Katelyn Moorman
Staff Writer
Keyla Cantu, baton twirler for the Western Thunder Marching Band (WTMB), said that twirling in a college marching band had been a dream of hers since she was in high school. Cantu’s high school twirling coach had told her that twirling in college would be a much better experience than anything she would ever experience at the high school level. Cantu said after she had set the goal to make it to the college level, she said to herself, “I have to achieve it.”
Twirling has brought Cantu other experiences than being involved in a college marching band—she has competed at two national championships already and said she will be competing at her third next summer in California.
Twirlers have to choreograph their routines, which can be difficult when the WTMB has back to back games. The WTMB does a different show for each game, so the twirlers’ choreography has to change with each show, too. Cantu said she might have to “choreograph all one week, and then the next week re-do it for three new songs” during a busy season of marching band. Joe Carver, director of the WTMB, gives the twirlers the drill for the show, and then it is the twirlers’ responsibility to choreograph their routine according to the drill.
While baton twirling is categorized underneath auxiliary in marching band terms, Cantu said there are several differences between flags and batons. While Cantu said flag and baton twirling have “a lot of the same body work and dance motion,” she also said the different equipment provides different challenges, especially since a “baton is a lot smaller than a flag”. Since Cantu is one of two baton twirlers in the WTMB, she is more visible during performances than other members of auxiliary. Cantu said twirlers “have to have more flexibility and bigger tricks, because if we’re on our own, we have to stand out to the crowd”.
Cantu said twirlers “give a new sparkle” to the WTMB, figuratively and literally, since their “costumes are very bright”.
“People,” Cantu said, “want to pay more attention when a band has a twirler”.
“When bands don’t have a twirler, people just kind of watch, and when they see a twirler, they say, ‘Oh, what is that?’” she said.
Since there are little to no twirlers in Wyoming, whether that is on the high school or college level, Cantu said twirlers tend to make people “look a little bit more”. Since twirlers are highly visible at all times, frequently being placed on or near the 50-yard line, there may be pressure on them.
“There is pressure, but at the same time it’s what I love to do, so I’m just doing what I do,” Cantu said.
Through all the work that is put into being a baton twirler at the collegiate level, Cantu said the most rewarding thing is having “little boys and girls come up and say, ‘I want to be like you’”. She said she likes “having that acknowledgement that I did good, just because sometimes I have a bad game day and then someone says, ‘You did amazing’”.
The WTMB will be marching in the Homecoming Parade and performing at the homecoming football game tomorrow .
