The Esks Force Hype Team and Esks Force Drum Line made their debuts performing hand-in-hand with each other during the Eskimos first pre-season game at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium on May 27.
It was difficult to miss the latest addition to the game day experience, with the Hype Team featuring 10 hip-hop and breakdancers and the Drum Line pounding on five snare drums, two tenor drums and three bass drums.
The two groups’ main duty was to parade outside of the stadium before the gates opened, making appearances at Coors Light FanFest and tail gate area to get fans excited for the game, and then come inside to do a pre-game performance.
During the game, the dancers and drummers were stationed either on the track or in the stands to try to add to the atmosphere, bringing the “classic football feel” back into the stadium and get the fans pumped up.
Initial feedback on social media was positive.
Courtney Clace, the Eskimos manager of Game Operations and Events, had been planning to introduce a drum line this season since she joined the Eskimos two years ago. When Karen Kondoski, the head coach/choreographer of the Eskimos Cheer Team, presented by Bedrock Homes, mentioned the Dallas Cowboys’ Rhythm & Blue Dance Squad during an off-season brain-storming session, they decided to combine their ideas and form a Hype Team and a Drum Line.
Of the 10 dancers between the ages of 18 and 28, seven are women. Meanwhile, seven of the 10 drummers from the ages of 17 to 35 are men.
The Eskimos brought in Michael England, the director at Impact Performing Arts, and Vanessa Borges to lead their respective groups and held tryouts for both teams. England is “a drum line guru” who has worked with drum lines throughout the United States and Canada and understands the ins and outs of how they work within sports teams while Borges, who has a hip-hop dancing background, was a member of the Eskimos’ Cheer Team for many years.
The unique Hype Team and Drum Line, which also performed at the Eskimos Fan Day presented by Carefree RV, will be at every home game, in the K-Days parade and at Eskimos signature events.
If the project goes well, both teams may be expanded with more members in future years.