On Sept. 9, the Panther Marching Band wowed the audience with their out-of-this-world show, powerful music and countless new faces. Among the fresh faces was one person in particular who stood out with their ever-present smile and captivating movements across the field: PMB’s new twirler, Evelyn Green.

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, eight-year-old Evelyn Green began her twirling journey at Julie’s Touch of Silver Dance Studio. This dance studio specializes in many different styles of dance, modeling, tumbling and baton twirling. When Evelyn turned 12 years old, she started competing with the studio’s core baton twirling team along with performing solos.

“I would try to practice every single day. We would have our core practices be Tuesday, Wednesday and then Sunday … and then just in between there, I’d also be taking any extra classes like jazz or tumbling. Then, because of me doing solos, I would try to use any extra time to also practice,” Evelyn said.
While the transition between high school and college can be a challenge for many, Green expressed that her practice regime has not changed too much.

“It’s not much different. I used to teach at the dance studio, so that’s the only thing that I’m missing. But otherwise, I’m still practicing with the marching band Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. And then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I try to get in as much practice as I can.”
Evelyn’s dedication and efforts didn’t go unnoticed. In February, Evelyn auditioned for the PMB’s Feature Twirler position and impressed the judges with her skills and character—one of these judges being Amy Hunzelman, who has been the colorguard instructor at UNI since 2006.

“I was absolutely blown away by her sheer talent,” Hunzelman said. “Her ability to have so many skills with twirling. She has the balance of being able to demonstrate the twirling technique, the skills, the tricks but also a number of years of dance technique.”
The PMB utilizes social media and ads in twirling magazines or twirling competition programs to publicize when they have an open position. Evelyn heard about the audition as a result of another key marketing strategy: word of mouth.

“I heard about it through Sophia McGuire, who was the past feature twirler, and since she took a fifth year twirling, it lined up perfectly with me to be able to audition this past February,” Evelyn explained.

The frequency of PMB’s twirler auditions is dependent on how long the featured twirler at the time occupies the position. In the past, these auditions had three to five participants and consisted of three main parts: a prepared solo, an improv solo and an interview.
“You had to create a five minute routine,” Evelyn explained. “So I had that done. It was to the song Roller Coaster, which was one of my twirl team songs, which was really fun to twirl to, and then I also had to do an interview with them and then do an improv to one of the marching band songs.” Evelyn continued, “They gave you the music once you were there, and then you listened to it twice. And then I just improv the third time.”

The participants were not only auditioning for a position within the marching band. They were also striving to be a part of a long-standing UNI tradition.

“The PMB is well over 120 years old … but they have had a feature baton twirler for as long as, and as far back, as we can find documentation for,” PMB’s director, Dr. Justin Mertz, revealed.

Due to the long history, the expectations are high when auditioning the potential candidates for this in-the-spotlight position.

“I am looking for a performer who draws me in—who’s able to sort of grab and keep my attention and who performs with confidence and recovers from any mistakes they might make quickly,” Dr. Mertz said. These expectations are put into practice both on and off the field.

“The feature twirler really is an ambassador, if you will, to the Panther Marching Band and to the university. It’s a very recognizable position,” Hunzelman said. “Whether you’re on the field or off the field, you’re representing UNI to the larger community—in the Cedar Valley, throughout the state and also on a national platform.”

During her audition, Evelyn exceeded the judge’s expectations with her baton twirling abilities as well as her genuine personality.
“Evelyn was our strongest candidate, and she had the most complete performance. One that was technically very adept and very clean and very well-prepared. She’s an engaging performer. She’s very kinetic. She looks strong when she moves the baton … and that stood out to us pretty much right away,” Mertz said.

Although this is Evelyn’s first year as a college student, she first took the field a year prior to attending UNI.
“Before she ever auditioned for us and before she became our feature twirler, she came to visit our campus last fall, and she sort of shadowed our previous feature twirler, Sophia,” Mertz said. “And when Evelyn was here, Evelyn took the field with Sophia like she owned the place. There was no fear. There was no tentativeness … She just looked like she’d been here before and that she belonged here … It was such a striking first impression for her, and I never forgot her.”

Evelyn’s confidence when performing is both internal and external. Evelyn shared that her primary emotion towards future performances is excitement rather than nervousness. While much of Evelyn’s confidence may be due to her exceptional performing abilities and abundance of experiences, she spoke fondly of all the people in her life who have supported her.

“My mom would come to all of my competitions with me and helped me get ready and supported me. But also my coach, Julie Seckar-Anderson and her two daughters, Lacey and Whitney are also very supportive as well,” Evelyn said.

“I’ve always been part of a team, although I did do solos,” Evelyn added. “Back at the studio at home, I still was always part of The Corps, which is our competitive team. So I’ve always been surrounded amongst other twirlers or just like a really large team. And so being able to go from one team to now the Panther Marching Band, which is even bigger, it’s really nice to have that support system.”

Although Evelyn is the only person in her section, she also supports the PMB as passionately as the largest section. Her love towards the PMB is a mutual one, and her performance supplies power that can’t be found anywhere else.

“The twirler here completes the PMB, along with our color guard,” Mertz said. “The twirler adds a literal third dimension to our performance because they go up in the air. And the way they move and perform is unique … that aspect of the performance just adds the last piece to the puzzle.” Mertz continued, “When they design their twirling routines to go with our music to go with the high points and low points and the energy in the songs, it just adds the extra piece. It always gives the audience something extra to pay attention to that’s different and special.”

Besides being passionate about baton twirling and early childhood education, Evelyn discovered her love for traveling thanks to international twirling events. In 2018, she went to Norway with her home studio’s core competitive team for the World Championships, and they received gold in the parade court division. This past August, she had the opportunity to attend the World Championships again in Liverpool, England. Her team received gold in the pre-court division and silver in the twirling court division.

One of Evelyn’s most recent international achievements was held in Peru.

“I was chosen to be one out of 12 girls around the nation to be a U.S. ambassador in the twirling world. And then I’ll get to twirl at the Peru International Spring Festival for the Lions Club,” Evelyn said.
These types of events can be eye-opening to the true following and strength of what some consider a small niche.
“It’s small, but at the same time, it’s very large … and there’s twirlers from almost every single state,” Evelyn said. “Then I’ve gone to Worlds twice, and to think there are people from Russia or Croatia, like from all these different other countries, it’s really neat to see that you have a shared passion.”

Only time will tell what Evelyn will achieve next, but her future will certainly be filled with excitement and adventure. This is a result of her many years of self-motivation and her drive.

“She’s extremely passionate and doing a really good job of wanting to represent not only the best version of herself but also represent the university,” said Hunzelman. “So with that passion comes dedication and hard work, and we’re just really fortunate and so appreciative and glad that she wanted to spend her years with us.”
Hunzelman added, “I am just continuing to be amazed at her passion and drive for twirling, and I just can’t wait to see how high she wants to fly.”

Evelyn appreciates the opportunity to do what she loves as well as showcase something that many don’t have a lot of knowledge about.
“Not only is it a physical challenge, but it’s also a mental challenge,” Evelyn explained. “Being able to just keep striving to be better and pushing yourself to get the next trick. The next challenge is something that I really like because then it keeps you going and keeps you in the gym. And you just keep practicing to be better.”

“I think nobody really knows about baton,” Evelyn added. “I think they think it’s just dance or it’s gymnastics, and people aren’t aware of what it is. And so it’s good that UNI has a twirling position, and people are able to experience truly what baton is.”