Baton twirler with an unconventional start finds her path
Local twirler showcases range of baton tricks
Competitive baton twirling includes tricks performed with one, two and three batons at a time, and local twirler Marissa Fogg is working to master all of them. Fogg trains with the competitive baton team The Showstoppers Studio in Eastlake, Ohio, where her instructors, Kelly Hoellein and Leighann Hay, teach her new tricks and push her to practice and perfect them. The following provides a sample of tricks in Fogg’s repertoire, along with some advice for any aspiring twirlers:
1. Two Spin
“You really have to focus on your core, balancing and not getting dizzy,” Fogg says about spinning.
2. Two Spin with Catch Behind Back
“Placement for baton in general is important. You have to know that the baton is going to be there,” Fogg says. “You have to make sure that it’s really close to you, which can be scary because it’s a metal rod going straight down your body.”
3. Three Spin
“When you get into a higher number of spins, you still want to keep it low,” Fogg says. “So, spin faster.”
4. Fishtails
“It took me three years, and now I can do it for almost as long as I want,” Fogg says about the trick that requires balancing the baton on the back of your hand. “It’s about feeling how the baton moves. It’s a hard trick to get.”
5. Cutback into Fishtails
“Anything with rolls is just feeling the baton and waiting for it,” Fogg says. “Make sure your body’s moving with it.”
6. Two Baton: Right High Toss, Left Blind, Left Elbow Arm Roll
“The batons are both moving, sometimes even in different directions,” Fogg says. “You have a baton in the air spinning, and you have to rush to get it done… Toss high.”
7. Three Baton: Juggling
“I tried to juggle bean bags and never could,” Fogg says about learning to juggle. “I watched other twirlers… You have to make sure your release is good.”
Baton twirling: more than a marching band activity
If you’ve been to any Kent State University home football game or select home basketball games throughout the season, you’ve probably seen the Kent State University Touch of Gold Twirlers perform during halftime. What many people might not know, however, is that baton twirling isn’t always about accenting a marching band or performing during the breaks of other sports: baton twirling is a competitive sport on its own.
What does it mean to be a competitive baton twirler? Imagine instead of standing on a football field or basketball court crowded with marching band members, you’re standing alone in the middle of gym floor, rushing to spin around three times before a rotating metal rod falls back down on top of you.
Although the year is not known, baton twirling began in Western Europe and Asia at dance festivals, where twirlers spun sticks and torches. It then transitioned to army parades, where twirlers spun rifles and maces. The mace was then altered into a lighter and more balanced rod, which is what baton twirlers use now. Baton twirling is now most common in marching bands and on competitive teams.
Competitive baton teams across the globe create and perform individual and team performances alike, and although baton twirling is an international sport, it is also local to northeast Ohio.
The Showstoppers Studio, a local competitive baton team comprised of about 40 twirlers, is located about an hour away from Kent at Force Sports in Eastlake.
The Showstoppers Studio offers a variety of baton and dance classes.
Baton classes range from introductory classes to advanced competition lessons, including Learn To Twirl, Introduction to Majorette Training, Majorette Training (Level 2), Competition Team and Traveling Competition Team.
“The Learn To Twirl, they start at four years old,” says Kelly Hoellein, one of The Showstoppers Studio’s four coaches. “I go teach the older girls, who do the Majorette Training, and they are more like middle school girls that are getting ready for majorettes and high school tryouts… And the senior team, which is about… 14 to 18 [years old].”
These classes are open to boys and girls of all ages. Although each member must gain experience before transitioning to the higher level classes, all members are invited to perform at the Cleveland Cavaliers Halftime performance, mall shows, festivals, local parades and the team recital no matter their level of experience.
The Showstoppers Studio also provides dance classes such as Ballet Combo, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Tumbling, Cheer/Dance and Competitive Hip Hop.
“Our dance teacher… she handles all those classes,” Hoellein says about dance instructor Tori Stanek. “She also can customize her dance training to the baton girls, so they can do some of their body work for her within the baton routines. And she will help clean [the baton routines].”
The Showstoppers Studio was formed over 30 years ago. Each year, the team’s coaches instruct both team routines and individual routines.
This year, The Showstoppers Studio is bringing seven team routines to competition. The team routines usually compete in two different divisions: advanced for the senior teams and beginner for the younger teams. The team routines compete at five or six local competitions and two national competitions each year.
Team routines are separated into divisions based on size, age range and style of routine. Routine styles differ based on if they are strictly twirling, include elements of dance, include marching or include props.
Individual performers compete in many different divisions, including novice, beginner, intermediate and advanced. They attend many more competitions than the team routines and have already competed in Ohio, Michigan, Maryland and Walt Disney World this season.
Individual competitions include more than just twirling. Individual events include a twirling routine, a strut routine with marching, a two-baton routine, modeling and more depending on which organization is running the competition. Different organizations have different requirements for their team and individual routines.
Both team and individual routines attend competitions run by various baton twirling organizations, including World Twirling Association (WTA), National Baton Twirling Association USA (NBTA USA), Twirling Unlimited (TU) and United States Twirling Association (USTA).
These organizations are all similar, differing only in the rules and locations they cover. WTA generally covers competitions in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and sometimes Pennsylvania, while TU covers Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and sometimes Indiana. USTA covers the entire United States. NBTA USA also covers the entire United States, but has a focus on the northern half of the country.
No matter what organization runs the competition or what kind of routine the twirler is doing, competitive baton twirling requires many different skills beyond manipulating the baton.
The Showstoppers Studio trains its twirlers to work on their baton tricks, leg flexibility, shoulder flexibility and core strength. Some routines even include elements of gymnastics and dance. All twirlers need to be in the right mindset to master tricks, memorize routines and work with other twirlers.
“I think baton is really difficult for a bunch of reasons. It’s definitely something that’s mental as well as physical,” says Marissa Fogg, a twirler at The Showstoppers Studio. “There are a lot of things involved. You have to be flexible… It takes a lot of core strength… The most important thing in baton is coordination, timing and balance.”
Many different skills go into a single baton routine. The next time you see a baton twirler on a football field or basketball court, remember that baton twirling is a complex sport of its own.
