The End to the Color Guard Controversy

[MsBusDriver]

You and me both my friend. (On the frenetic flag work). As you know, Kathy Pearson is one of our instructors this year. (performed in SCV "back in the day" as well as in SCV alum and taught SCV a bunch of years) So you KNOW that we are either going to be clean or dead. Those are the options she's given us. :P Seriously, tho, we do the modern flag work, but every hand position is definted, the plane it is on, your body position, everything. Mark Metzger is writing our flag work. He's new school to the nth degree. Carol Abohatab is writing the dance and weapon work. Between Mark, Carol (who taught this years' champion Raiders world guard btw) and Kathy, we're going to be clean, we're going to be innovative, and we're going to entertain. Period. Because it is possible.

BTW....when am I going to see you at a Renegade rehearsal? :P

Hey, best of luck to Renegades this year! Yeah Kathy is a spitfire when it comes to rehearsals. You might want to ask her if she will be using Johannas bullhorn and drumsticks too (she'll know what I'm talking about). If I still lived in the Bay Area you know I would be at Renagades but unfortunately, it is too far from Spokane WA to make it down for rehearsals. :( Hopefully we'll have the Alumni Anniversary Corps in '07 and I'll get to learn all the NEW and INNOVATED stuff that the guards will be doing 5 years from now

[byline]

Precision and cleanliness should be timeless.

Wow . . . what he said.

[dacolorguard1]

I graduated high school in the mid 80's. The last year I did winterguard, we were putting more movement into our show, but we always had clean execution of all our equipment work.

4 years ago, I got back into instructing a guard.

We got KILLED on our scores for our first year of winterguard last year. We did tons of spins and tosses and lots and lots of equipment work, but we didn't have enough BODY MOVEMENT.

Me and the judges went around and around. The guards that were beating us couldnt do more than 8 spins in a row but they were dancing all over the place like it was a ballet.

This is what upsets me the most about the direction of guard.

(I know, my age is showing...) When you have guards who don't know how to do basic rifle spins, left and right handed, crossovers, MF's, I wonder, are we no longer a guard and just a dance team with equipment????

Most shows are dance, some spins, dance dance, big toss, dance dance, go behind scenery, dance, toss, dance, spin,

go behind scenery, toss, go behind scenery, big toss, lay down on floor, roll on floor, go behind scenery, you get the picture..

Quit running around, show me what you can do with that piece of wood or metal that's in your hand!!!

Ok, I feel better now, I'll get off my soapbox.. :P

[LegalEagle50]

1989: Phantom, Cadets

. . . .

yea..they are all basically the same, but they're still clean, precise, and VERY MUCH NEW SCHOOL.

. . . .

Where does the old school guards end and the new Just one lesson to learn, I guess: GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!!

my 2 most favorite guard shows. i always show these shows to the guards i teach.

and that is what i said before give credit where it is due, which is something i find the "old-school" people refuse to do time and time again.

[LegalEagle50]

Precision and cleanliness should be timeless.

Wow . . . what he said.

yes, and in many cases it is. the problem is that some people look more at the dance and body and stop looking at the guard work that accompanies it.

[LegalEagle50]

I don't really recall those ill fitting wool outfits to be particularly flattering on the thinner girls. Sure, maybe the heavier gals felt comforatble because all their sins were hidden under heavy wool, but I'd say about 90% of the people out there looked horrible in them as well.

yup, we had a girl my senior year, when you added the cumberbund she looked like she'd gained an extra 20 lbs. because that cumberbund didn't show a waist. she was short and could have used something that wasn't 8-10 inches wide. but for her it went from her hips to her boobs and totally took out anything that resembled her waist in the process. we joked about it again at the 10 year reunion.

[Jeffsjetta]

You will never convince me that what guards are doing these days is "guard".

i just cannot understand how people can say this. If you pull out baseball tapes from the 20's, or basketball tapes from the 70's even, they are COMPLETELY different games now. The objective is the same, but the way its done, the rules, the strategies, the participants...they are completely different! YET they are STILL basketball and baseball. Just because guard has evolved doesnt mean its not guard anymore!

i am far from a guard expert, but besdies the DH, what really has changed about baseball?

um...lets see...9 players....9 innings....world series......#### not much.

i used to follow guards closely, especially at the local indoor level...the tosses fascinated me, and some dance was ok. now when i go i wade thru the dance to see some tosses......and i am bored to tears.

[LegalEagle50]

yes and i understand that. i hate when dance is thrown in when it doesn't fit with the show just for having a dance segment. but there are plenty of guards out there who don't do this too. and unfortunately the guards that do do that are the ones who give the whole idea of guard a bad name. yet no one is taking the time to give credit to the guards that don't. and don't tell me that there aren't any. i've taught and judged over the last 10 years. i've seen a combination of both. and the guards that do a well mixed combination, at least in winterguard in my circuit, are the ones who are rewarded with high scores.

[Jeffsjetta]

the probelm is, like modern programing of shows, not everyone is a guard fan and likes the higher, louder faster....be it guard, brass or percussion as well.

i sit w/drummers and horn people at shows...and we all comment how we'd love to see a ###### 5 once in a while...cause it catches our eyes.....just as we want to hear a ton of singles, screamin sops and mello runs to die for.

the problem is all of the above are no longer en vogue, and as such, joe every fan, regardless of era and caption, is becoming bored.

[LegalEagle50]

and i will agree with you. there are many shows out there that bored me both as a guard spectator and an "in general" spectator. but i watch tapes of old DCi shows and watch the drum solo which is a pretty good example of what i hate about old school drum corps. the guard stomped the grass and did slams and spins and the same stuff over and over again. and it's not just one corps it is practically every corps.

my senior year is when we started to really add some body moves into the show. and i had been pushing for that for the two years before and i was looked at like i had two heads. do you want to know what i heard from the audience? i was told that the show became more enjoyable to watch, that it was easier to understand the visual aspect of the performance because it flowed better with the music.

i started teaching at that same high school i graduated from the fall after i graduated. and things stayed pretty much the same for that first year. the second year i got the girls out of the skirts and boots and put them in pants and shoes. the returnees wanted to hug and kiss me. they thought it was SOOOO much more comfortable and that they could perform better than what they were restricted in before.

as LLMM said, it's easy for spectators to make comments. but in reality it is only the people who have done both aspects of guard who can truly make comments on it. it is not remotely possible to make a true judgment call otherwise.