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Back to Basics
(or Everything Old Is New Again)
by Eric Lopez
The December Camp was a phenomenal success for the 2004 Renegades Color Guard. With over 25 members returning for another season, and an extremely talented group of new members, this year’s Renegades Color Guard is out to thrill and excite the eyes of the audience with our unique blend of movement, motion, and color.
It was all about intense focus, fierce concentration, and lots of fun the entire weekend while we focused on Movement and Equipment basics. Just as the musicians in the horn line and drum line have basic warm-ups and scales to work their technique in order to play difficult music later on, so does the color guard in order to speak our unique, visual language. The color guard is probably the most physical section in the corps, as it takes the strength, speed, and agility of any athlete combined with the grace, poise, and beauty of a dancer. By focusing first on our own body, we gain a heightened knowledge and awareness of ourselves while our body moves through space and time.
On the field, flags, rifles, and other props become extensions of our body, and being a color guard performer entails having an intense mental workout as well. In addition to a few hours spent on traditional equipment technique, both afternoons of the camp were spent with Kathy Pearson on several different exercises that combined flag work with dance, and flag work moving through drill. They may be called "basics," but having the opportunity to relearn them, as well as new technique exercises has provided this year’s guard with a solid technical foundation for what’s to come.
- Eric
eric@renegades.org |
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