South Shore returns!

The South Shore Drill Team will again wow Bureau County Homestead Festival Parade-goers with their precision marching and routines. The South Shore Drill Team has been a crowd-pleaser for several years, and parade co-chair Terry Madsen said the festival is fortunate to have this entry in the parade. (BCR file photo)

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PRINCETON — The 2009 Bureau County Homestead Festival Parade will step off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on Main Street, and those attending will once again be able to enjoy the South Shore Drill Team.

Parade co-chair Terry Madsen said the city is fortunate that South Shore continues to bring their crowd-pleasing performance to the Homestead Festival Parade year after year.

“I have had parade directors from nearby cities who have repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to book them ask me how we get them, and I say that I think they just like working with Deb Kirley,” Madsen said.

Madsen, who co-chairs the event with Kirley and Paula Lough, said Kirley handles the contracts for the parade.

“Because of the timing of our festival near the start of school and the end of drum corps season, it is very difficult for us to schedule outside live music,” Madsen said. “Believe me, we try everything — and this group is a great entry for us.”

Madsen said the South Shore Drill Team has played around the country and beyond and are immensely popular wherever they go.

“And, the story of what they accomplish as a community youth group is incredible,” he said. “That’s the really great part of their story.”

The South Shore Drill Team and Performing Arts Ensemble was established in 1980 by former Chicago Public School teacher Arthur Robertson with only four members. Today the organization has more than 300 members, ranging from ages 9 to 21.

According to the team’s Web site, the team sees 99.5 percent of its high school students graduate and nearly all go to college or technical school, breaking a cycle of poverty. The group was designed as an alternative to gang activity, high school drop outs and teen pregnancy. Instead, the group offers young people an opportunity to develop self-esteem, self-discipline and goals for their future, and it gives them a chance to travel.

The South Shore Drill Team is actually three teams, and their performances include contemporary music, jazz, hip-hop, modern dance numbers and more.

The South Shore Cadets range in ages from 8 to 14. Many have been together for two to three years, creating a tight team both on and off the competition floor.

While many of the cadets are practiced performers, these young men find competition offers them a chance to see how they measure up when they go against other groups. They captured first place in last year’s Midwest Championships.

Another team is South Shore World. The group is comprised of highly skilled individuals with death-defying stunts that capture the audience’s attention. South Shore World has been together for three seasons.

The team members find competition challenging due to the level of technique and the fact that it requires the stamina of top pro athletes. Ranging in age from 18-25, many of the South Shore World team members are seasoned performers and a dominant force during parade season with their hip-hop moves and high precision drills. In order to compete, they rehearse at least 20 hours a week, learning ballet and modern dance.

Finally, about 40 percent of South Shore Drill Team members are part of the Guard Girls. The Big Guard Girls compete as Ladies of South Shore in Winter Guard International each year.

The South Shore Drill Team has performed throughout the country and overseas. Close to
home, they have performed in St. Paul and Winona, Minn., and in Indianapolis, Ind. They have also performed at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the Kentucky Derby, NBA half-time performances, at the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, and in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” The team has also performed internationally, in Canada and more recently in Casablanca, Morocco.

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