Benefits of Joining a Drill Team for Philadelphia Youth
As we launch our current season of Mantua's Most Majestic, a youth drill team in West Philly, we're reflecting on the many advantages that come from giving young people a place to show up, move their bodies, make some noise, work hard, and be part of a team.
Learning choreography is just a fraction of what you get in a drill team environment. Participation requires that teens listen, pay attention, practice, take responsibility, and learn how their individual contributions fit into a bigger picture for performance.
Growing up in Mantua, Artistic Director Dr. Iquail Shaheed started a local drill team with friends and a mentor, and he credits the drill team of his youth with paving a powerful positive path — developing his dance skills and musicianship but also creating an ethic of hard work, discipline, persistence, and self-confidence.
Here are the benefits we see over and over as local youth join Mantua's Most Majestic drill team:
LEARNING HOW TO PERSEVERE
It sounds simple, but showing up matters. Drill team success requires consistency and persistence. Participants have to come to practice and learn their part. They also have to keep working, even when something doesn't come easily.
Some moves and rhythms take time to get right. A difficult piece of choreography will not click on the first run. A performance won't always go exactly as planned. The team might have to run something again and again, over and over, to get it right. That's not only polishing performance, it's learning that frustration and failure isn't the end of the story. You can adjust, try again, and keep going. Over time, showing up becomes dedication and dedication becomes a natural way of being in the world.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE BY DOING HARD THINGS
Often, it isn't the stuff that comes easily that builds the most confidence; rather, it's overcoming obstacles and gradual improvement that builds a young person's sense of self-worth. Everyone has natural talents, but realizing you can do something you didn't have experience in or didn't believe you could do is a monumental accomplishment. When members pick up the steps even though they're challenging, understand a complicated rhythm, perform despite the stage fright, or make a mistake and keep going... these moments add up to self-confidence and belief that translate far beyond drill team!
LEARNING TO MOVE AS ONE
A drill team only works when its members are fully aware of their peers, working in sync, and learning to rely on one another. Crisp and perfect unison takes tremendous practice and care. Being mindful of the people around you, staying together, and understanding how your part fits into the whole is teamwork in action, a skill that translates to any new project or career.
FINDING YOUR PEOPLE
Importantly, drill team builds community! A youth drill team gives young people an opportunity to build relationships with both their peers and with elder mentors. When the team comes together to work, laugh, struggle, practice, and perform, something magical happens and they find belonging.
GROWING INTO YOUR POTENTIAL
Music and movement are embodied practices that tap into a teen's energetic and emotional needs as well as providing physical and mental exercise. The whole self is involved in a drill team practice. Focus and energy, applied over time, make each team member stronger, more disciplined, more skilled, more creative, and more capable than when they first started. Giving local youth an opportunity to grow into their best selves is the whole point of this program.
COME BE GREAT. COME BE MAJESTIC.
We hope you'll join an upcoming practice for Mantua's Most Majestic (MMM). MMM is a year-round percussive dance and drill team program for Mantua youth ages 12–18. There are no tryouts and no experience is required. Just a willingness to show up, learn, and be part of the team!
Practice: Mondays + Wednesdays, 6–8 PM
Location: Miles Mack Playground, 732 N 36th St, West Philadelphia
For young people looking for a place to dance, challenge themselves, build relationships, and be part of something bigger, there's a spot waiting for them.
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