is compared against every age group, and out of all those groups we won,” senior Ally Parker said. “It’s the first time we’ve been able to do that in a while so it was really exciting.”
When the girls aren’t competing for their studio, the majorettes are a staple at pep rallies and home football games. The six girl team performs intricate baton routines to popular music and have amazing tricks.
“We spend a lot of time trying to put out a fun routine that people are going to enjoy, but also something that we’re going to enjoy. We like to push our tricks and put out something that’s going to be challenging for us but also entertaining for the audience,” Parker said.
Many of the girls have been twirling since elementary school which has helped give them the confidence to perform at these events.
“Performing at the pep rallies was a little scary at first, but I’ve been performing since I was five so I feel like I can do it now. I love doing it,” senior Katie Warren said.
The majorettes program has given the girls the opportunity to showcase their unique talent to the school, but it has also allowed them to build a special bond with one another.
“We all twirl together at the company as well so we spend a lot of time with each other. We’ve all gotten really close through doing this. There’s one girl on the team who doesn’t twirl at the studio but we’ve still just bonded so quickly,” Warren said.
The girls have worked extremely hard to prepare these routines for the pep rallies, but they are hoping to get more involved in other school activities as well.
“We’re still kind of getting our footing in the school,” Parker said, “Right now we’re still just a club which is really fun and we’re really excited, but in the future we’re hoping to do more events.”
