When it came to creating performances for my drill team, football season was never my favorite time of year. I could not come up with truly interesting routines that could be performed in our traditional uniform under the strict time constraints; nor could the routines be that difficult or complex because of the short and hectic practice schedule between football games. The tradition at my school was to perform two routines, one of which was a kick routine that we repeated every week as a way of opening our show. The audience was always appreciative, but not necessarily "wowed." Every once in a while, however, I would put together a special production number with my team that involved creative large props and/or visual costuming. When I did this, we always seemed to get a standing ovation! So . . . I decided to create special performances that would motivate my team and our audience every week!
Obstacle 1: How to get a more complex routine together within the hourly regulation
The week of a football game is too short to polish complex, advanced routines; therefore, we now only perform new routines at our home games. For away games, we always perform the same routine (usually a kick routine is the most impressive). This routine is perfected at the beginning of the season; therefore, we do not have to practice much for away games, and the new audience has no idea that we have already performed the same routine. Now we spend that week working on the next home game performance. The extra time has really helped us produce higher quality performances.
Obstacle 2: Changing tradition
The two biggest concerns my girls had were not performing the "traditional" kick routine at half time and not wearing the field uniform all the time. In response, I arranged for them to perform the kick routine at pre-game in our field uniform, and then the girls change into costume during the second quarter, one squad at a time. This allows the girls another chance to dance and helps make the game go by faster because they are not just sitting in the stands waiting to perform. Through the years, their big half-time production number has become more important than the old tradition. Now, we only kick at pre-game for the first game and Homecoming. The key to any kind of change in tradition is working through it.
Obstacle 3: Developing different ideas for the football field
This was the easy part! Dancing to one longer song made the song selection more musically interesting. In addition, costuming my team enhanced our creativity. For instance, we did a short and tall ladder routine to "I Got Rhythm." Girls on tall ladders were dressed like gangsters, and girls on short ladders were dressed like flapper girls. We performed a military routine to "Carmen" in which the girls wore bright red Spanish sleeves and hats that highlighted their arm and head movements. Another big hit was a novelty routine to ""Monster Mash"" in which the girls dressed up as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf. This was performed at Halloween, and during the second half of the game, the girls went into the stands to pass out candy. This year we are going to do a life-sized doll dance to "Devil in a Blue Dress". The girls will be dressed like men, and the dolls will be dressed in blue dresses.
Obstacle 4: The high cost of props and costumes
We usually pull costumes from our inventory of past contest costumes. Renting from the Costume Closet and the Prop Connection is another cost-saving option. I also plan upcoming contest and show pieces to coordinate with costumes and props used during football season. For instance, this year I will restructure the doll dance that we perform at half time into a contest piece, which helps justify the cost of making sixty life-sized dolls.
Obstacle 5: Getting the band director's support
As you know, everything the drill team does affects the band, and visa versa. But, this obstacle was easy because I simply explained to him that scheduling football performances in this manner allows the band a week off from learning another drill team song; instead, they focus on preparing for UIL. In fact, we have a fabulous drum line, and one of the special performances that we do every year is a pompon routine to a percussion piece only. Highlighting the drum line helps create a positive relationship between the drill team and the band. This also allows the band director to spend even more time practicing for UIL because only part of his band has to learn the drill team song for that week.
So why should you try it?
I realize that change is scary, but I have experienced so many positive things by breaking the mold of traditional half-time performances that I strongly encourage all directors to try it for at least one or two games. You will discover a stronger sense of drive and motivation in yourself and your team because the routines will be more fun and your audience will appreciate the higher quality performances!
