The Daily Gamecock

Iocco twirled on stage before competing on the field

Domenica Iocco found her way into twirling by chance.

She started out dancing at a studio near her home, and when she was five years old, she took a month-long summer twirling class the studio offered once or twice a week.

“I took it and I fell in love with twirling,” she said, “And almost 13 years later I’m still here.”

Even though she is no longer a dancer, Iocco is often commended for the dance-like quality she brings to her twirling. She brings a lot of experience to the stage, performing well enough at national baton competitions to advance to world competitions.

Iocco is incredibly devoted to her twirling, and her favorite part about performing is being able to show the audience how much passion and dedication she has for the sport.

“Everyone has that thing that they love to do, and baton is mine,” Iocco said, “I really love just getting a chance to show people what I love to do.”

Even for an experienced twirler like Iocco, the hardest part of the sport is the difference between practice and the actual performance.

“You have these routines that you practice and practice and practice, and then you can get them to a point that you’re comfortable with them. But once you step onto the competition floor, everything changes,” Iocco said. “Learning how to handle that is probably the hardest part.”

Read the full story here: “http://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2014/08/twirl-friends”

Read about feature twirler Emily Doyle here: “http://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2014/08/twirl-friends-emily-doyle”

Read about twirler coach Catherine Ramirez here: “http://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2014/08/twirl-friends-catherine-ramirez”


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