Today we have a very special interview for you. Normally this interview would have been posted earlier, but our Fall was soooo busy covering a new High School and Collegiate twirler each week. We wanted to make sure and still recognize these amazing young ladies and this fantastic experience even though this trip occurred several months ago.
As most that attend AYOP are aware, there is a unique opportunity every September offered to only a small handful of some of the nation’s most entertaining twirlers. Each of these twirlers are hand selected based on their performance abilities and advanced twirling skills. The sponsors attend AYOP, and after watching many twirlers compete, and comparing results with personal recommendations, they are invited to interview to be a part of that year's class. Once selected, they have the chance to travel for two weeks to Peru to participate in a once in a life time opportunity full of appearances and performances.
For the Fall 2019 class traveling to Peru to participate in the 69th International Festival of the Spring (la Primavera), two of our very own Texas Twirlers were selected – KK Tunnell and Maggie Barnett!
These two names should be easy to recognize as they are both major title holders in the State of Texas. KK, who is a member of the Texas Touch of Class and coaches by Shirley Payne & Sheila Payne Rigelsky, is from the Rockwall, Texas area, and is the reigning 2019 Miss Majorette of the Southwest. She is also the 2017 Junior Beginner National Pageant Winner and a Feature Twirler at Rockwall High School. Maggie, who is a member of JJ’s Lonestar Twirlers and coached by Janice Jackson Seamands, is from the Trophy Club, Texas area, and is the current 2019 Miss Majorette of Texas. She is also the inaugural Texas State “Innovation Award” winner and a Feature Twirler at Byron Nelson High School.
We wanted to talk to these two twirlers about their experience and allow them to share some of the moments that meant the most to them as they traveled in Peru.
So, tell us about the trip to Peru. What all did it entail?
Maggie: “We began each day in Peru around 8 or 9 in the morning by meeting in the hotel lobby and then getting on our bus. We would spend most of the morning and early afternoon performing. At each performance we would perform our group routine and then either in pairs or individually take turns performing for 30 seconds or so and then finish all together by performing our group routine again. After our morning festivities we would eat lunch, usually chicken and rice, and then return to our hotel to get ready for the evening (we typically had anywhere from 1-2 hours to get ready). In the evenings we usually did a leisure activity and then ate dinner.”
KK: "We did so many fun and amazing things every day! We performed at orphanages and a nursing home. I loved getting to see and meet the kids in the orphanages; they were so happy and full of life. We went to amazing dinner parties at night and had so much fun! We watched a lot of traditional dances, which was so interesting being able to see their culture. We went to a circus one day that was really entertaining to watch. We went on a tour of Chan Chan, which was an ancient civilization. We twirled in a 5 mile parade on our last day in Trujillo. Oh, and of course, we went to McDonald’s to get McFlurrys.”
This sounds like an amazing opportunity. Out of everything, what was your favorite part?
KK: "I loved going to the girls home and orphanages to perform. Those kids were amazing and so full of joy. They were thrilled to see us twirl, meet us, and dance with us, even though we didn’t speak the same language. It was such a humbling experience to see these kids and the amount joy they have even though to us materialistically they had very little.”
Maggie: "The event I loved twirling in the most was the five-mile parade which took place on the last day of the festival. This was my favorite event because I got to share my love for baton twirling and perform for so many people. I also got to twirl alongside Victoria who I had become really good friends with during the two weeks. She is super sweet and nice and does very good leaps.”
You all did so many different appearances and events! In all those performances, there must have been some funny moments. What would you say is the funniest thing that happened on this trip?
Maggie: "While I shared so many laughs with all the twirlers throughout the trip, the funniest moment that sticks out is when we were lined up to tour a castle one afternoon, a bird flew over us and pooped on Maddie’s head.” (Yikes!)
KK: "There were so many hilarious things that happened on this trip, but the first one that comes to my mind happened one day at lunch. While eating lunch someone asked what type of icing do we like with cake. Maggie, in a serious yet calm voice, answers with ‘Well it depends what the temperature of the cake is’. She went on to say the icing she prefers on a room temperature cake, and the icing she prefers on a chilled cake.”
It is amazing the inside jokes you come back with from a trip like this. With all the activities and new experiences, what did you miss the most from home when you were in South America?
KK: "Having ice water! I drink ice water every day. In Peru we were only allowed to have bottled water since their tap water could potentially make us sick. I really have taken for granted the ability to have clean water whenever I want and missed ice cold water. In fact, I told my mom the only thing I really wanted was to have a cup of ice water in the car when she picked me up at the airport. Thankfully she had some waiting in the car for me!”
Maggie: "Most people would say they missed the food, but I personally loved eating chicken for almost every meal because I love chicken. I did, however, miss the water. I now feel so fortunate to live in the U.S. where we don’t have to worry about the quality of the water. While in Peru we could only use bottled water, even for brushing our teeth! We also couldn’t have drinks with ice cubes.”
Wow! What an eye opening experience. Going to a foreign country and traveling with new people always leads to new discoveries. What would you say was unexpected about the trip?
Maggie: "I did not expect to become so close with all of the other twirlers. I was very sad to leave Peru, not only because I would miss the experience, but I was also going to miss the 14 other twirlers that I had become so close with. I am so grateful for Snapchat and FaceTime because I can talk to them almost everyday."
KK: "I was not expecting to have 3 to 4 hour lunches every day. At school my lunch is 30 minutes, and I basically just snack all day. Lunch was an adjustment, but sometimes we would all dance after we ate, which was so much fun. One day during lunch, we even taught a few of the queens how to twirl, and they taught us some of their dance moves.”
As we mentioned before, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we can all imagine that it had to be a life changing experience for you both. What part will you always remember?
KK: "Definitely meeting all of the people from Peru, especially the children. They were so nice and genuine. Their joy was indescribable. I also loved my roommates, making tik toks with them, and listening to music while we were getting ready!”
Maggie: "I will forever cherish the time we spent at the girls’ home. As we walked into the home, I instantly felt so welcomed and the girls in the home were so excited to see us perform. I was also able to use what little Spanish I know and become friends with some of the girls living there.”
We are so excited that the two of you were able to go on this journey. What advice would you give to other Twirlers that may be selected for this trip in the future?
Maggie: "Enjoy every moment of the trip! You will have the time of your life and it will go by so fast.”
KK: "Put down your phone and take in every moment! There was so much to do and see. Be open to all the different experiences you will get. Also, our schedule changed all the time, so you have to be flexible and just go with the flow.”
We want to say a huge thank you to KK and Maggie for taking the time to do this interview with us. We are all so proud to say that these two were able to represent both our sport and our state abroad during this amazing experience. We look forward to seeing who is selected next year for the 2020 Class attending the 70th International Festival of the Spring.
To help continue to recognize the accomplishments of our Texas Twirlers selected for this honor, we have created a new page on www.texastwirl.com dedicated to the Texas Twirling Ambassadors to Peru! Check out the link to see a listing of representatives. We are also looking for more info to make this list comprehensive. If you are aware of a TX Ambassador that is not listed, email Texastwirlcontact@gmail.com with their name and year so that we can add them to this page. Thank you for your help!
We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.
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