Trinity will take center stage at Fiesta San Antonio 2025 with a float in two of the headlining parades: the Battle of Flowers Parade and the Texas Cavaliers River Parade. In collaboration with Alumni Relations, the Trinity Prowlers Dance Team will perform at the Texas Cavaliers River Parade on April 28, while the Battle of Flowers Parade on May 2 will feature a balloon of LeeRoy on a custom float.
Theophane Polydoros, senior psychology and English double-major and president of the Prowlers, detailed her excitement to participate in the parade festivities.
“We actually got invited to do it this year for the first time,” Polydoros said. “Alumni Relations was interested in having Prowlers, or at least having dancers, on the float this year, to get the crowd engaged.”
Emi Fisher, junior English and history double-major and vice president of Prowlers, highlighted how the parade represented an opportunity to learn as a team and showcase their talent to the community.
“The fact that it’s on the water, that in of itself is really exciting, but also a point of nervousness,” Fisher said. “How does dancing on a boat feel? How are we gonna get on the boat? … When you think parade, at least I think of a stereotypical, ‘on the street.’ So it was pretty sick to be dancing on a boat in the middle of downtown San Antonio.”
Fisher has collaborated with Polydoros to choreograph their performance. She said that the nine dancers will be dressed according to a volcano theme and dance to a variety of pop songs.
Adapting their choreography to a performance on the water required the Prowlers to think creatively.
“We just have to make a playlist of a bunch of songs that will be running for the whole two hours, and come up with a small routine that can fit each one of those songs,” Fisher said.
Polydoros and Fisher said that they believe the Prowers’ involvement goes beyond performance — it represents a chance to strengthen Trinity’s connection to San Antonio.
“We’re representing Trinity and Alumni Relations, and that’s really important. So we’re building a relationship in the Trinity community, but also in the San Antonio community,” Polydoros said. “And also with the Cavaliers, who are running the event, the different types of relationships that we’re celebrating and getting more involved with, I think, is super cool and interesting to be part of.”
As for the Battle of Flowers parade, it will feature marching bands, colorful floats and vintage cars. Last year, Trinity’s float included a LeeRoy-shaped helium balloon that won first place in the parade’s balloon category. This year, the Office of the President and Alumni Relations and Development collaborated to create the float.
John Bloodsworth, Trinity alum and the Battle of Flowers publicist, says that the parade is a celebration of Texas’s rich history and vibrant culture.
“The theme for this year’s parade is [Melodies] In Bloom, a Texas Serenade,” Bloodsworth said. “So the whole thing is about Texas music and the people who were instrumental in bringing that particular sound to the world from Texas.”
