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Twirlers often lament that a band
director will not allow majorettes with their marching band. This is
especially discouraging to those twirlers that have worked hard to perfect
their craft and have not even been allowed to tryout or show the band
director what skills they possess. It is easy to criticize a director
for being "narrow minded" or "unwilling to change", but sometimes a
director's reasoning has validity.
Examples: true stories, names
changed.
1) Like many universities, a
major Midwestern school recently had a band clean up day, where marching
band members all pitched in to help clean up the band room and equipment in
preparation for the marching season. Like the rest of the band
members, the girl holding the feature twirler position helped wash equipment
and scrub floors. At the end of the day, the director made a special
point of commending the girl and announced to the entire band "This is the
FIRST TIME EVER that a feature twirler has participated in the band cleanup
day."
2) Another well-known university
had a single feature twirler (Morgan) last year. This year, a second
girl (Mandy) was added and the two are considered co-features. Only a
few weeks after Mandy started, a band member was heard to comment to another
"It's a good thing we knew Morgan last year, otherwise we wouldn't want
anything to do with twirlers."
Like it or not, every twirler or
majorette carries with her the reputation of ALL TWIRLERS - both with the
band director and with the public. It is obvious from these examples
that some twirlers are projecting a "PRIMA DONA" image. It is sad to
think that these twirlers could have a negative effect on a band director's
decision to have twirlers in the future.
A band director is responsible for a
large number of students. A twirler or majorette line is only a small
percentage of the total - and an optional one. Unless he or she feels
that the twirlers/majorettes are an enhancement to the band, s/he may decide
life is easier without them!
Remember that the twirlers are not the
focus of the band's entire performance. You are an accent to an ensemble...
and if you are more of a negative during rehearsals than you are a positive
during performances, a band director could easily decide twirlers aren't
worth the effort.
Performing is only one aspect of a
twirler's relationship with the band and its director. There is also
attitude, cooperation, work ethic, and dedication to the group. What
image of twirlers are you projecting? |
