A group of dancers from Hastings Just For Kix Dance Studio recently performed in the pre-game and halftime shows at the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida on December 31st, 2025. The game was between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Vanderbilt Commodores, with Iowa coming out on top, 34 - 27.
Dancers performed before a crowd of 35,382 fans at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There were 481 performers ranging from 2nd grade to adult. The patriotic pre-game show featured the dancers in Red, White and Blue using poms and both twirler groups performing together, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the bowl game in Tampa Bay. The dancers and twirlers took up the entire field, spanning from goal line to goal line as they performed their 2-minute routine “USA”. The performers remained on the field during the National Anthem and flyover. During the half-time show, dancers and twirlers filled the field with several high school bands uniting as one mass band to provide the live music for the show. This year’s show, titled "Good Time Country Line Dancing," featured the songs “Boot Scooting Boogie”, “Watermelon Crawl”, and “Good Time.” The younger dancers performed with older dancers to “Wagon Wheel”. The performance ended with a patriotic finale to "America". Cindy Clough, Executive Director of Just For Kix, was the choreographer with help from Ali Geraets and Macy Clough. Stephanie Ford, a coach from Central Mountain High School, choreographed for the twirlers. This year, the Twilight Twirlers, a group of senior citizen twirlers, performed with Just For Kix for the first time.

Comments from Cindy Clough - founder and CEO of Just For Kix...

“We had an incredible group of dancers and Twirlers representing 10 states this year. They came in more prepared than usual and worked very hard. All dancers learned the choreography from video links sent to them in late November, and once they arrived in Florida, the show was put together. Stephanie Ford choreographed the pregame and halftime for the group of twirlers. They had 12 hours to work on formations and polish the routines. Also, among the performers, we had 542 non-performers and 39 coaches/studio owners on the tour. Everyone had a great time and was so easy to work with. It is something they will remember forever as there is nothing quite like this large-scale performance.

The most exciting thing for me is watching the performance at the closing ceremony. We projected the video onto a large screen so the kids could see the fruits of their labor. The dancers had no idea what the “Big Picture” looked like until they saw it on screen. You would think they were watching fireworks the way they oooh'd and aah'd at their own performance. I

feel this year’s show was the best one we have put on to date. We used a variety of props including batons, poms, cowboy hats with fabric, hooplas, and capes.”

In addition to the performance and practices, dancers, twirlers, family members and coaches enjoyed Florida by spending an afternoon at Clearwater Beach, toured one of the four Walt Disney World Theme Parks or Universal Studios in Orlando, toured Busch Gardens, attended a dinner cruise on the Yacht Starship and celebrated New Year's Eve with a talent show and dance party at the hotel.

It takes a great deal of manpower to put together a tour like this. 21 buses were serving all the events. Just For Kix is responsible for the entire tour from chaperoning the performers at the hotel, the meals, the bussing, and the excursions.

We have had the same crew for many years now, so it does get easier, as everyone knows what to do. Our crew is so seasoned that they really do a great job. It is one of the toughest weeks of the year for our staff. We are on the go 24 - 7 with about 5 hours of sleep on average. It was heartwarming to have 1,072 people on the tour and to hear literally no complaints. Our clients really thought we had great organization and customer service, which made us very happy.”

Hastings Just For Kix Dance Studio will be taking another group of dancers and their families on this trip of a lifetime December 2027-January 2028. Check out the Just For Kix official Facebook page to watch full videos of the pregame and halftime performances from the latest bowl game.