16 years ago, the club started with a group of girls that were attending a "Villages Lifelong Learning College" Twirling course
taught by charter member Judy Marshall.
Watching them, it was easy to see that they just couldn't get enough twirling during the class.
So,
after class one day in 2003, Ann Pelle talked to her fellow twirlers about continuing their twirling addiction outside of the classroom.
And
the team was born. Little did those original eight know, that they would soon grow to over 100 members and are still growing
today. It is easily one of the most successful teams in all of the Villages.
Today, the close to 100 members compose many groups
within the main team.
The main twirling groups are the Show Team and the Parade Corps. Other groups include the Drum Corps,the Banner Team and who could ever forget the "The Santa Baby's".
Included within the Show Team are the Ribbon Girls.
The Parade Corps
performs in all of The Villages Parades. They also perform at many special events as well as performing in all the outside parades
we are invited to, including The Citrus Bowl Parade, parades in Fruitland Park, Leesburg, Lady Lake, Bushnell, Eustis and Disney to
name a few.
About 5 years after the Twirlers started, the Drum Corps was added to the team. There are currently over 30 members
and are continuing to grow and get better all the time! The Drum Corp paces the team in all parades and performs in most
Twirling events. Today, they are one of the largest drumming teams in The Villages.
The Show Team performs at many of The Villages
events. They have performed in shows at the Savannah Center, the Polo grounds, all 3 town squares, Spanish Springs, Sumter Landing
and Brownwood, at the VA Outpatient Clinic, at many store Grand Openings, at charity events, and even travel outside The Villages
to perform. They have performed at the Sumter County fair, Disney, Daytona Beach, the Strawberry Festival and more.
One of our
recent shows was as an opening act at the Orlando Amway Center for the Orlando Magic! The Show Team and Drummers rocked!
Now,
almost all the shows the Twirlers perform in include the Drummers as well. The two teams work closely together and our shows
resonate to their beat. The drummers are truly a fine addition to the team.
The Flag Corps were added a couple of years after
the Drummers and, like the Drum Corps, have added yet another dimension to the team. They also perform in all the parades
and numerous twirling events as well!!! Yet another great addition to the team!
Some members have even performed on multiple
Rockin The Caribbean with Rocky & The Rollers cruise's in the middle of the Atlantic! And some have performed at the Pro
Bowl in Hawaii!!!
As team captain Ann always says,
The VILLAGES TWIRLERS ROCK!!!
