Becoming a Baton Twirler

Series Summary

Baton twirling has two origin stories: one says the Dutch introduced baton twirling to the Americas in 1681, whereas another version cites the origin with Major Millsaps and the founding of Millsaps college in Mississippi after the Civil War. The world may never know. Twirling is a competitive sport with various levels and forms, including two-baton, solo, strut, and other divisions. In competitive arenas, twirling can resemble other styles of rhythmic gymnastics, some using ribbons or other small rods or objects. Many schools have baton twirlers that work alongside cheerleaders or the marching band. In the case of marching band twirlers, the title of ‘majorette’ is a coveted position. When alongside cheerleading, twirlers can take on many purposes similar to those of a ‘color guard.’

In this free instructional video series, expert Suzanne Von Schaack will show you all the basics and some advanced techniques of baton twirling. She covers figures eights, horizontal and reverse figure eights, throwing the baton in the air, passing hand to hand, cradling, and setting up your routine. Suzanne also offers tips on creating combinations and more advanced routines as well. She demonstrates two-baton twirling and tosses with the baton for more advanced twirlers. Check this out and you’ll know all you need to start up yourself or one of your kids in baton twirling.

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Suzanne Van Schaack with Expert Village. I'm here to teach you about baton twirling it's a little bit of a lost art. There's a lot of flag twirling today but not a lot of baton twirling. I teach baton twirling and I've done it in boot camps for a lot of young kids. First of all the baton is a very sparkly way of leading a band or being on the football field and twirling away. It's also great exercise. I did it when I was young and I also competed. Back in the day when I was younger, I used to go to baton twirling camp at Wisconsin Dells and boy were those guys great. Now you see them once in a while, like UCLA, or some of the big college bands. So let me take you on a journey and show you some tricks of the trade that I've learned through my life."