As the world twirls: Stepperettes heading to the Alps

Trophies, medals, certificates, ribbons, international television coverage, national championships.

And now, a bit of a target on their backs.

For a little more than two years, as they've done for nearly four decades, the Stepperettes — the area's premier baton twirling and pom pon team — have been piling up hardware and accolades at an amazing clip.

Starting with a world championship in the spring of 2009, the Stepperettes have parlayed their success into an international calling card, making it all the way to an appearance at the 2010 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last November where they wowed the world and drew praise from all corners of the twirling world.

But the appearance came on the heels of a disappointing second-place finish at the National Championships that summer and a sinking feeling that although they were at the top of their game, the also-rans were starting to make a move.

"Ever since 2009, we're the team to beat," said Sue Foehlinger, director of Stepperette Studios in La Vista. "We were flying high. We won Nationals, we won Worlds. We thought we were unbeatable. And it's been a difficult year. There's been a lot of pressure. "

In 2010, at the National Championships at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., the Stepperettes were bested by a team from Canton, Ohio.

The team's 2009 World Championship remained intact, as that event is held just once every three years, but there was suddenly some doubt about whether or not the Stepperettes would be able to pull together a championship performance at the 2011 Nationals and have a chance at defending the international title in 2012 in Switzerland.

"There was no question," Foehlinger said. "We had to step it up. We had to be better at everything. Better routines, better dancing, better tricks, period."

To that end, Foelinger and the Stepperettes brought in some outside counsel in renowned choreographer Mike Nakauchi from California and twirling coach Cheryl Wimberly of Florida to help the women on the Stepperettes' senior twirling corps team regain all the right moves.

Nakauchi got right to work with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme tuned into 21st century hip-hop beats.

"We took it for a whole different spin," Foehlinger said. "People might say, 'Oh, "Alice in Wonderland," that's kid's stuff.'" But Mike works really well with body movement and placement and he took that theme and modernized it, really brought it up to date."

On the twirling side, Wimberly put the Stepperettes through some of the most rigorous workouts the team has ever done.

By day two under Wimberly's tutelage, hands were raw and bleeding, muscles were pulled, callouses were hardened.

"A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this one," Foehlinger said. "Literally."

"It was a really difficult week," said Cara Stubbe, a longtime Stepperette who made her first National Championships appearance in 1988 and will retire from competition after the 2012 Worlds. "Not just the physical demands, but a lot of us also have full-time jobs so it gets hard to make it all work. But we all love it and we'll do just about anything if it's going to make us better."

And it did.

The Stepperettes arrived at Notre Dame last month poised to regain their 2009 form and then some, and were staring squarely into the eye of the Jazz Dolls, the Canton, Ohio team that had defeated them a year earlier. Typically, the Stepperette-Jazz Doll faceoff comes in the finals of the twirling corps event, the culmination of the National Championships, the ticket to the world competition, and by far the most prestigious of the twirling season's showdowns.

But the Jazz Dolls threw a bit of a wrench in the typical schedule and rather than waiting to face their rivals in the finals, opted to go after the Stepperettes in the preliminary round.

"I'll be honest, it threw me," Foehlinger said. "I thought, 'What are they doing?' I couldn't sleep for a couple of nights."

But on the morning of the preliminary battle, Foehlinger and her squad, after months of practice, decided to take the edge off.

The team got up at 5:30 a.m., donned their costumes, replete with blond wigs, and had an "Alice in Wonderland"-style tea party.

"It just got us in the mood," Foehlinger said. "They all turned into Alices. We'd been building it up in our minds for so long, so many people were gunning for us. We just now had to go out and do it."

Up against the reigning national champions who had wrested their crown, the Stepperettes, relaxed and ready to roll after blowing off a little tea steam, dominated the performance floor.

"We did probably the best we've ever done," Stubbe said. "It was perfect."

The Stepperettes waltzed through the championship rounds and reclaimed the national title and a chance to defend their World Championship in April 2012.

"Now we've got more hard work to do," Stubbe said. "We've got to prove we deserve to be there and it's not going to be easy."

But the national win is still being savored by the Stepperettes, many of whom find themselves on this pedestal as a result of the efforts and life of Bobby Foehlinger, a champion twirler himself who coached a number of the squad's members. Bobby Foehlinger was killed in a car accident in May 2003 and has served as a point of inspiration for the Stepperettes.

"Of course we think about him all the time," Stubbe said. "I don't think we would all be doing this if it weren't for Bobby and what he did with his life. It was always his dream to twirl at Worlds and we feel that we're fulfilling that dream for him."

In addition to the competitive element, the Stepperettes will also work hard on raising funds to get to Switzerland and the international contest.

The airfare alone comes to about $2,800 per person. The senior team has 28 women and family members are also expected to make the trip.

"The reality kind of sets in," Foehlinger said. "We've got a lot of work to do as a team and a lof of money to get raised to get there. You've got to pull yourself back up and get prepared for another competition."

The Stepperettes hope to raise money through fundraisers over the next few months to defray the costs for the team.

Meanwhile in the studio, the batons will keep flying as the Stepperettes, now Team USA, begin preparations for a new round of global compeition.

"It's very exciting," Foehlinger said. "To be representing the United States on this stage again, we're looking forward to doing our best and showing everyone what we can do."

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