This past Saturday, the Burke drill team headed out to Bellevue East to participate in their spirit squad showcase with 12 performances and routines from the participating groups. There was tons to look forward to during Burke’s first time here at this event.
Going to events outside of OPS can always be intimidating, but the drill team faced that fear with confidence!
“The actual performance was a little different just because we have never seen other teams other than our spirit squads perform, so it was a good experience.” Shaylynn Barnes-Hannon said.
To ensure this event was a success, the drill team had lots of preparation, including Tuesday and Thursday practices to improve as an individual and as a group for the showcase.
“I prepared for this event by trying my very, very best to memorize all of the steps and beats to the best of my ability. The other drummers need to memorize it too, but it’s more important for me to memorize them because, as the quad’s player, I count off every beat. If I count off the wrong beat, it throws everyone off.” Angel Jimenez said.
But even if they had all the time in the world, things wouldn’t go perfectly, and there wouldn’t be much the team could do to change this.
“The actual performance was very, very different than we imagined. Unfortunately, our person who was responsible for transporting our drums to out-of-school events did not show up, so we had to quickly think of a different plan to execute for the Bellevue East Showcase.” Jimenez said.
Even with the slight bump in the road, the Marching Bulldogs persisted, and even changed some of their original plans to be flexible.
“The plan was for all of the dancers who knew an old dance (the veterans of the team) to perform two dances, and that was it. Everybody else had to sit out because we could no longer perform what we’ve been practicing. But all in all, I think we had a really good performance either way. We most definitely stuck out in a good way.”
The other teams consisted of lots of cheerleaders and a few dance teams, but Burke got to show off their drill team to the other schools and audience members.
“Don’t get me wrong, all of them were very, very amazing, but we would’ve swept musically and with the steps that the dancers were going to do. I’m sure the crowd would’ve loved to see and hear a drill team.”
Burkes Drill team had three performances, and even with slight changes here and there, the audience still loved what they could see!
“I don’t think I would’ve changed anything! We did our best, and that’s all I want from my team.” Barnes-Hannon said.
The Marching Bulldogs take on challenges with a brave face, and no matter the tough circumstances, they never let their heads fall and continue to push forward.
“Drill team is my heart; I love this team more than anything, and it shows in our dancing. Drill team is my family, and I love being here,” Barnes-Hannon said.
