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Strutting onto the field with determination, adding flair and elegance to the performance, the color guard does their best to tell a story in the midst of the marching band, hoping the band stays on the right dot, so that no one is injured.
Color guard has given the dancers a chance to combine two of the things they love.
“Being in the color guard has been a way to express myself through dance and music,” said assistant drum major Emily Kerksiek.
Color guard members do more together than just dance and spin flags; they are a family that are always with each other first by force, then by choice.
“We are like sisters,” said color guard captain Ariel Valko, “we do everything together.”
The color guard and band embrace their differences to continue as a big band family.
Though the color guard is different than the band, they come together in a way that shows how dance and music can work in sync.
“The band and the color guard are one team,” Kerksiek said. “We may be focused on different things during the show, but we all count together and move as one.”
In marching band, everyone is required to participate. Students cannot sit out, because if one person is missing, it throws off the entire performance. Everyone has to put forth the same amount of effort so the marching band can do a good job.
“No one sits on the bench, so we each have to be doing our best,” said Kerksiek.
The marching band and color guard are required to go to band camp to get ahead of the game during the summer. During band camp, they learn their choreography and grow closer as a team.
“We practiced for 13 hours a day for six days,” said junior Liz Madsen, “it was very mentally and physically taxing.”
Color guard is not considered a sport by most, but looks can be deceiving; color guard is harder than it seems.
“Color Guard is hard in the sense that we are moving our bodies in completely new ways. It is a mind game trying to remember every single dot and the choreography that goes with it, but it is so rewarding in the end,” Kerksiek said.
