Local teen helps keep dwindling art of twirling alive

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES La Plata High School freshman Jordan Ashley, 13, is the school's only baton twirler. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The music starts, the crowd cheers and Jordan Ashley begins twirling her batons.

Three minutes later and with a standing ovation, La Plata High School has a new star.

"It is the first standing ovation I have seen in my 10 years here," La Plata Principal Evelyn Arnold recalled.

For Jordan, 13, the confidence to control three spinning batons at once, remember the routine and avoid any mishaps — other than the ribbon that flew from her hair — comes from 10 years of twirling experience.

Since she was 3, Jordan has been twirling with the American Salute Twirling Corps and has won many competitions.

At home, in the classroom and just about anywhere, Jordan twirls anything that happens to be in her hand from a pencil to a hairbrush.

"It's a baton thing," she said.

It's a baton thing that her coach of many years Kellye Vermillion said comes naturally for Jordan.

Vermillion said there are some maneuvers Jordan can perform that many twirlers can't master right away, such as neck rolls, where the baton moves around the front and back of Jordan's neck while she spins in a clockwise direction.

"A lot of kids can't do that. Jordan is the exception to that rule," she said.

Coming into high school, twirling was a concern for Jordan because twirling had not been a part of La Plata High School's official band routines for 25 years and, according to Charles County Public Schools spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson, no other high school in Charles County has a baton twirler twirling who performs with the band.

According to Jackie Stewart, director of education for the U.S. Twirling Association, the reason for fewer baton twirlers these days in the schools is that over time marching bands began using more color in their shows, which led to the use of rifles and sabers rather than batons.

Stewart said many baton twirlers choose to join the color guard in school bands instead.

Ray Burton, band director at La Plata High School, said marching bands have evolved into more of a corps-style show rather than traditional, which he said meant bands were looking for large colorful flags instead of the traditional baton twirlers.

Burton said today, the color guard has not taken away from the style of twirlers. It's a different event just like a dance team in the old days was often more of a pompom squad and today they incorporate more modern elements of dance, he said.

Burton said he enjoys having a twirler at the school, saying that it adds an element to the program he has not seen in a while.

Jordan said twirling was something she was introduced to when she was very young and over time she grew to love the activity.

Jordan said she knew twirling was not something offered at the high school level, but according to her and her mother, Sherri Ashley, Jordan knew if she wanted to compete on the college level she would need to twirl through high school.

Beginning in the eighth grade, Jordan met with the band director at La Plata to share her ideas and ask what could be done as far as starting to twirl at the school.

Jordan's mother communicated with both the band director and Arnold throughout the summer.

Arnold said Jordan was allowed to twirl at football games and parades but when it came to the band competitions, Jordan agreed to compete as part of the color guard.

Jordan said she practices her routine both on her own and with the American Salute Twirling Corps after she goes over the band's arrangements with the band director in order to plan appropriate choreography.

Jordan performed at halftime at the home football games, in the homecoming parade and she performed in front of 1,300 students and faculty at the school's pep rally.

Jordan said she was so nervous, she forgot her routine and made it up as she went along.

Prepared or not, Jordan twirled around a gymnasium full of students many shouting in praise of Jordan, according to Jordan and her mother.

Jordan said she was concentrating too hard on the music and the next step in her quasi-impromptu routine to notice a lot of the cheers, but at the end, she said she was pleased to see that the school took to her performance positively.

"You are my hero," one student shouted one afternoon as Jordan was outside twirling for a photographer.

"I love you Jordan," another shouted.

Arnold said she is glad to see that the band was able to incorporate Jordan's talents. She said she hopes students will see what Jordan does and realize that there are a multitude of opportunities available at La Plata aside from the traditional sports and clubs.

Jordan said after the pep rally teachers and students were praising her talents. She humbly continued with her school routine. After all, it's just a baton thing.

gphillips@somdnews.com