By Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer


    Students are continuing to make a name for the sport of twirling in southern Maine.
Susan Plass has been coaching the Kennebunk Twirlers for more than 16 years. She began twirling when she was 3 years old but was not part of a group until she turned 9. Through her high school years, Plass continued to twirl as a majorette in the high school band.
“I was on the Senior Small Dance Twirl team which won the state title by sophomore, junior and senior years of high school,” she said. “Years ago, it was more about being a majorette with the band than twirling competitively.”
Depending on the time of year, Plass said there are between 40 and 50 students in the twirling program in Kennebunk.
Plass said she has been responsible for securing Kennebunk Middle School as the location for the state twirling competition for the past 13 years.
“We have a wonderful facility with enough height, floor space and bleacher space for all the spectators,” she said, adding the competition used to take place at Kennebunk High School.
May 9 marked the annual performance show of the Kennebunk Twirlers. Plass said the annual show is also a benefit for a scholarship program in honor of her mother, Nancy M. Falcone, who was a parent volunteer prior to her death in 1995. Each year, a $900 scholarship is awarded to two students who have twirled or been a member of the band for three years. All together, the twirlers have raised more than $14,000 for the scholarship.
The next performance will be a community service performance Memorial Day, followed by a regional competition in Pennsylvania later in the month, said Plass, who serves as vice president of the Maine Baton Twirling Council.
Linda Ladakakos founded the Saco Jets nearly 45 years ago based on her love of performing and the lack of options for baton twirlers in southern Maine.   
“I started this program in town and I just can’t walk away from it,” Ladakakos said.
She is also preparing for the 45th annual talent revue, an evening of group entertainment featuring current students and Jets alumni. The alumni, titled the Vintage Twirlers, participated in their first practice two weeks ago.
The talent show will feature students from 4 years old to women in their 50s as well as Ladakakos, who will perform briefly, she said. Ladakakos said directing the talent show is different than instructing a class of inexperienced students.
“They just don’t forget,” she said. “They might be a little stiffer but I don’t have to stop and teach them.”
Twirling has come a long way since the days of throwing batons in front of the band, Ladakakos said.
“It’s changed over the years from a little fluff in front of the band,” she said. “We keep saying to the kids, ‘It’s supposed to be fun,’ but it’s intense.”
She said twirling is a combination of several athletic disciplines.
“It’s a cross between ice skating, gymnastics, synchronized swimming and martial arts,” Ladakakos said.
She said there are different categories, such as team competition or solo, and a range of age levels. Ladakakos said the sport requires a large time commitment from the students and their families.
“It’s a big commitment and a commitment for the parents,” she said.
Ladakakos said she has noticed a decrease in her class sizes during the past few years and attributes it to the number of options available for children who wish to participate in extracurricular activities. She said she had six boys enrolled last year, but none returned this year. In the past she has had high school age boys in her classes, something she encourages for those looking for scholarships.
“The scholarships in the south are bigger for boys,” she said.
There is no age limit for competitors to stop twirling on a national or international level, Ladakakos said. She said many students think they have to give up twirling once they graduate from high school but she said that’s not true.
Routines for all competitions and the talent revue are choreographed by Ladakakos but she said she likes to see the kid’s personality inserted as well.
A typical lesson is 45 minutes long, once per week. Ladakakos said it takes an average student several months to learn a new routine on that schedule.
For competitions, there is a set list of required moves, much like gymnastics, and competitive twirlers are judged using the Olympic scoring system, she said.
“We’ve had girls come in first before,” Ladakakos said.
Currently, the Jets are trying to raise money for a planned summer trip to Daytona, Fla., to compete in a national competition.
There are 40 students planning to go to Daytona and the group must raise at least $500 for each student for the trip, she said.
Recently the Jets participated in the state competition at Kennebunk Middle School, where 68 teams of different levels, ages and categories competed for state titles. Ladakakos said five of the Jets teams came away with state titles as well as three individuals. Brittany Dube was named Senior Division Grand Champion in strut, Megan Letender was named Junior Division Grand Champion in dance twirl and Courtney Ryan received the Juvenile Division dance champion title.
Old Orchard Beach’s twirling program, Seacoast Twirlers, was established 10 years ago by Laurie Shepard when the dance studio the twirlers were affiliated with closed and the program became part of the Old Orchard Beach Recreation Department. Shepard said there are currently 18 students in the program, ranging from 5 to 16 years old.
Shepard was formerly a Saco Jet and said she plans to perform in the talent revue.
For the first time ever in Maine, twirlers from Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunk and Belfast formed a group that performed together at the state competition, Shepard said.
“We combined students from three programs, it brings athletes from different programs together. They worked with different coaches and with different people,” she said.
Shepard is not only a coach, she is also the parent of a twirler. Her son Andrew Shepard, 9, began twirling when he was 2 years old. This year, Andrew Shepard was named the Men’s Solo Grand Champion at the state competition. She said she does not coach her son.
“When he competes, I can be mom, not coach,” Shepard said.
She said organizers of competitions hand out “gender neutral” trophies.
Seacoast Twirlers came away with three individual champions during the state competition, including Andrew Shepard.
“For a small program, we’re on the map,” she said. 
Seacoast Twirlers have a scheduled end of the year show at 7 p.m.,  May 23 at Loranger Middle School, Shepard said.