From the glow of stadium lights to the roar of the crowd, game days at the University are full of sound, color and motion. The marching band energizes the audience with its pregame show as Scott Stadium comes alive with fans pouring in before kickoff. And at the center of the band are the feature twirlers, sparkling in their sequin uniforms and tossing their batons high into the air.
Baton twirling is a sport that involves tossing and spinning one, two or three batons while incorporating dance and gymnastics to create a coordinated performance. At the University, the feature twirlers perform during the marching band’s pregame and halftime shows at football games, as well as at basketball games and other athletic events on Grounds.
This year’s feature twirlers are fourth-year Nursing student Madison Salber, fourth-year College student Gia Singh, third-year College student Ishita Bakshi, second-year College student Lauren Sykes and sophomore Piedmont Virginia Community College student Ivoire Shelton. All five of the twirlers started when they were in elementary school and have dedicated much of their lives to performing and competing.
“I was kind of born into it,” Singh said. “I started when I was three years old, and ever since then I’ve competed and wanted to twirl for U.Va.”
Singh and Shelton first picked up a baton because twirling ran in their families. Salber, Bakshi and Sykes were inspired as little girls after seeing older girls twirl at summer camps and talent shows. Their early start means they have spent more than a decade perfecting their skills which allows them to handle the complexity of college-level performances.
Becoming a feature twirler at the University involves a three-part audition process. Interested candidates must first submit a biography detailing their twirling background with a video demonstrating a wide variety of baton skills. This is followed by an online interview and later an invitation-only in-person interview and audition. The live auditions are adjudicated by a panel comprised of the twirling coaches, the Director of Bands and former feature twirlers and coaches.
“When I got the email that I got a callback, I was extremely excited,” Sykes said. “It was really stressful because it was such a long process. It was fairly emotional when I did make [the team].”
Between classes and rehearsals with the marching band, twirlers pour hours of their own time into practicing new tricks, choreographing an individual routine or rehearsing more complex group routines. They rehearse with the marching band every Tuesday and Thursday and on Friday nights before home football games, and those extra hours put in beyond scheduled rehearsals allow them to flawlessly perform on game days. For Bakshi, the best part of performing at football games is the support of students and fans.
“It’s definitely really energizing when the student section is there and is loud and engaged, I feel like we kind of feed off their energy,” Bakshi said. “The environment that the students bring is what makes it feel so special to me.”
Each twirler choreographs their own feature that lasts approximately two minutes and showcases their unique abilities. They may incorporate dance movements, high tosses with multiple batons or a skill called a roll, which involves rolling a baton around their body while maintaining constant contact with the baton.
The choreography they perform as a group, however, is synchronized and includes tricks they cannot do alone, such as exchanges where each twirler simultaneously tosses a baton and another twirler catches it.
Fire baton is perhaps the most iconic aspect of the twirlers’ performances. Twirlers soak each end of the baton in fuel and set it ablaze, requiring both skill and courage as they spin and toss the baton. Performances with fire baton usually require two additional rehearsals to ensure the twirlers feel confident they can safely perform their routine. Despite the difficulty, twirling fire baton is a favorite for the feature twirlers and fans alike.
“I also love twirling fire, that’s just a given,” Shelton said. “It gets my adrenaline pumping. It doesn’t matter how long the show is, I’ll always be hyped for fire [baton].”
The feature twirlers not only perform at football and basketball games, they can also be seen at national twirling competitions that take place over the summer hosted by the National Baton Twirling Association and United States Twirling Association.
Last summer, Salber, Shelton, Singh and Sykes individually competed, and they all placed in the top 12 across various events. Salber and Shelton represented the University in the collegiate categories where Salber placed 12th in the collegiate solo finals, and Shelton placed 12th in the collegiate stadium performance finals. Shelton then went on to earn a silver medal in artistic twirl in the senior division at an international twirling competition, as well as two other top-10 finishes.
Now, with football season fully underway, the feature twirlers are just getting started. Three more home football games lie ahead, followed by basketball season and national competitions in the summer.
“Since it’s my fourth year, [I’m] just soaking in all the memories,” Salber said. “I’m excited for [basketball] performances, and then competing at nationals again will be really fun.”
Each performance is a chance to share their passion with others. Their routines may last only a few minutes, but with every toss and spin, the feature twirlers carry forward a tradition of artistry, athleticism and school pride.
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