The starting notes of “Barracuda” by Heart percolate through the speakers of the arena, and the winter guard gets into position.
They’ve done this thousands of times before in practice — and they can do it again.
Winter guard performed at the NTCA State Championship Finals with their program “Queens of Heart,” on March 29, placing seventh overall in the competition. The group is to hold audition training for new aspiring members April 13.
The guard competed in the National A region, earning a score of 81.970. However, while preparing for the championship, the girls were faced with multiple challenges to overcome – from being caught in a storm at regionals in Oklahoma to sustaining physical injuries.
“This season was really difficult physically on a lot of the girls,” Junior Lieutenant Ria Seera said. “We had over three concussions which was what seemed as a major setback in our plan, cutting rehearsal time in attendance. Each girl’s dedication is what even allowed us to finish out the season since cutting short was a very real possibility.”
For the season, the group decided to use music by the band Heart for the program, including the previously mentioned track, “Barracuda,” along with “Alone,” and “Crazy on You,” while also taking inspiration from Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland” for the colors and theme for the set, flags and costumes.
“It essentially takes you through different phases of queen monarchy through different songs which helps the audience feel different emotions,” Seera said. “My favorite part of performing the program is doing it with my team. I love these girls so much and they are what make each show special.”
The guard went with the “Queens of Heart” program, which stemmed from a combination of factors, including the music and the tie-in to the classic Disney movie, to emphasize the ‘girl power’ of the team.
“This show is high energy and gives the students a chance to develop different emotional ways to connect in their performance: from happy, to sad, to sassy — our students really get to work on how they develop the emotional characterization they portray with their performance and choreography,” Color Guard Specialist Lindsay Kusmierczak said. “We wanted to make a show that was fun and could push our students to the next level and they have achieved every goal we have put in place for them.”
To put the show together, the team started to prepare for the season at the end of marching band season, working year-round. Even now, Kusmierczak is planning for the upcoming fall semester design-wise.
“This winter has been really dialed in on continual challenges for the students to develop their performance and spinning skills, and their hard work is paying off, because they (did) very well,” Kusmierczak said. “It takes a very special group to make it into UIL State Marching Band Finals — these winter guard students were all a part of the color guard that made it into State Finals this past fall, so we knew that this winter guard season had so much potential to be great because of the success that our students had this fall.”
Only 12 finalists following regional competition advanced to state, including winter guard teams from neighboring cities in North Texas.
“For our state finals run, I was very happy with how it ended,” junior Katelyn Bergh said. “Our coach said it was our best run yet, which is the greatest thing we hear after you have a good run, and everyone else had a good run. Of course the run mattered, but making finals was the reward, and then just having an even better one after made it even better.”
There are no prerequisites to join the guard. According to Seera, all one needs to be is open to learning new things, as they will learn to become a better dancer, learn to spin equipment like flags, sabre and rifles, and become a true performer.
“When it comes to performing, the most important thing in color guard is to express the music,” Seera said. “The dancing and spinning are a reflection of each beat of the music which makes everything so emotional and cohesive, and I love my team so much and I couldn’t have asked for a better one to finish out the season with. There is no other way to explain that feeling, it is irreplaceable and I am forever lucky to experience it.”
The winter guard will host training sessions starting mid-April to teach aspiring members all about what it entails to be on the team. Students are welcome to attend as many sessions available, as they will quickly find that the team will be there to support them through their entire high school career, according to Kusmierczak.
“Don’t be afraid to try something new,” Kusmierczak said. “The lessons our students learn – time management skills, working as a team, individual accountability, to name a few – are really life lessons. Once they leave PHS, our students might not ever spin a flag again, but they will know how to navigate the ‘real world’ because of all of the lessons they learn in guard.”
This article received edits from Palak Agarwalla, Kamila Hrabar and Trisha Panicker.
