Majorettes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Baton twirling
Baton Twirling has been a popular activity and sport for many years, and is regarded as a completely different activity to majoretting by baton twirlers, who regard twirling to be a sport. American twirling organizations include United States Twirling Association [1], National Baton Twirling Association, Twirling Unlimited, Drum Majors Association and TwirlMania. The biggest organization is the World Baton Twirling Federation (WBTF), which has members across 22 countries and frequently receives new applications. The sport is popular in many countries including Japan, Australia, Canada, United States, Brazil, South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Holland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and the Seychelles. Many of these countries compete at the WBTF World Championships, held in August every year.
Competitive baton twirling The National Baton Twirling association (www.batontwirling.com)is a very prominent organization in competitive baton twirling, holding Nationals (AYOP) in South Bend, Indiana every year and a worlds competition every three years. Events include: For Individuals- Solo, 2-baton, 3-baton, X-Strut, Rhythmic Twirl, Show Twirl, Modeling, and a three part pageant, Miss Majorette including solo, X-strut, and modeling.
The World Baton Twirling Federation holds two major competitions in the Baton Twirling world every year. Members from over 22 countries come and compete in the World Baton Twirling Championships and the WBTF International Cup, which are known as the most pretigious events in the baton twirling world. The 27th WBTF World Baton Twirling Championships were recently held in Rome, Italy, along with the 2nd WBTF International Cup.
The World Championships have the following events:
| Freestyle | Senior Women & Men, Junior Women and Men | a solo event accompanied by a compulsory/short programme event |
| Pair | Senior & Junior | made up of men and/or women |
| Team | 6+ members | men and women can compete together |
The International Cup Championships have the following events:
| Event | Description | Levels | Age Divisions |
| Solo 1 | one baton solo routine to set music | A and B | Junior, Senior and Adult |
| Solo 2 | second baton solo routine to set music | A and B | Junior, Senior and Adult |
| Solo 3 | third baton solo routine to set music | A and B | Junior, Senior and Adult |
| Team | 6-8 Members | A and B | |
| Group | 9+ Members | A and B |
Since 2005, the two competitions have been run concurrently over a week. In 2009, the competitions will begin running separately, with the International Cup falling on uneven years and the World Championships on even years. New events such as Freestyle and Pairs across different age levels and divisions will then be added to the International Cup, in a manner similar to the current Solo events.
The following cities have previously hosted the competitions:
Famous Baton Twirlers
Current Champions: Chiho Honjo, Toshimichi Sasaki, Keisuke Komada, Tomoe Nisigaki
Other Famous Champions/Podium Finishers: Stacey Singer (CAN) (Seven Time World Champion: 1985, 1988-1993), Seishi Inagaki (JPN), Mark Nash (USA), Leah Holliday (CAN), Chiharu Tachibana (JPN), Jennifer Marcus (USA), Hollie Neilson (CAN), Noriko Takahashi (JPN), Chiara Stefanazzi (ITA), Bertrand Royer (FRA), Annetta Lucero (USA), Akemi Kimura (JPN), Kellie Donovan (USA), Jenny Hannah (USA), Akemi Kimura (JPN), Shuichi Kawazu (JPN), Danielle Cobb (USA), Michelle Smith (CAN), Jenna Jemieff (CAN)
Other Notables: Cindy Goldie (CAN), Elisa Johnson (USA), Melissa Marcus (USA), Bridgette Bartley (USA), David Doyne (IRE), Kathy Hewitt (ENG), Jennifer Spooner (AUS), Ilona Van Hogeloon (HOL), Casey Berry (CAN), Angel Escuin (SPN), Chelsea Bissonette (CAN), Xavier Papin (FRA), Brenda Bennett (CAN), Stephanie Hart (CAN)
[edit] External links
National Baton Twirling Websites
- Australian Baton Twirling Association
- Brazil Twirling
- Canadian Baton Twirling Federation
- British Baton Twirling Sport Association
- French Federation
- Netherlands Twirling
- Baton Twirling Sport Association of Ireland
- Twirling Italia
- Japan Sport Baton Association
- Scotland Baton Twirling Association
- Switzerland
- Catalonia/Spain Twirling
- United States Twirling Associationfr:Majorette (spectacle)
it:Majorettes nl:Majorette (showdans) pl:Mażoretki
Majorettes are dancers who use batons and are found in parades, carnivals and fetes. They also use pompoms, flags and ribbon batons in their routines. Some majorettes use special equipment such as glow batons, fire batons, hoop batons, and knives.
In England, majorettes groups are very popular, and being a majorette is a common hobby for children. Some English majorettes belong to federations such as the British Isles Majorette Association, which have set rules and grades. Non-federation majorettes tend to learn more team dance moves, as opposed to solo baton tricks, and have competitions which, in the summer months, are held on recreation grounds and are open to the public.
The history of the majorette is vague, but most likely originated from drum majors, leading marching bands, and expanding to include a few baton twirlers. American majorette troupes have a 'drum major' who is the leader and carries a 'mace'. European majorettes have a 'tambur major,' who is similar to a soloist and does more spin work than the others. Today, majorettes can be found in schools across America, dancing at half-time show sports games, and accompanying marching bands.
