She’s only 18, and Cathleen Gleason has already achieved one of her childhood dreams – though most people’s childhood dreams don’t involve twirling fiery batons.
Gleason, who graduated from Grandview Heights High School in May, was inspired to take up baton twirling at the age of 3.
“I went to a Grandview Heights football game, and the band was out there playing,” Gleason says. “They had a few twirlers out there twirling fire, and I just kept pointing to it and telling my mom that was what I wanted to do.”
Her mother, Connie, listened, enrolling Gleason in a twirling class for children called the Bobbettes, held through the Grandview Heights Parks and Recreation department. After two years, the teacher, a former Grandview majorette, told Connie she couldn’t teach Catherine any more.
“She had taught me all that she knew,” Gleason says.
But after a short time away from lessons she missed twirling, so her parents enrolled her in a competitive group in Worthington, the Twirling Buckeyes. The following year, at age 6, Gleason won a regional title. And she did it with a carefree attitude she only wishes she could have during competition now.
“When you’re younger, you don’t really know what’s going on. You walk on th
e floor, they start the stop watch, you do your routine and then you walk off,” Gleason says. “I wish it was still like that because now (I) get so nervous and (I) feel like there is so much on the line. … They just handed me a big trophy and a stuffed teddy bear and I was happy.”
Typical competition in pageants for the National Baton Twirling Association and Twirling Unlimited involves three segments: solo twirling, a marching section (called X-strut or fancy strut) and modeling/interview.
Solo twirling involves a twirling routine while standing in place in front of the judges.
“There’s a vertical section, going up and down. You can do loops and spins and finger twirls,” Gleason says. “They also have a roll section. Rolls are really, really hard. (The baton) never leaves your body. I can spin it on the back of my neck and on my wrists and elbows without even touching it with my hands. That’s probably my favorite part. I really like doing the rolls. And then there’s a horizontal section where you keep the baton flat the whole time, and then you usually end with another vertical section. You put those all together and it makes up a 2 minute and 30 second routine.”
The modeling/interview section involves wearing a long evening gown and walking in front of the judges, followed by an interview. Some people think this segment should be removed because it makes baton twirling seem less like a sport, Gleason explains. She does appreciate the interview, however.
“I think the interview portion is really important to it because I’ve used it for a bunch of college interviews and work interviews,” Gleason says. “It’s good practice, definitely.”
Other events, such as two-baton and three-baton twirling, are judged separately and aren’t included in the composite score. Three-baton is Gleason’s favorite.
The group lessons allowed Gleason to connect with twirlers from all over central Ohio, including Worthington, Hilliard, Dublin and Delaware.
“I’m still really good friends with all of them now,” she says. “It’s nice to meet people outside your own school (district), especially Grandview, since it’s so small. I love … the teamwork that goes into it and the social aspect that comes with it.”
Ab
out two years ago, she began taking individual, private lessons with coach Billy Bruce, a dancer and choreographer. Gleason has four- to five-hour lessons with Bruce twice a week. Other days, she practices for about two hours.
Busy season for competitions starts in the spring. Regionals and nationals are held in the summer. Last year, Gleason placed second in regionals at the advanced level and competed at nationals at Notre Dame University.
“It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time,” Gleason says of competing at the national level against twirlers she has looked up to for years.
This year she had to cut back on competitions quite a bit to make time for college auditions. She plans to attend the University of Kentucky, where she will twirl for football games.
“I like competing, and I’ve done it since I was young, but my true passion for twirling is on the field, performing for people,” Gleason says.
Twirling fire batons is a staple of college twirlers, so her vision of doing so for a halftime crowd is likely not too far away. Grandview did away with fire twirling due to the risk of damaging the artificial turf field, but Gleason was able to perform with standard batons at every home game during her senior year. In prior years, she twirled one or two games and played the flute in the marching band at the rest.
In addition to flute and twirling, Gleason also plays tennis and ultimate Frisbee and is taking gymnastics classes.
“I took dance from when I was really young until I was about 14,” Gleason says. “I run on the side, too. (Twirling coaches) want you to stay active in different sports because some of the tricks you have to do are hard on your hips and different body parts, so if all you do is twirling, it can really wear on your body.”
And Gleason is now teaching the Grandview Bobbettes – the same group that taught her to twirl when she was young.
Lisa Aurand is editor of Tri-Village Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
