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TAMPA POWER REGIONAL


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Editor’s note: I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I know what will happen if I don’t: some of you people will get your panties so impossibly bunched-up that assistance from a medical professional might be needed to successfully “unbunch” them.

So, here goes:

The following review represents MY personal opinions and observations ONLY. I am neither currently nor have I ever been affiliated directly in any capacity whatsoever with any guard - active or defunct - competing in any class of any circuit.

I’m relating MY ideas and views ONLY. Nothing more, nothing less. Ok…??? Can we please remember this and not work ourselves into lather over anything that might be mentioned in this or any other review posted in this forum…???

Thank you.

- The management

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Northeast Independent

Wow. It’s as if someone said “Ok, let’s go back to the drawing board and create a brand new identity for our organization.”

I’ve never seen an NEI program this sophisticated, refined and relaxed.

I like it.

They’ve always been excellent performers, but something about their show was usually just slightly “off” in some way. And it was usually something different each season. Maybe it was use of color. Maybe it was some aspect of staging. Maybe it was a costuming choice. Whatever it might have been, something was usually “off” to some small degree.

Well, this year everything is VERY “on.”

Equipment work is amazing. Body/dance work is impeccable. Floor, silks, colors, costuming are all working in unison. The overall design of the show is approaching sublime.

I’m really having a tough time coming up with a “constructive criticism” for this program. They’re performing everything at the highest end of the game.

And they still have two full weeks to clean and polish ever MORE.

This year very well could be their year.

Braddock Independent

I am so totally loving this reinvigorated Braddock.

They’ve always been tremendousls energetic performers and a whole lot of fun to watch. (Who didn’t like the “Braddock butt wiggle”…???) And they’re still a much-deserved fan favorite who knows how to make the crowd go wild.

But this year, they’ve added an entirely new level of difficulty and technical skill to their program.

I’ve never seen Braddock show such command over every piece of equipment that they touch. No doubt about it: they OWN that stuff.

Their show is titled “We do it to ourselves.” But on Sunday, they did it to the entire arena. They were in control, off the chain and the crowd was on its feet.

And their show continues to be TOATLLY fun, too…!!!

I can’t wait to see this show in two more weeks.

Crown Guard

First time I’d seen them this year.

Right off the bat, the Roman togas on the guys bug me. I found them to be incredibly distracting. And not distracting in a prurient, “all their junk is ready to fall out” way. Something about how they’re cut or draped isn’t nearly as flattering as it could be. The looked uncomfortable. But maybe that was just me.

Aside from that, they had a really solid performance: thoughtfully designed drill, good equipment book, great body work. And it thought that the over all “Roman” look was very effective.

And I’m not sure exactly what it was, but they had attached something “jingly” to the stock of their rifles. At first, I thought that the sound was part of the musical selection. Then I realized that the tinlkly sound was happening every time that the rifle line caught a toss.

It sounded kind of like champagne glasses clinking together for a toast. Or little finger cymbals chiming in the distance. Something like that. Whatever it was, it was neat effect.

They did everything well and they have an amazing “personae” on the floor. But at this point in the season, I would have like to see a few more things “nailed down.” I was missing the feeling of command that I got from the top two guards.

Still, they definitely will be one to watch for in finals.

The Knights

This show serves as a perfect “Act II” to least season’s successful program about America’s disenchantment with the commander in chief.

This year, Barrack Obama’s moving acceptance speech from election night is the thread that ties the program together.

By this point in the competition, though, I was kinda tired of “voice over” stuff. For me, a little bit goes a long way. So, I was a little not-so-intrigued by the soundtrack. But that had nothing to do with the guard or with their show. That was just me.

Equipment book is written at a high level and performed solidly from beginning to end. And their attention to the body adds an extra dimension to many of the extended phrases through out the program.

Again this year they change into “message shirts” that have been updated wtih today’s key issues. (The “FORECLOSURE” shirt hit particularly close to home with me, seeing as I live in the geographical epicenter of that national crisis…!!!)

They’ll be in great shape for Dayton.

Premonition

Always a crowd favorite, they delivered another great performance on Sunday.

All of their “Illusion” elements make the show extremely entertaining and exciting. And their innovative equipment work keeps you wondering what they’re going to try next. A lot of really neat moments are built into this show.

And of course, there’s the Double Rifle Diva. (She totally rocks…!!!) Her timing was off by JUST smidge on Sunday as she worked her way toward the front line. But being a total professional, she never flinched. She pulled it back together and managed to ace the under-the-leg catch and she received the usual “crowd goes wild” applause. Such a great performer. And some of her Premonition colleagues perform the same double-rifle tricks with her this year.

In fact, the entire unit works the equipment extremely well. They’re an impressive group of showmen (and show women…!!!) that’s very much focused on performing for an audience and delivering a crowd-pleasing show.

Premonition is one of the most thoroughly entertaining groups on the circuit. And that’s a distinction they’ve both earned AND deserve.

My only issue with this show is that visually it’s soooooooooo incredibly “green.” For my aesthetic, it was a little bit too DTM: “Dyed To Match.” The floor is green, the unis are green the equipment is green, the magician’s cabinet is green. Green, green, green. Somebody in Ft. Lauderdale REALLY likes green.

But that palette does provide a dramatic backdrop for the ending of the show when they whip out the purple flags for their ovation-worthy finale.

They’ve been consistently solid competitors all season and their scores have been right in line with other perennial WGI finalists. This group, only in their second year competing in IW, should be VERY much in the running for a spot in Finals.

Non Sequitur side note: Early in the show, I noticed that one of the male performers was constantly popping in an out of every equipment line. He was in the flag line. Then the rifle line. Then the saber line. Then back to rifle. Then something else. He was in the front. He was in the back. He was in the middle. He was everywhere, seemingly doing everything.

At first, I thought maybe he was intentionally “appearing and disappearing” to illustrate an “Illusion,” as suggested by the show’s title. And I started wondering how they staged this guy so that he could “appear” all over the place without any awkward, obvious transitions.

Then, I noticed another guy who looked just like guy #1. And then a THIRD guy who looked like the first TWO.

Well, that sent MY explanation right out the ol’ window.

I had a good laugh at my own expense for imagining a really, really complicated scenario to account for something that turns out to be very simple: three guys in the guard kinda look alike.

In my defense, though, all three of these guys could be identical twins, so I hardly think it’s my fault.

:)

Fahrenheit

Another solid performance from this experienced group. And I like the show a lot better now that I can see it in its “complete” form.

A lot of really creative staging and equipment work in this program, especially the opening flag sequence. While lying on their backs, they clasped the silk of the flag with their feet. The silks had fabric “tabs” on the corners that the guard grabbed with their toes so they could lift and maneuver them. It’s a really cool effect.

The show feels very complete and it’s being performed about as well as it can be performed. We could see Fahrenheit in Finals again this year. There’s going to be a whole gaggle of guards competing for those final few spots in the line-up.

In Motion

When I returned home, I looked up the program information for In Motion and found out that their show is, indeed, built around the same-sex marriage issue in California.

While I was watching their performance, I wondered if that was what they were doing, but I wasn’t sure. Looking back, it’s now clear to me the ways in which that theme is being worked into the show, such as the white costuming that’s reminiscent of tuxedos and wedding dresses. (And FYI, the men are wearing the tuxedos and the women are wearing the dresses. This isn’t ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: WGI Edition.’ Just want to make sure we’re on the same track here.)

The show is a subtle yet serious interpretation and presentation of a legitimate social/political issue that’s very much a part of the California (and nation) human rights debate at present and will continue to be for quite some time.

Nice touches throughout, especially the unison flag sequence at the end of the show, punctuated with a resonating “I love you!” shouted across the performance space from one male member to another.

I’m often critical of programs that get “to literal” with a theme. I think it makes the show too heavy handed and, frankly, less effective. When the realization of the theme goes overboard, it’s like, “Ok, I get it: you have a theme. Can we move on, please…???”

But in this case, I’m wondering if maybe a couple of more readily recognizable symbols, icons or more concrete interpretations of “same sex marriage” might be helpful to the overall production.

As I said, I wasn’t 100% sure that they were presenting a show about same sex marriage until I found some information that said they were exploring same-sex marriage as a theme.

Overall, the guard handles equipment quite well and the work is written in away that highlights the strengths of the ensemble, especially their strong rifle skills.

Ventures

A top-five finalist in IO last year, this group is working very hard to make the transition to IW competition – and that’s a tough order to fill for any program.

Their equipment work is very well executed and the attention paid to the body pays off for them in the overall effectiveness of the show.

But this show seems to need a little more “oomph” all around in order to score in the same bracket as some of the other guards competing in IW this season.

Even so, they turned in a very solid performance. We’ll see much more from this group as they continue to grow into their new class and adapt to an IW book and program.

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