BRADENTON (SNN TV) – It’s so cruel that it’s taken so long to see the Marching Noles play their halftime show. But you might find it devilishly worth the wait.
After rain forced many of their practices from the outside to the inside, and after Hurricane Ian caused schools to close, the Southeast Noles finally performed their halftime show for the first time on October 7.
“Leaving off last year I feel we had a very hyped up band, a very preppy show, and I just want to match that energy,” says Jose.
That’s drum major Jose Gomez standing next to co-drum major Lanette Rodriguez. She was inspired to get into the drum major gig after watching last year’s drum major at Southeast.
“And it seemed pretty fun and I decided to pick it up a little bit,” Lanette says as she laughs while picking some kind of hair off my mic.
Under director Andrea Vella, the Noles always perform something contemporary or recognizable – whether it’s Stranger Things in 2018, or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 2021 – so this year, Lanette’s unleashing her bad side as the iconic Cruella de Vil.
“It’s more like an evil side, and I don’t have an evil side… that we know of! I get to pretend to be evil, and it’s fun,” Lanette says.
This is the Cruella character from the 2021 movie of the same name, which means the show is about fashion and Cruella’s ascent in that world, from starting as a wide-eyed child fashionista to adopting the Cruella alter-ego.
And it’s less about 101 Dalmatians, although funny enough, Lanette and Jose say the band is 101 members this year.
Color guard instructor Celeste Matthews made all three outfits you saw in the story, and Lanette will be changing into all of them during the show. Their next performance is this Friday, October 21, at a home game against Port Charlotte High.