WGI 2012 Winter FOCUS

winter 2012

focus

PERFORMERS GET

EDUCATED

A NEW Ohio HOME for Color Guard Events

WGI FROM THE

Beginning WGI_p1_Cover.indd 1

the official news of wgi sport of the arts

Arcadia High School

SHAKES IT UP STEERING CLEAR OF PERFORMANCE INJURIES 1/5/12 3:00:51 PM

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focus

wgi

the official news of wgi sport of the arts

WINTER 2012 Volume 26, Issue 1

Winter Guard International Ron Nankervis Chief Executive Officer Bart Woodley Director of Operations Aaron Jenkins Marketing & Communication Manager Published By: In Tune Partners, LLC Irwin Kornfeld CEO Will Edwards President Angelo Biasi Publisher Mac Randall Editor-in-Chief Jackie Jordan Creative Director Robin Garber Production Director Barbara Boughton Business Manager Contributing Writers: Debbie Galante Block, Alex Mendoza, Cathy Applefeld Olson, Michael Reed, Ken Schlager Photography: Adam Alonzo, Jolesch Photography, Dan Scafidi, Linda Unser, and Sid Unser WGI FOCUS is an educational publication of WGI Sport of the Arts. Its purpose is to broaden communication within the family of color guards and percussion ensembles. FOCUS is published three times per year.

WGI FOCUS is a free publication with a circulation of 14,000 copies and 12,000 online viewers. All members of the WGI family may submit articles for consideration. WGI reserves the right to edit all submitted material.

If your address has changed, please notify the WGI office. Failure to do this could result in the loss of your WGI FOCUS subscription. We don’t want to lose touch with you!

For advertising information please contact Aaron Jenkins; phone: 937-247-5919; email: aaron@wgi.org WINTER GUARD INTERNATIONAL 2405 Crosspointe Drive Dayton, OH 45342 937-247-5919 office@wgi.org www.wgi.org

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Greenfield Central High School is one of several color guards that will perform at the Cincinnati Regional.

INSIDE 7 ENSEMBLE

Percussion groups offer sneak previews of their 2012 programs ... Video lessons from Spinfest!! now available for download ... Announcing a new strategic partnership with Crown Awards ... Retro Rewind web features hit the way-back button ... Spinfest!! and Drumfest!! on Tour clinicians report from the road ... The Blue Devils’ TJ Doucette profiled ... and much more!

14 CLOSE-UP

Arcadia High School climbed to the pinnacle of southern California’s highly competitive percussion scene in 2011 and brought home the ultimate honor.

16 SPOTLIGHT

Some color guard performers will be taking their talents to a new venue this season: the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

20 WGI’S FIRST STEPS

Thirty-fi ve years ago, six visionaries met in San Francisco to found Winter Guard International. In celebration of their achievement, we asked three key players in the evolution of the Sport of the Arts to take a look back.

25 REACHING & TEACHING

Better training means better performances, and for both the color guard and percussion branches of WGI, education is a top priority.

28 CLINIC

Performance injuries are a common problem in the indoor marching world, but careful preparation can minimize the risks.

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30 SCHOLARSHIP

Johana Ballesteros used to be shy and quiet. Then she joined the Cypress Bay High School color guard and her life changed forever.

34 WHAT’S YOUR WGIQ?

We picked photos from four WGI seasons. Now it’s your turn to figure out which ones.

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NEWS FROM THE FLOOR AND MORE

PERCUSSION ENSEMBLES SET THE TONE FOR 2012 The start of the 2012 indoor marching season is right around the corner, but several top percussion ensembles got into the spirit of things early. Starting in October, these groups began to publicly announce the titles and themes of their shows, whetting fans’ appetites for what lies ahead.

Six-time PIW medal winner Rhythm X is calling its 2012 proRhythm X: gram “enLIGHTened.” Inspired by a quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened”), the show explores the concept of personal enlightenment and employs a large number of actual lights. You can get “enLIGHTened” at the Dayton Regional, Indianapolis Regional, Mid-South Championships, and World Championships.

Tates Creek celebrates its promotion to World Class this season with “Electrify.” Visual innovations and electronic sounds enhance the theme, but as always, the real electricity comes from the performers. Catch this show at the Dayton Regional, Mid-South Championships, and World Championships. In Independent Open class, Genesis will present “Strings Attached”—which revolves around the physical connections between oneself, objects, and other

people—at the Troy and Dayton Regionals and World Championships.

Exciting programs are coming together in the A classes as well. Martinsville Percussion Ensemble’s “Pandora” explores human nature through color and includes music by Sigur Rós and Elvis Costello. Foothill High School’s “Playback” was inspired by the movie Click, in which a universal remote control controls reallife events. And Westerville South High School makes its WGI debut with bells on in “Tintinnabulation.” For more about these and other 2012 shows, go to wgi.org.

DOWNLOAD VIDEO LESSONS FROM SPINFEST!!

If you missed out on Spinfest!! in Dallas this past September, take heart: Now you can download video footage from four of the clinics that happened there. Michael Raiford’s “Intro to Design” examines design from an intellectual and emotional standpoint, while Rosie Queen’s “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other” discusses how to deal with individual technique issues that can hamper ensemble performance. Two classes by Joe Sowders are also available: “Staging for the A and Open Guard” and “Stand Up and Stand Out: Programming for A and Open Guards.” To download these videos, go to wgi.thefannetwork.org/store/digital/search/year/2011/608/Spinfest.

Once you’ve downloaded them, you can watch them any time you want on your computer—or sync them to your mobile device for color guard education on the go! www.wgi.org

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Tate’s Creek

HI-DEFINITION COMING SOON! For the 35th anniversary of WGI, plans to invest in the preservation of performances with hi-definition cameras are in the works at the 2012 World Championships.

Please stay tuned for further details...

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New Sabre Line Makes the Cut

WGI AND CROWN AWARDS FORM WINNING ALLIANCE

Directors Showcase International’s Excalibur sabres have long been a color guard favorite. Now the company has introduced a new line of Spanish-style sabres for both beginners and experienced guard members, with a revised blade and handle design that looks, feels, and spins like the Excalibur but keeps ensembles’ tight budgets in mind. The interchangeable, paddedtip blades come in three lengths (32”, 36”, and 39”) and three styles (zinccoated silver, plain white, and white padded); handles are available in white only. Both handle and blade are guaranteed to be indestructible. For more details, go to dshowcase.com.

When performers’ skill and passion lead them to the

pinnacle of the Sport of the Arts, it’s only right that they receive an award. And for the 2012 season and beyond, all of WGI’s awards will be produced in Hawthorne, New York,

by Crown Awards, which recently entered into a strategic partnership with WGI. Beginning more than 30 years ago as a small trophy shop in Brooklyn, New York, Crown Awards has grown to become America’s largest awards supplier. In addition to its 100,000-square-foot central facility in Hawthorne, the company currently has 150 stores nationwide, as well as national catalog and Internet divisions. A direct manufacturer (not a reseller) of trophies, medals, plaques, pins, and other awards to leagues, organizations, schools, and businesses, it has helped create recognition award and trophy programs for some of the most distinguished corporations in the country.

“We are very excited to enter into this strategic partnership with Crown Awards,” WGI Executive Director Ron Nankervis says. “They supplied our awards last year, and their outstanding customer service made them an obvious choice to become our official awards supplier for all our events.”

For more information on Crown Awards, visit its website at crownawards.com.

Adaptable Audio Recorder Likes It Loud

Thinking of creating some music or sound effects for a pre-recorded track to add depth to your program? Olympus’ new LS-100 linear PCM audio recorder could be just what you need. This portable device features two internal 90-degree directional stereo condenser microphones, two 1/4” XLR/standard phone combination inputs, and multitrack recording capabilities (though only two channels can be recorded at any one time).

The LS-100 is engineered to capture sound at high decibel levels without distortion, making it an ideal recorder for loud environments, while an innovative “pre-recording” function allows you to start recording performances up to two seconds before hitting the record button. To find out more, visit olympusamerica.com.

SPINFEST!! HITS THE ROAD AGAIN

Attendees at a Drumfest!! on Tour class

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In November, WGI’s traveling educational program Spinfest!! on Tour went on its second cross-country run, and this time it brought along a friend: the inaugural Drumfest!! on Tour, which explored indoor percussion topics. Making stops in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Florida, the tour drew plenty of instructors, students, and judges. Color guard clinician Carol Abohatab singled out the improv and choreography classes as highlights, while percussion clinician Caleb Rothe liked the Q&A sessions. “Overall, it exceeded expectations,” Rothe says. “We want to do more events like this with every circuit in the country, and do them as often as possible.” www.wgi.org

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Music City Mystique from 2004, Blue Knights from 1997, Union High School from 1988, Bishop Kearny High School from 1993, Blessed Sacrament from 2001, and Holley Hawks from 1982. The Retro Rewind feature changes each day, and you can buy the DVD from which the featured performance was taken at a very special sale price—for that day only!

Retro Rewind will continue to be a major part of the WGI website through the 2012 World Championships and beyond, so check back in as often as you can. There’s no way we can possibly include every great performance from the past 35 years, but we aim to do our best.

In addition, please note that WGI is compiling a video scrapbook to commemorate its 35th season. Whether you’re a current performer, a past performer, a fan, or all of the above, you’re invited to make a YouTube video that relates your personal favorite WGI memories and then let us know about it. These videos may eventually find their way into the Retro Rewind section too, so don’t be shy!

You can find video of Clovis West HS 1993 on Retro Rewind.

RETRO REWIND WEB FEATURE GOES BACK A LONG WAY It’s no secret that WGI is celebrating

35 years of the Sport of the Arts this season. As part of that celebration, there’s a new daily feature on the WGI website: Retro Rewind, which takes a look back at some of the most amazing performances in the history of the activity. The feature debuted on November 28 with video footage of “Disco 2001,” as performed by the Phantom Regiment in 1980. Subsequent installments have included

Thank You to Our Partners and Sponsors Presenting Sponsors

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A FEW WORDS WITH TJ DOUCETTE Fantasia 1999

TJ Doucette has marching in her blood. Her career

James Logan HS 2010

I was going to miss this last chance. So I slept with my boot on, decided to ignore the pain—and finally made finals.

as a drum corps performer started at age fi ve and continued for 17 years.

How WGI has changed: After that, she taught There’s a “B.C.” and an a number of corps and “A.D.” in guard. The “A.D.” guards in her native Masstands for “after dance.” sachusetts before moving In the B.C. era, you to California in 1982.

Blue didn’t really have threeSince then, she’s worked Devils dimensional motion. The in a variety of capacities 1996 changes in movement for ensembles including the Blue style since then have Devils guards, Riverside Community been huge.

College, Fantasia, Diamante, James Going to Japan: Having Logan High School, and Japan’s grown up in CatholicRenaissance Vanguard. She also affiliated corps, working with a group that’s all Budspreads her passion for the activity dhists, and all guys, is a big change. But Renaissance around the world; when we caught up Vanguard is getting great. They’re very thorough students. with her, she was preparing for a clinic in Malaysia.

Most lasting performance memory: I marched for 16 years What makes her proudest: Taking kids to a performing without making finals. In my 17th season, I broke my toe level they’ve never reached before. They just light up. It’s the night of prelims and freaked out. There was no way so powerful.

GET ThE BEsT sEaTs! dayton, ohio

Color Guard April 12-14 world championships Thurs April 12 prelims - All Classes Fri April 13 semi-Finals - All Classes A Class Finals

percussion April world championships

Thurs April 19 A Class prelims and semi-Finals scholastic Open Class prelims

sAT April 14 Open Class Finals World Class Finals

Fri April 20 World Class prelims independent Open prelims Open Class semi-Finals A Class Finals Concert Class Finals

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sAT April 21 Open Class Finals World Class Finals

Order Your Tickets Today wgi.org/tickets

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Celebrating 35 Years in 2012!

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Close-Up

Arcadia High School

Rises to the Occasion 2011 PSW Gold Medalist Sets a New Standard

By Cathy Applefeld Olson

I

n the Southern California hotbed of competitive percussion ensembles, the bar is always sky-high. Which makes the gold medal Arcadia High School snagged at last year’s PSW finals all the sweeter.

Arcadia’s color guard is a perennial head-turner, and the school marching band has graced the Rose Bowl parade. But for percussion ensemble director Kevin Sherrill, nothing tops the 2011 WGI win for the production “Rise,” Arcadia’s first World Class gold medal.

“It was the most emotional moment of my teaching career,” he says. “Just seeing all the kids and staff and parents when they were announced as gold medal winners—

stunning and physically challenging, the show combined drumming dexterity with a lot of up-and-down movement.

Although Arcadia counts on strong support for its percussion and band program—the groups consistently generate buzz all the way down to middle school—a banner year certainly doesn’t hurt recruiting. “It will have a long-term effect on our other kids,” Sherrill says. “It sets the standard for them; they saw how to do it really well.”

Sherrill is also quick to give credit to neighboring high schools, including Ayala, Chino Hills and Mission Viejo, for their friendly competition—and the experience Arcadia gains at Southern California Percussion Alliance events.

“The feedback we get from judges and just being on the floor with other groups at SCPA is amazing,” he says.

“When you see Mission Viejo, Ayala, and Chino Hills on a weekly basis, it really pushes you to maintain the utmost in performance.”

The drive to raise the bar remains a constant in Arcadia percussion, even as the students progress through high school. A general student population of 3,600 “always sets the stage for us having a ton of seniors in the group,” Sherrill says. Last year, more than half the ensemble’s members were graduating seniors.

Not one to look back, Sherrill is already ensconced in the current season. “This is a totally different group of kids, so this year will bring something totally different,” he says. “They’ve done a great job this fall filling the shoes of the kids who went before them.”

“We had the best fall season ever with those kids, and I could tell they were ready to really go for their indoor season.” it was such a highlight to see how all their hard work paid off, how they could achieve something like this.”

The ensemble’s win capped a year of outstanding leadership from the senior class and was a high point for show designers Tony Nunez and Kevin Shah. “We had the best fall season we ever had with those kids,” Sherrill notes, “and I could tell they were ready to really go for their indoor season and set a new standard for themselves.”

In fact, the aptly named “Rise” took its inspiration from the students themselves, and their increasingly impressive abilities as they rose through the program. Visually 14 WGI FOCUS

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www.wgi.org

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Yamaha and DCI Support of Music Education by the Numbers

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135

Different Division I / World Class Drum Corps Yamaha has supported in 27 years with DCI

DCI events each year

400K Active DCI alumni

7

All-Yamaha corps, playing Yamaha percussion and brass and using Yamaha Pro Audio

Competitions Won by Yamaha Corps

Fans attending DCI shows over the 60-day summer tour

250K

50+

Yamaha products born out of the company’s extensive involvement with DCI

DCI Championships

Madison Scouts, who won the 1988 DCI championship, selected Yamaha as their instrument partner in 1985

High Percussion Awards High Brass Awards

40+

Number of states in the DCI summer tour, with each corps traveling an average of 10,000 miles

1.2M

Number of meals the corps feed their 5,000 performers and staff each summer

20% $27M

Percentage of Yamaha Percussion artists with a Marching Arts background

Millions

Miles travelled by Yamaha staff in support of drum corps

Money supplied by Yamaha to support corps

11

DCI Hall-of-Fame members with Yamaha affiliation

The Cavaliers have been DCI champions seven times during their 25-year Yamaha bond

The Cadets have earned three DCI championships and three High Percussion awards with Yamaha

In their 37th straight year (11 with Yamaha), The Crossmen are 22-time DCI finalists

122,700 Average number of hours each corps spends in rehearsals

www.4wrd.it/ypfocus

The Colts, seven-time DCI finalists, are seven years with Yamaha

Timeline of Landmark Yamaha Marching Products & Events 1988

2000

Madison Scouts win DCI with Yamaha

1985

First year of Yamaha instruments in DCI

1990

Yamaha introduces Corps-Custom snare drum

2007

Yamaha presents MTS marching snare

1993

Yamaha introduces SFZ marching snare drum

1999

Yamaha debuts Multi-Frame I for pit percussion

Cavaliers & Yamaha: 20 Year Anniversary

2003

2005

Yamaha presents Colts, Bluecoats begin using 8200 Series FieldYamaha brass Corps Marching Toms & Bass drum

After selecting Yamaha in 2005, the BlueCoats soon reached their highest DCI finish

2010

25 years of Yamaha drum corps involvement

The newest All-Yamaha corps, Carolina Crown placed 2nd in DCI 2009

Š2012 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved. www.yamaha.com/usa www.dci.org Sources: Yamaha, DCI, DCW

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Norwin High School will be one of the groups performing in the Cincinnati Regional at the Cintas Center (inset).

Spotlight

A New Venue for Color Guard

Cincinnati’s Cintas Center Hosts Two Events in 2012

By Alex Mendoza

F

or its 35th season, WGI is making exciting changes to the Color Guard Regionals and World Championships. Perhaps the biggest change is its decision to make use of an additional facility for the last hurrah—a facility located just outside the organization’s longtime home of Dayton, Ohio. Preliminary rounds of the World Championships this April will take place at an arena housed within the Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati. The new choice of venue promises to offer performers an ideal competitive atmosphere and amplify the positive feelings generated by this significant event.

“The Cintas Center provides an intimate experience. It will be a great place for fans, instructors, and judges to view the performances,” WGI Director of Operations Bart Woodley explains. “The warm-up facilities are excellent and just steps from performance.

The prop unloading zone also fits into the flow with great ease. I anticipate everyone will have a great experience.”

The Cintas Center, which opened in 2000, will play host not only to the World Championships but also to a new Cincinnati Regional event that is expected to be one of the largest of the season. And no wonder: The venue boasts a capacity of 10,250, along with a recent multimillion-dollar technology upgrade. The arena also features a large auxiliary gym that will allow for units to warm up right next to the competition floor.

“The desire to have an ‘arena experience’ at World Championships is an objective of the WGI Board of Directors,” Woodley says. “Finding more than two arenas the size we need for World Championships in any city is a challenge. The James Trent Arena is not available due to the Kettering School District spring break session not lining up with Championship dates this year. Therefore we started to open up the radius of the search around the Dayton arena, and the Cintas Center came shining through as a great facility to serve our needs.”

The addition of another facility during such a high-profile event is also a testament to the continuing growth of the WGI community. Every season brings about a new set of performers, and incorporating the Cintas Center should alleviate any potential issues in terms of accommodating ensembles. Best of all, groups traveling to Dayton for the World Championships face minimal disruption to their travel plans; the Cintas Center is located only 47 miles from the University of Dayton Arena.

“We are holding the regional in that facility to make sure we have worked out any minor kinks in the flow and process before World Championships,” Woodley says.

“The Cincinnati Regional has quite an impressive lineup of World Class guards, as well as great competition in all classes. I think all those involved will find that the facility is worth the trip.”

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CINTAS CENTER: COURTESY OF XAVIER UNIVERSITY

“The Cintas Center will be a great place to view the performances.”

www.wgi.org

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image of the glassmen 2011 by jolesch photography

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D R U M

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

P R E S E N T S

For tickets, group rates & additional info, visit www.DCI.org 2012 DRUM CORPS INTERNATIONAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS • AUGUST 6–11, 2012

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©2012 Avedis Zildjian Company. Photo by: David Mexicotte & Nate Mara

cymbals aren’t

WHERE the sounds COME really

from.

Alex Burgan, Avon High School (Avon, Indiana)

zildjian.com

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WGI’s FIRST S WGI’s

Thirty-five years ago,

a small group of visionaries armed with a bright idea met to discuss their collective brainchild. In May of 1977, WGI founding members Don Angelica, Linda Chambers, Marie Czapinski, Bryan Johnston, Stanley Knaub, and Shirlee Whitcomb gathered in California to develop an outline for an organization that would govern the indoor color guard

activity, provide uniform rules and scoring for guards from coast to coast, and hold a national championship event in the season in which the groups competed.

In the pre-WGI era, the only true national event for color guards occurred in conjunction with the Drum Corps International Championships in August. The guards typically competed in field houses or basements. At the 1977 DCI Championship event in Denver, the venue had columns that the units had to maneuver around. “There were big pillars throughout the floor,” Shirlee Whitcomb recalls. “I remember Bryan Johnston and I both saying to the guards, ‘This is the last time you’ll have to compete in situations like this.’”

The six individuals mentioned above spent two days in San Francisco’s Sheraton Palace Hotel to compare the rules of the major regional guard associations and come up with a set of guidelines that would be used for all WGI events. The minutes of that original 1977 meeting, provided to WGI Focus by Marie Czapinski, reveal that compromises

20 WGI FOCUS

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T STEPS

The sun first rose on Winter Guard International in 1977—thanks to the tireless efforts of a few individuals who dared to dream big. BY MICHAEL REED

Clockwise from bottom left: Lynn Lindstrom

were made on everything from the minimum number of members in a guard to the size of the competition floor (two floor sizes were allowed: 40x60 and 50x70).

The moniker “Winter Guard International” was chosen to reflect the time of year when the units competed, with a championship event to be held in April. At that time, smaller local circuits sponsored indoor guard shows, with the most prominent being Massachusetts and New York in the east, Illinois in the midwest, and California in the west.

Lynn Lindstrom, the head of the Midwest Color Guard Circuit, accepted the role of WGI’s first Executive Director, running the organization out of her house for the first dozen years of its existence.

Twenty-nine groups from coast to coast converged at Crown High School in suburban Chicago in the spring of 1978 for the first WGI Olympics (as the event was known then), with Quasar from Massachusetts winning the inaugural championship event. By the time Lindstrom retired

24 years later, not only had the number makes an announcement in 1979; a vintage scene of competing guards at Championships from the tabulation table; exploded to over 300, but the percussion the grand finale of the side of the activity had already been es1981 World Championships; Lynn Lindstrom tablished for nearly a decade, with ap(left) gives a medal to a proximately 80 drumlines in attendance.

Miamisburg High School Administratively, the organization had member in 1991. expanded as well, although not quite so dramatically. In year eight, Lindstrom hired an office assistant, with another person added in year 10. Today, the WGI staff includes marketing, merchandise, computer, education, event, participant, and sponsor relations personnel.

Meeting the Challenges As with any fledgling venture, there were challenges to managing WGI’s growth while keeping the organization solvent—and to leading an activity filled with creative minds who were trying their best to maximize the efforts of their own individual guards. According to Lindstrom, the www.wgi.org 21

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three biggest difficulties in the early days were having money to fund obligations, lack of trust from region to region, and getting more people from across the country involved in administrative roles.

A financial boost was provided when five local circuits contributed $250 each to, as Lindstrom puts it, “get WGI off the ground.” In addition, the Midwest Circuit contributed money to help with bills that first year, and was reimbursed in full after the first Championships. Many people volunteered their efforts in those early years, never expecting to be compensated. They did it purely out of a passion for the activity and a healthy sense of hope for what it could become.

The trust factor between regions became less of an issue when a Board of Directors was formed, consistShirlee Whitcomb ing of representatives of the top 15 placing groups. “I think the fact that our first champion, Quasar, was not from the Midwest helped in the trust factor,” Lindstrom observes. The third challenge—more involvement across the country—was tackled with the help of local circuit administrators who became involved first with WGI Regional events, and later as Region Directors. Through a combination of sound fiscal leadership, inclusion of the leading units in the rule-making process, and wise delegation of responsibility to –Shirlee Whitcomb involve more people, the organization quickly began to grow.

The first two Championships had all the guards grouped into a single class. In year three, an Independent A class was added. The 1984 event saw the addition of a Scholastic class, with a second Scholastic class added the following year. 1993 was a watershed year in WGI history. The current classification setup debuted for the 1993 Finals, with both Independent and Scholastic divisions divided into World, Open, and A classes. That same season, the organization leadership took a leap of faith by adding a Percussion category. Fast forward to the millennium season in 2000, when the percussion side of the activity mirrored the guards for the first time by having the same three class offerings in both Independent and Scholastic divisions, in addition to continuing to offer Concert classes for nonmovement ensembles.

“I am as devoted today as I was 35 years ago to the principles that WGI represents.”

From Then to Now Although several important people from those first few years have passed on, others remain involved in pageantry to this day. Shirlee Whitcomb served as WGI’s Director of Education for many years, bringing together judges and 22 WGI FOCUS

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Marie Czapinski (right)

Don Angelica

instructors to discuss the direction of the activity and establishing regional clinics for the guards. She continues to act as Director of Color Guard Development, serving as a valuable resource for the guards by “helping them individually with their design choices and a myriad of other issues that they encounter. It’s the most fun thing I’ve been privileged to do within WGI.” Lynn and George Lindstrom currently assist the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (the parent organization of perennial PIW finalist Blue Knights Drumline) in running the Drums Along the Rockies DCI event. They are also involved in organizing several other drum corps and band competitions in neighboring states—and there’s no question you’ll Lynn see them at finals. “We still enjoy comLindstrom ing to WGI to see the many friends we made during our tenure there and watch the color guard and percussion events,” Lynn says.

What do these founders think of the state of the indoor activity today? Lindstrom is impressed with the execution displayed in today’s drumlines: “The percussion activity seems to be more precision-oriented and the skill development is getting stronger.” Whitcomb says she is most impressed “with the fact that WGI has constantly evolved to accommodate the needs of the activity. Most of all, I respect the fact that the Stanley Knaub color guards absolutely have the dominant voice in guiding their activity.

So long as WGI remains in a mode of progress, discovery, and adaptability to the needs of the guards, it will remain great. This is a tough time in our country and my greatest hope is that parents and support groups realize the value their children get in the community of color guard, the opportunity to push themselves to their highest potential and have a place where they can ‘belong.’ I am as devoted today as I was 35 years ago to the principles that WGI represents.” www.wgi.org

1/5/12 3:26:44 PM

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G N I H C A G E N R I H C A TE

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f you want to have great performers, you’ve got to have great teachers—and so WGI has begun a twopronged initiative to boost color guard and percussion education across the country and around the world.

One of the organization’s top priorities is to be the best resource for those who are either already running guards and percussion ensembles or just starting them up. The color guard educational initiative is now in its fourth year, while the percussion initiative got started in 2011.

“We are offering consultation and counsel, advice and educational material to every color guard so they may grow their programs without having to hire a consultant,” says Shirlee Whitcomb, Director of Color Guard Development.

The ultimate goal is the same for percussion as well, although the level of school involvement in percussion programs tends to be different (more on that later). WGI is

I

also working to gain program consistency nationwide.

The information that WGI is now offering starts online with the basics, from “How do I start a booster club?” to “What do I do to get the principal to allow us to have a program in our school?” Once programs are in place, WGI also helps to answer questions that will aid in their expansion.

“For color guard, we translate our programs for the judges as well, so they are kept abreast of what we are telling the instructors,” says Color Guard Education Coordinator Karl Lowe. “We want to ensure that all competitions, no matter where they are, have the same type of relevance. Our first obligation is to make sure that there is enough consistency on both the part of the judges and instructors to ensure continuity.”

Another type of outreach is provided by the Spinfest!! events. In addition to the biennial Spinfest!!—held this year www.wgi.org 25

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in Texas and previously in Florida—there is also Spinfest!! has been updated. If a new video is posted, Whitcomb sugon Tour, an annual traveling clinic that allows for interac- gests that instructors look at it more than once. “Study it, tion among instructors, designers, directors, and judges. take it to heart, and really apply it,” she says. “Videos proIt is specifically meant to help instructors with all aspects vide the visual illustration of what needs to be done. Then I of designing and managing a successful winter guard pro- follow up with written memos.” gram. Sessions are offered on basic to intermediate equipAlthough color guard is not generally a part of school ment and movement techniques, along with roundtable district curricula, percussion ensemble performances can discussions and dialogue on WGI classification and adjudi- be—and they’re certainly less foreign to administrators. To cation topics. “It’s a chance to meet with seasoned instruc- some degree, this makes it easier for WGI Percussion Edutors that have marked success in the activities that the lo- cation Coordinator Caleb Rothe to get a broader percussion cal circuits would not be able to secure on their own,” Lowe education program in place. However, he acknowledges that says. “Here, the new groups can attain more advanced in- getting basic information out to groups has been an area of formation so that they can establish long-term goals.” need for some time, “and I’m glad the board has prioritized Improving communication and inforthat goal. We are trying to supplement curmation flow among the color guards “has ricula that are already out there by providing been one of the most satisfying things customized information specifically for indoor I’ve ever done,” Whitcomb says. “When I percussion. A lot of our groups have already send out the weekly memo or Karl sends started and we want to provide additional reout a video, the response is really imsources so they can become better teachers, pressive. The feedback has been a reasshow designers, and performers.” surance that what we’re doing is helping In addition to offering information repeople. Whatever needs we find to be the sources on the WGI website, Rothe says that greatest are the ones we focus on for the “we want to create interactive clinics and following season through articles and seminars and things of that nature.” The videos. Karl is great at putting together percussion group has already learned some educational videos…you are entertained important lessons from the color guard iniwhile you are learning.” tiative in this regard. For example, in the fall Every day, instructors are encouraged of 2011 they offered their first Drumfest!! on to go on the WGI website and see what —Caleb Rothe Tour, which ran in conjunction with the second Spinfest!! on Tour (see news item, pg. 8).

“I collaborated with Karl to find out what he has learned in the last few years about how to deliver information efficiently,” Rothe says. “These were completely uncharted waters on the percussion side. Most of our sessions were lecture-based, but some clinicians also tried some cool things, like showing excerpts of their score or playing live piano in front of a group to demonstrate how different chord progressions can change a mood.

“WGI’s goal is to enable more and more kids to get involved in activities that are truly beneficial and help them to become better human beings,” Rothe adds. Whether they choose to be color guard or percussion ensemble members, “students learn about teamwork and communication, and at the same time they are being taught the art of performance and the love of music.”

“wgi’s goal is to enable more and more kids to get involved in activities that are truly beneficial and help them to become better human beings.”

26 wgi focus

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www.wgi.org

1/5/12 3:29:34 PM

Dedication is what got us here.

The TheQuantum QuantumMarching MarchingProject Projectcontinues continuesinin2011.

2010.

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Clinic

Taking the

Healthy Road Performer and Physical Therapist Counsels How to Avoid Performance Injuries

By Ken Schlager Edmer Lazaro (right) at Spinfest!! 2011

I

t’s a fear shared by everyone in indoor marching activities: A performance injury that forces you to sit out an event—or even a season. Edmer Lazaro knows the feeling well. In his years as a performer with the San Jose Raiders and the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum Corps, he suffered sprained ankles, strained muscles, a jammed finger, back pain, and wrist pain. “There were a lot [of injuries],” says Lazaro, now a professional dancer and physical therapist with a doctoral degree from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, Calif.

At events like Spinfest!! 2011, Lazaro is called on to advise young performers how to avoid such trouble. “The common types of injuries I see among performers are back spasms, muscle pulls, wrist pain, shoulder pain, ankle sprains, and shin splints,” he says. “Wrist and shoulder pain seem to be more common in color guard dancers. There’s a lot of spinning and tossing that causes overuse injuries in these joints.”

The key to staying healthy, says Lazaro, is getting the body “ready for the demands of the season.” That means preand post-season training, as well as adherence to certain training principles: “adequate rest breaks, appropriate progression of activities, and development of motor control for specific demands.” A proper training regimen should continue even after the season has begun, as performers focus more on the specific physical demands of the activity.

This doesn’t have to be difficult. “I think it can be easy or hard,” says Lazaro. “It’s harder if you haven’t done it as part of your approach and you’re new to the activities, but I think it gets easier as it becomes routine.”

It’s also important to let your instructors know if you’ve suffered an injury. “Don’t think it’s something that will ‘just go away,’” Lazaro says. “Some injuries, even the minimal ones, can become chronic and a bigger problem in the future if you don’t address them when they first happen.”

He offers these additional tips: ■ Wear good shoes. “We don’t get to warm up on wood floors all the time. If you have to warm up on concrete, then wear athletic shoes for better shock absorption.”

■ Avoid alignment errors. “Mirrors are a great way to increase awareness about your body. Take a look at your leg alignment as you perform a landing from a jump, for example, and make corrections. Are your knees ‘falling in’? Returning from a jump with poor alignment over and over can make you prone to shin splints or tendinitis.”

Lazaro has advice for instructors, too. “For some injuries, you can get by with good wrapping and ice and your dancer is ready to go,” he says. “Others may need more attention, even a referral to a physician or physical therapist. As instructors, it’s our responsibility to keep all our performers safe. As a performer, getting immediate help is a sure way to get you back on stage sooner.”

“Don’t think it’s something that will ‘just go away.’ Some injuries, even the minimal ones, can become chronic.”

28 WGI FOCUS

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www.wgi.org

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Scholarship

Putting

Fear in the Past Guard Life Helps Turn Shyness to Confidence

By Johana Ballesteros Cypress Bay High School Weston, Florida

T

rying out for my school’s JV winter guard in ninth grade was one of the scariest moments of my life. Going into high school, I was a shy and quiet girl who always tried to avoid putting herself “out there.”

When my family and I had first arrived in this country in 2002, the kids in my fourth-grade class would laugh and tease me because I neither spoke their language nor understood what any of them said. This filled me with a constant fear of being ridiculed.

You can imagine my surprise when I realized that auditioning for the JV team that hot December afternoon was nothing like what I expected. These people, who just minutes before were total strangers, would soon become my mentors, my friends, my heroes, and my second family. It took but a couple rehearsals for me to realize that this sport had completely taken over my life, and it was the most incredible feeling I had ever felt.

Joining the sport, and the art, that is color guard shaped me into the person I am today: determined, responsible, passionate, and confident. Being in guard also taught me many important life lessons. I’ve learned over these past

four years that life shouldn’t be about going day to day with the fear of rejection. It’s about exploring one’s opportunities and realizing that not everything in this world will hurt you. The friendships I’ve made through being part of the Cypress Bay color guard and the indescribable memories I’ve shared with my teammates and instructors make guard the most amazing experience of my 18 years of life.

I would like to thank WGI for the incredible opportunity it has given me. Because of its scholarship, I am now pursuing the major of my dreams at the University of Florida. Additionally, I am already part of the Florida Visual Ensemble, the color guard here at UF, as well as a member of Paradigm Winterguard for the 2012 season.

I am not quite done with letting guard take over my life!

I would also like to thank all of my instructors: Mr. Ariel Cardenas, Mr. Tramaine Weatherspoon, Mr. Alexander Perez, Ms. Abigail Malloy, Mr. Jeff Bridges, Mr. Tim Lee, Ms. Sandie Rosenblatt, Cypress Bay High School’s band director Mr. Michael Friedman, and all the other people that made the 2011 winter guard season so wonderful.

Finally, none of my success would have been possible without the support of my teammates and my incredible family.

Not a single day goes by when I don’t Since its inception, the WGI Scholarship Program has provided over think about guard; I’ve never had so $395,000 to young people who participate in color guard and percussion much passion for something. I could not activities. The money for these scholarships comes from the 50/50 be any happier that I gave myself the raffle at the World Championships and individual donations. If you are chance to join such an incredible sport interested in donating to the WGI Scholarship Fund, send your donation that December afternoon in ninth grade. to WGI Scholarship Donation, 2405 Crosspointe Drive, Dayton, OH 45342.

For more information about the WGI Scholarship Program, visit Johana Ballesteros is one of 10 performers wgi.org/about/scholarship.php. who received WGI Scholarships in 2011.

30 WGI FOCUS

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34 WGI FOCUS

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www.wgi.org ANSWERS FROM TOP: 1982 (A: BUCCANEERS, B: CICERO NORTH STARS, C: ELIZABETH HS, D: SKYLARKS); 2000 (A: NORTHVIEW HS, B: NORTH PENN, C: CROWN, D: MUSIC CITY MYSTIQUE); 2006 (A: ORACLE, B: NORTH COAST ACADEMY, C: FLANAGAN HS, D: MISSION VIEJO HS); 1990 (A: EMERALD MARQUIS, B: THUNDERBOLTS, C: SUBURBANETTES, D: BLUE DEVILS)

D: C: B: A: A

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