Whittney Seckar-Anderson poised to be new Hawkeye Golden Girl

BY CODY GOODWIN | MARCH 08, 2012 6:30 AM

Back and forth she prances on the turf of Kinnick, gracefully showcasing only her best spins and turns in front of 70,000 screaming, diehard Hawkeye fans.

During her performance, she wields her weapon of choice: the baton. Some witness her toss it into the sky, only to dance an elegant routine that requires her full attention. Once finished, she reaches out to catch her baton cleanly and turns to face the crowd with a smile.

She is Iowa's Golden Girl.

For five years, the Golden Girl was Chelsea Russell, but now her time is up. She'll be replaced by incoming UI freshman Whittney Seckar-Anderson, who earned the right to become Iowa's new Golden Girl after a tryout in early February.

"I was really nervous at first," she said. "But after I did my first routine — that I thought went really well — I had much more confidence going into the other two.

"I tried to think of it more as a performance than a competition, which really helped."

Seckar-Anderson began twirling the moment she could hold a baton, and she started competing when she was 5.

Since then, the 18-year-old has racked up a list of accomplishments.

"My greatest accomplishment as a twirler was qualifying for the World Championship in the Senior Solo Division," she said. "It was last July at nationals that I qualified to be on the World Team."

The Senior Division consists of girls ages 16 and older, meaning she competed against — and beat out — twirlers who were in their mid-20s in order to represent the USA in Switzerland this April.

"I'm so honored to be representing the USA in twirling, and it will definitely be an award that will be hard to top," she said.

The list of accolades doesn't stop there. Seckar-Anderson has won numerous National and World Championships over the years. She claimed the World Open Strut Championships in 2004, 2008, 2009, and in 2011. She won the World Open Solo Championships in 2012. And in 2011, Seckar-Anderson earned the prestigious title of "Teenage Miss Majorette of America."

But Seckar-Anderson said she wouldn't have reached the top without some guidance from older sister Lacey; she admired her sister's talents and also enjoyed the fun of the sport.

That eased the pressure for her, she said — and there was a lot of it. The current Oshkosh (Wis.) High senior comes from a family of feature twirlers. Mothere Julie was a feature twirler for the Ole Miss Marching Band at the University of Mississippi. Lacey was a feature twirler for Michigan State for five years.

Lacey Seckar-Anderson's audition differed from her younger sister's because it was mostly based on an audition video, so she said it was difficult for her to comprehend the nerves and anxiety her sister was going through.

"Twirling is a very psychological sport, so no matter what anyone would've said, the nerves would still be there," Lacey Seckar-Anderson said.

Lacey Seckar-Anderson was certain Whittney would win the job, despite finding it hard to find the right words of confidence for her younger sister.

"I never doubted that Whittney would get the Golden Girl position," she said. "At the same time, I was incredibly nervous for her throughout the process. I just wanted everything to work out perfectly; all I want is for my little sister to be happy."

Although Whittney's success has brought many smiles over the years, she quickly said she couldn't have done it all on her own.

"There's a lot of people I could thank, but the one at the top of the list would be my mom," Seckar-Anderson said.

"… I couldn't thank her enough for all of the hours she's taken away from her life to focus on mine. She has spent so much time in the gym with me, helping me to become the best twirler — and person — I can be."

Julie Seckar-Anderson owns a dance studio in Oshkosh, and admitted to shedding a tear or two whenever she thinks about Seckar-Anderson's tryout day. But an accomplishment like the Golden Girl, she said, is something that every twirler dreams of. It's better than any and all titles and trophies.

"This is the greatest accomplishment that Whittney has achieved. She has won many titles, but this move will affect her future," she said. "She is able to twirl and perform — something she truly loves — and get an education at the same time. It truly is the best thing that has happened to Whittney."

Julie Seckar-Anderson said she believes her daughters have outdone her in terms of competing and twirling nationally. She said her accomplishments were nothing in comparison to Lacey's and Whittney's, though twirling in college was still the highlight of her college career.

"I wanted my daughters to be able to reap the rewards from all of the hard work as a competitive twirler and be able to perform in that setting," she said.

Whittney has done just that. No pressure necessary.

"I never felt forced to do it," she said. "I just always wanted to."

Daily Iowan

Whittney Seckar-Anderson named Iowa’s new Golden Girl

February 21, 2012 | Emily Schettler

The 18-year-old high school senior from Oshkosh, Wis., admits she was not much of a Wisconsin Badgers fan growing up, but her family turned up its college spirit when her older sister, Lacey, joined Michigan State University as one of the Spartans’ featured baton twirlers.

Now, after four years of cheering for MSU, Seckar-Anderson’s family has new team colors to sport.

Seckar-Anderson has been named the newest University of Iowa Golden Girl and will take the field at Kinnick Stadium with the Hawkeye Marching Band this fall.

“I’ve seen the atmosphere of a Big Ten stadium on gameday, and it’s always been a dream of mine to twirl on the field with a band,” Seckar-Anderson said.

UI’s Golden Girl is one of the most sought-after twirling positions in the country, in part because of the full-tuition scholarship that comes with it, said Kevin Kastens, director of the Hawkeye Marching Band.

UI also is unique in that its twirler does not have to re-audition each year.

Chelsea Russell, UI’s current Golden Girl, has held the position since 2007 but decided not to pursue a sixth year as she finishes graduate school.

“I was really lucky to even be able to consider Iowa,” Sekar-Anderson said. “I’m lucky to be the year in school I am.”

Twirlers must already have a state or regional title crown to even apply for the position. Of the nine who sent in audition tapes last December, three were chosen to come to campus for a 15-minute audition and interview.

Kastens said Seckar-Anderson’s experience and natural ability stood out.

“When you’re dancing at a place as large as Kinnick, you need to project abilities up to the person in the top row,” he said. “You need movements that are large and dramatic but still maintain flow and grace. She did that really well.”

Seckar-Anderson has been competing since age 5, and last summer won the national title of Miss Majorette of America. This April, she will travel to Switzerland to participate in a world competition.

Once she returns, Seckar-Anderson can begin preparing to be the Golden Girl. She will report for practice with the rest of the band in August.

“I’m looking forward to that,” she said. “I have always wanted to stay in the Midwest. When I visited Iowa, I fell in love with the campus. It seems like a great school.”

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Julie's Touch of Silver twirling, dance squads shine at National Championships

The Senior Parade Corps once again won the Grand National Title and in addition, was chosen to represent the Parade Corps division at the 2012 World Championships in Neuchatel, Switzerland next April. The NBTA World Championships take place every three years. Julie’s Touch of Silver has represented Team USA at the last two World Championships and are the reigning Gold Medal World Champion from 2009.

Whittney Seckar-Anderson, 17, from Oshkosh, won the prestigious title of 2011 Teenage Miss Majorette of America. This is the highest title awarded at the National Championships and is won by taking a combined score of 3 events — strut, solo, and model. Whittney also captured a spot on the 2012 Worlds Team by placing in the top 3 at Nationals for her solo out of a field of over 80 advanced twirlers.

In addition to all of that, Whittney also captured the titles of World Open Solo Champion and World Open Strut Champion for her age division. Whittney is a member of the Senior Corps.

The Corps also won the titles of Grand National Show Production, Juvenile Parade Corps Champions, and Junior Parade Corps Champions. In addition, they captured the title of Senior Halftime Champions and were honored with the Beth Wilson Award, which is an award for High Artistic Achievement in Halftime Competition. They were awarded this out of over 100 competing teams.

Julie’s Touch of Silver competed for the first time this year in the Kinder Halftime and Danceline Divisions, winning both titles. All of Touch of Silver’s groups placed in the top ten of their divisions.

Julie’s Touch of Silver Dance Studio is in its 31st year of baton and dance instruction and is under the direction of Julie Seckar-Anderson.

Group/Individual winners

Group Division
Senior Parade Corps - Grand World Champions & 2012 Team USA Worlds Representatives
Show Corps Production with Props and Scenery - Grand World Champions
Juvenile Parade Corps - 1st place
Junior Parade Corps - 1st place
Senior Halftime- 1st place & Beth Wilson Award for High Artistic Achievement
Junior Halftime – 2nd place
Primary Halftime – 2nd and 10th place
Kinder Halftime - 1st, 3rd and 6th place
Senior Danceline – 2nd place
Junior Danceline – 3rd place
Primary Danceline – 2nd and 3rd place
Kinder Danceline – 1st, 2nd, and 4th place

Led by Julie Seckar-Anderson MST '80, the Touch of Silver Twirling Corps won gold in April 2009 in the senior parade corps division at the National Baton Twirling Association's World Championships in Ghent, Belgium. More than 500 students enroll annually in Julie's Touch of Silver studio in Oshkosh.

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AYOP 2008 – View from the Top July 28, 2008 NBTA Nationals competition came to a close with newly crowned champions for all to marvel. Twirling was celebrated with a week long competition held at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. Twirlers from all over the US and Canada traveled various distances to compete on a national level.

This was an especially competitive year as advanced twirlers, teams and corps strived to qualify as part of Team USA for the upcoming NBTA International competition to be held in the Belgium, spring of 2009.

Grand Corp twirl-offs held on Friday afternoon produced the following champions:

The National Collegiate Twirling Championships had the audience cheering on their favorite college twirlers. To add a little fun to the contest, contestants were asked various questions related to their College and Major. Karrissa Wimberley, was announced the Collegiate Solo winner.

The top 5 in the Junior and Senior Dance Twirl and Twirl Teams competed on Saturday morning. Wheaton Majorettes were the strong finishers taking numerous titles in Tiny Tot, Juvenile and Junior Dance Twirl divisions. The Dynamics of Maryland were announced winners of the Senior Dance Twirl Teams. While Wheaton and the Dynamics also won a majority of the Twirl Team divisions, Heidi’s Heroes swept in to take the Juvenile Small Twirl Team title.

The National Majorette event closed with some exciting no-drop routines. Top three in this event will go to the NBTA Worlds. Winners include:

In addition, there were many individual winners in the advanced divisions of strut, two-baton, rhythmic twirl, men’s solo, men’s 2-baton, and duet are on their way to NBTA Worlds.

2008 Miss Majorettes in the four youngest divisions were named:

The AYOP Big Show wrapped up with the announcement of the Miss Majorettes in the older divisions. Danielle Vanscoyk of Maryland was crowned 2008 Teenage Miss Majorette of America and Tiffany Reicosky of Lansing Community College was named 2008 College Miss Majorette of America

During these final ceremonies competitors were reminded that they are all winners. TwirlZone would like to congratulate all performers and coaches on a job well done!

For more results, visit the NBTA home page at www.batontwirling.com.

More photos coming soon!!

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Oshkosh is blessed with a number of talented individuals and groups. Among the foremost talented groups are Julie's Touch of Silver Twirling and Danceline Corps.

Julie's Silver Corps turned in a golden send-off performance Wednesday night at Oshkosh North High School. One can choose from among the most superlative of adjectives to describe their performance, but local businessman Ken Kriegel said it best: "They're as good as Hollywood's great musicals of the past!"

Comes then the inevitable question: How is the evolution of such a talented group possible in a small city such as Oshkosh. The answer: it is due to the inspirational leadership of Julie Seckar-Anderson, plus the dedicated support of the countless many associated with the Touch of Silver Corps.

The Corps pinnacle performance Wednesday night, before a packed audience, was "Christmas: A Grand World Show Production." This was a grand finale worthy of national and world recognition, and shows why Julie's Corps continues to win state, national and world awards.

Thank You, Julie's Corps, for touching and warming the hearts of your audiences, but especially for reminding us that only through dedicated practice and hard work can we reach our own pinnacles of achievement.

Oshkosh is proud of each and every one of you, and we wish you well in your future competitions.

When members of Julie's Touch of Silver Dance Studio in Oshkosh enter Milwaukee Lutheran High School today for state competition, all eyes will be fixed on the girls' feet, form and baton finesse.

Every year the studio competes at the National Baton Twirling Association event, and every year they go in, put on a performance and then shift focus to nationals, held this year at Notre Dame University July 22 through 26.

Julie Seckar-Anderson's group of girls already competed at regionals, but entering at the state level allows for more practice and for judges set to arbitrate at the national level to see the girls a week in advance.

The studio is a powerhouse in juveniles 12 and younger, performing in a parade corps that involves continuous motion and twirling for a four-minute routine. A senior parade corps between 13 and 20 also rule Wisconsin with the added difficulty of exchanges and passes. In addition, the Christmas routine should go uncontested.

"Of course we want to win at the state level," Seckar-Anderson said. "What we are really aiming for is to be prepared for nationals. When we go to Notre Dame University and win nationals, then we qualify to do the worlds, which will be held in Belgium. We did that three years ago and went to Amsterdam and earned a silver medal.

"We always win at state, basically. The competition is big, but we kind of dominate. I hate to say it like that, but we do."

The girls will compete in a total of 12 events. While some girls will dance right through Milwaukee, others will face fierce competition from the likes of La Crosse.

Seckar-Anderson's 14-year-old daughter, Whittney, is a baton prodigy following her mother, who was inducted into the Baton Twirling Hall of Fame in 2003, and sister Lacey, who earned a four-year twirling scholarship with Michigan State University.

Whittney won the World Open Juvenile Strut Championships in 2004 and has state and regional wins. She will perform with a group and be on her own for solo, strut, model and two-baton.

"I pretty much do solos at every competition we go to," Whittney said. "I still get kind of nervous, but I am used to it."

Julie's Touch of Silver will have a nationals sendoff performance Wednesday at Oshkosh North High School's field house at 7 p.m. where the community can see the skills that take the girls around the globe.

"The kids like doing (the sendoff) for their friends and family," Julie said. "People really don't get to see all the routines we do. We do some performances and basketball games, but … if people come to the sendoff, they will see the dance routines."

Before the big sendoff, area girls will have plenty onlookers in Milwaukee. When a member performs, attendees take notice.

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After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1980 with a Master of Science in Teaching, she became a speech and language pathologist.

Today, Seckar-Anderson owns Julie's Touch of Silver, which has an enrollment of more than 500 students, making it one of the Oshkosh area's most successful dance studios.

Seckar-Anderson began dancing locally at age 11, later studying baton twirling and classical ballet with experts in Chicago.

That training helped her to earn a scholarship to the University of Mississippi, where she was the feature twirler with the Ole Miss Rebel Marching Band for four years. A highlight of those years was a performance at a Kentucky-versus-Mississippi, sell-out basketball game.

"I was petrified but ended up doing a pretty good job and got a ton of good press, which was great for my confidence," Seckar-Anderson said.

In addition to performing at half-time shows, parades and pep rallies, she served as the band's spokesperson at promotional events.

She returned to Wisconsin after earning a bachelor's degree in special education from the University of Mississippi and immediately enrolled at UW Oshkosh to earn her master's.

Even as a new college graduate — officially a part of the real world and serving four schools as a speech and language pathologist in the Hartford School District — her passion for dance continued to be a huge part of her life.

"My lessons never really stopped. I'd go to Milwaukee and Chicago to take jazz and ballet lessons," she said. "I soaked up as much as I could get my hands on. I never thought this would be my career."

Along with dancing, Seckar-Anderson also fit training as a model into her schedule, and later she worked part time in modeling.

Two years into her career as a speech pathologist, Seckar-Anderson decided to follow her dream. With her parents' help and encouragement, she opened a small dance studio on Oshkosh's south side.

She started with just a few students that she had instructed from her home during college breaks and, later, from her home in Hartford. First renting the space from her dad and later buying it, she remained at that site until 1998, when steady growth precipitated the construction of a new facility at the studio's present location on 20th Avenue.

The limited amount of students and slower pace allowed Seckar-Anderson, now married to Dave Anderson, to stay at home with their four children during the day and work in the evenings.

As the studio grew in enrollment, her husband's involvement also increased. Her two daughters regularly joined her at the studio, and both became very involved in baton and dance.

"Having them at the studio with me made it easier for me to go to work," she said.

Her sons shared their dad's passion for sports, so the evenings were busy for them, too.

"There have definitely been sacrifices made by my husband and children, but in the long run, I believe it all worked out to our advantage," she said.

The achievements of Julie's Touch of Silver's students speak for themselves. Seckar-Anderson has coached them to national wins in various divisions since 1989, and they have won at least one national-championship title every year since then.

In 2006, her students were selected to complete at the international level in Eindhoven, Holland, where they won the silver medal in a competition that included 18 countries.

Both of Seckar-Anderson's daughters, Lacey and Whittney, have become forces in their own right in the dance world. Lacey captured the titles of 2003 Junior Grand National Champion, 2004 Miss Majorette of America and 2005 Senior World Open Solo Champion. She is the feature twirler at Michigan State University.

Whittney, the younger of the two, has won numerous state and regional titles, including 2003 Open Strut Champion, and has placed in the top 10 in her division at nationals.

"I love what I do! I enjoy teaching the beginners and the challenge of teaching advanced students. I love creating routines and 'pushing' students to talent levels beyond their expectations. I truly believe the key is my love for kids, my great family and having great families to work with — and who believe in and trust me," she said.

With more than 500 students, it is no surprise that Seckar-Anderson has many teachers on her payroll. She carefully selects each of them to ensure they provide consistently top-notch instruction and a healthy dose of encouragement. Teachers also help with choreography, costuming and more.

"My teachers are all expected to be positive and bring out the best in each student," she said. "We want the students to have fun and enjoy and love dance, but, at the same time, we want them to be able to learn and do so in a positive, encouraging environment."

"I expect the corps girls (who compete) to abide by the same rules as the high school sports teams regarding GPA. Most parents aren't willing to let their children continue in an activity that requires a lot of their time if their children don't keep their grades up," Seckar-Anderson said.

Each June, the studio holds a recital. This year's will be at Appleton's Performing Arts Center on June 14. All students perform, including those as young as 3. Students will perform jazz, hip hop, ballet, lyrical, tap, baton twirling, tumbling and modeling.

"We will have some big production numbers that should be very energetic and fun, but, to be honest, it is the little babies that always steal the show," she said.

A sterling reputation

Julie's Touch of Silver has earned a reputation for attracting students from a great distance from Oshkosh. Over the years, students and their parents have driven from Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

Her students also drive from area cities, such as Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kaukauna, Ripon, Waupaca and Wautoma.

Seckar-Anderson is quick to credit her professors at UW Oshkosh for helping her grow, both professionally and personally.

"Dr. Holman and Dr. Kyle were two who pushed me beyond what I thought possible," she said. "They were extremely tough and yet very encouraging and supportive at the same time. When I graduated, I never felt such a sense of accomplishment."

"I believe the education, early childhood and psychology classes I took at UW Oshkosh have helped me in my life and business throughout the past 27 years. Had I not studied education and only studied dance, I don't believe I would have been as successful as a teacher as I am," she said.

Teaching goes hand-in-hand with being a role model for the young women who watch her every day.

"Most of the girls who have known me for a while and have taken lessons and competed in my competitive classes think of me as a 'second mom' and often refer to me that way," she said. "I've been able to travel to many unique places with these girls for both competition and performances. Together we've experienced many close moments, both joyful and sad."

"Being able to instruct students in a field that I love and being considered a role model is a lifetime achievement that cannot be topped. I am blessed."