Twirling has not always been a steady part of Pleasant Valley’s sports atmosphere, but in recent years, junior Estelle Trieber, current feature twirler, stepped up to twirl for PV’s marching band.
Treiber twirls at Ambition Studio, and participates in many different levels of competition. She has been twirling for five years, which is a very short time compared to many other twirlers, who start as early as 3 years old.
At PV, twirling accompanies the marching band at halftime shows and pep rallies. The shining costumes and stellar choreography enhance the enjoyment of many marching band performances, making it a very positive addition to PV. But, twirling does come with its own struggles.
Twirling is not a very popular sport in the northern regions of the U.S. and in the Quad Cities.. Because of this, there is no twirling team available at PV, resulting in Treiber being a solo twirler.
For school events, Treiber only performs solos, and with this comes a large amount of pressure. “It can be very nerve-racking when it seems like all of my peers are in the stands watching and judging, but it’s also really cool because it feels like everyone I know is able to watch me do what I love,” she said.
Treiber has been PV’s feature twirler for three years, starting in her freshman year. To sort through the logistics of adding a feature twirler, Treiber had to communicate with the PV band directors.
Tara Daurer, one of the band directors at PV, recognizes the importance of allowing students to twirl with the band. “From an educator lens, I think it is important to give students that opportunity to get experience before they try to audition for college bands,” she conveyed.
Treiber has had a very positive experience joining the band. “They’ve allowed me a lot of freedom in what I can do, and I really appreciate that I’ve been given the opportunity to twirl for our school since in the past years it hasn’t been as common,” she stated.
Every half-time show, Treiber contributes new choreography to match the songs the band performs. This is after her classic, repeating performance during the pregame show. Treiber also wears different costumes every game to enhance the already amazing half-time show.
As Treiber heads towards graduation in 2025, PV is unsure what will happen to twirling at the school. However, after seeing how naturally twirling performances fit into the halftime shows, PV will definitely be open to more twirlers in the future.
Through the addition of twirling, PV is able to give students like Treiber an opportunity to do what they love at school and get experience for college, and the band gets enhanced performances that are more visually appealing to the audience. It is without doubt that the addition of twirling at PV has been worthwhile.
