Most people who go to a high school football game expect to see a school marching band at halftime, but those who have been to a Bishop Brady football or basketball game in the last four years have witnessed a glimpse into the world of baton twirling.
It’s likely that those who have seen Danielle Cherry, a Newport native and senior at Bishop Brady, perform with anywhere from one to four batons (and on a rare occasion, fire) did not realize that what they were watching was a performance worthy of a state and national title.
But that’s who Cherry is, a winner of the Miss Majorette of New Hampshire competition (crowned this past Saturday in Derry) and a national champion, topping 16 of the best high school baton twirlers in the country to win Disney Twirl Mania at ESPN Wide World of Sports Orlando two weeks ago.
Part of Cherry’s routines included elements that she performs right here in Concord during her many halftime performances.
For the uninitiated, Cherry’s coach, Gina Hutchinson, will tell you that baton twirling is, “a terrific combination of dance, elements of gymnastics and elements of figure skating.”
Miss Majorette is a baton twirling competition combined with elements of a pageant. Competitors are judged in three different events: the solo competition, modeling event and X-strut.
The solo competition is a performance with one baton, while the modeling event is similar to what you would see in a beauty pageant, complete with gowns and interviews, but the X-strut is where a twirlers athletic ability is put on display.
Imagine attending NCAA college football bowl game. Or an NFL game. You see the players charging out of the locker room, bursting through a banner, sprinting towards midfield, with a twirler leading the way.
That’s the spirit of the X-strut. It requires competitors to complete a routine while running, punctuated by dancing, artistic leaps, bounds and jumps, all the while gracefully juggling batons and evoking the spirit of a big game atmosphere. Hutchinson likened it to the floor exercise in gymnastics, only the floor is 50 yards of a football field in front of a raucous crowd.
At Disney Twirl Mania, Cherry had one attempt to pull off a three-minute routine for the title. Competitors are judged in five categories: difficulty, technique (of dance and twirling ability), content (how many elements and batons are used and how many tricks are performed), penalties (deductions for dropping a baton or falling during a routine) and personality and showmanship.
Not only did Cherry pull off a penalty-free routine, set to the North Caroline State drumline and High School Musical, using four batons (the highest degree of difficulty that is rarely seen at her level), it was her ability to captivate and enthrall a crowd, just as she’s done countless times for Bishop Brady fans, that set her apart from the rest of the field en route to her national crown.
“Her judges came up to me afterwards and said, ‘she did exactly what we were looking for,’ ” Hutchinson said. “The biggest thing was, she showed it off. It’s not just her tricks, but her sell of her routine. It requires a lot of personality. Every trick that you do, show it.”
Although elements of her state and national-title winning routines have been performed in front of Bishop Brady spectators, it’s a small glimpse into what it takes to compete at the highest level of this sport.
“She uses some of her material to do a routine at Brady, but she had to learn how to put it together. It’s technically different,” Hutchinson said. “At this (competition) you had to travel, up, down and around the gym floor. It’s dancing, it’s juggling. We were able to add a whole bunch of stuff. You want to throw as much as you can down, as hard as you can and get it to rock.”
It’s a sport that requires both high athletic ability and artistic sensibilities as well as long-term dedication and commitment, not unlike other sports. It’s required commutes from Newport to Derry, where Cherry trains with Hutchinson and the Derry Red Star Twirlers three times a week for the last 10 years. Cherry has been competing in the sport since she was eight, although many competitors start as young as age four. Many competitors also crossover from gymnastics and dance.
“She’s an exceptional young woman,” said Hutchinson. “This is how dedicated she is. She loves it.”
As her high school career draws to a close, twirling will still be a part of her future. Thanks to her Miss Majorette of New Hampshire victory, Cherry will be competing in the national competition at Notre Dame in July. She will also perform at Disney Paris with the Red Star Twirlers in August and will continue twirling at DePaul University in the fall as she pursues a degree in film directing.
Although twirling has taken Cherry on national and international journeys, Cherry has been a unique fixture in the Bishop Brady athletics program and dons her own custom Bishop Brady uniform in her routines.
“She is a staple for us,” Bishop Brady athletic director Annie Alosa said. “She has been performed in the playoffs, in the championship game. We call her our Brady Twirler. Everyone has seen Danielle perform at least once. She’s a great feature in our Brady athletics program.”