Marching, Dancing Pioneers to perform halftime at Lambeau

Gavin Jensen

The Marching Pioneers rehearse as they prepare to take the band to Lambeau on Thursday.

The UW-Platteville Marching Pioneers and the Pioneer Dance Team have an opportunity that comes around only once every six years: to perform at the Green Bay Packer halftime show.

The marching band and dance team perform on Lambeau Field in the halftime show during the 7 p.m. Packers vs. Vikings game this Thursday.

The band and dance team have a total of six minutes of TV time allotted to them to go through the whole performance which consists of three pieces with the theme of Austin Powers which include the following: Soul Bossa Nova, Build Me Up Buttercup (during which the Dance Team joins in the performance) and Bang On The Drum All Day.

There are differences between performing at UW-Platteville and Lambeau Field such as the distance between hash marks on the field and the size of the performing area, which are two things the Marching Pioneers have been practicing for.

“For me as a teacher getting to see these kids who have probably never seen 80,000 people in the same place at the same time before there,” Associate Director of Bands and music professor Matthew Gregg said. “In the course of their lives not one of these kids is probably going to ever have a chance to perform on this massive of a stage with the immensity of the stadium in front of this many people.”