Yet another fantastic weekend of winter guard has come and gone, and this weekend in showcased talent from (mostly) the Midwest. 

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend’s Finals competition.

Read the full, group-by-group live blog of WGI Indianapolis Regional finals.

Whereas both the WGI Dallas and WGI Riverside Regionals were very A-Class heavy, this time around, Open and World class really filled out the majority of finals competition. 

There were a total of 27 guards in prelims and semis competition, but only 8 of those guards managed to progress into finals on Sunday. 

We also saw 11 Scholastic Open and 11 Scholastic World guards, and all but two of those guards were from the Midwest (Norwin HS from PA Shenendehowa HS from NY).

Needless to say, there was a RIDICULOUS amount of talent on display in each class.

Independent A

This is the first time we’ve seen more than one or two Independent A guards at FloMarching in 2019, and Sunday’s groups were an excellent representation of the class. 

While there were a lot of great shows, perhaps the most refreshing was from the newly resurgent Onyx A.

Onyx A doesn’t appear to have come out for competition in the 2018 season, but to be fair, it was a pretty confusing time for the Onyx organization. Just days after the 2017 competitive season ended, it was announced that the Onyx organization would be folding the organization. 

It wasn’t until November of 2017 – considerably late in the rehearsal season for Independent World programs – that they announced that they would, in fact, be coming back out for competition. I guess the A guard got lost in that shuffle while the organization spent the interim period working on several stages shows in Chicago and New York.

This year’s return, however, is proving to be an incredibly strong program. 

Their show, “Malagueña,” sees the return of the Onyx World uniforms from last season, as well as a similar concept of balance and symmetry in their design.

The show is largely designed around the concept of mirror images. Rather than teach all the performers the same work on the same hand, Onyx A is challenging the performers on side one to perfect the same work in opposition to side two performed with the presumptive "weak" hand.

In color guard, we like to say our kids are equally trained on both hands, but human physiology requires a lot more than a single season to retrain the body’s less-frequently used muscles to perform at the same level as their dominant side. 

On rifle, the weight of the gun spins differently; on sabre, the weight of the basket faces towards the body, which means you have to compensate for that weight dispersion by positioning your hand/thumb differently; on flag, releasing tosses on the left just feels odd, because your weak hand isn’t as coordinated with “down, OUT!” effort change to get into the release.

At any rate, Onyx A’s program asks a lot of their performers, which was reflected in their equipment sub-captions: in Vocabulary, they scored an 81—the next highest score was a 77; in Excellence, they received a 75—the next highest score was 68. 

What that translates to, essentially, is that the work they’re attempting is more difficult and they’re executing the work with greater proficiency, in their class.

Most of the show exists in the black and white dichromatic color scheme, but toward the end of the program, they reveal bronze lamé silks, which really popped against their background. It was a great visual effect, and it really sets them up for success going into the end of their program.

Scholastic A

In SA, the show that really stood out to me was a “message” show. Message shows tend to use their programs to bring attention to a real-world problem—suicide, HIV, flooding from hurricanes—and use the platform to encourage the audience to civically engage in order to address the issue they highlight.

The show I’m discussing is, of course, Franklin Community HS’s program, “One in Five,” which asks the audience to examine mental illness, depression, and suicide. 

They make excellent use of a spoken word piece that gives statistics about people who have “given up hope;” that an 800-number is not enough. It’s a really powerful message, and at the end, is capitalized when the guard uses a silhouetted light effect. 

Then, one performer’s light goes out, symbolizing the “1 in 5” statistic. It’s a really poignant moment, and they use it well.

Scholastic Open

My favorite program in Scholastic Open was Ben Davis HS, with their show, “War of Words.” 

There were just so many excellent design elements to this show—the music is unique and challenging; the movement book is out of this world; the color palette is unique and works well against the floor; the equipment book is responsive to the syncopated rhythms in the music… It’s the full package. 

Since it’s only February, there a lot of time between now and Dayton for them to clean the work and address any performance issues, but the show is unique and fun and has the groundwork to be successful.

Another great program in Scholastic Open was Marian Catholic HS, with “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” For those who managed to read my…book report, I suppose…in yesterday’s Live Blog detailing the book’s plot, you’ll remember that their program details the basic story of Oscar Wilde’s only full-length novel.

The writing in Marian Catholic’s show is superb. When the rifle line finally coalesces, there’s a great moment that’s really responsive to the music before the first ensemble five moment. 

It works really well with the music, and the kids performed the heck out of it.

Independent Open

Phoenix Independent’s program, “Exposed,” had an excellent ending flag feature on a purple silk that allowed the performers to show off their masterful ability to move well with their equipment. 

The body underneath the equipment writing works really well with the ability levels of the performers and highlights their best performance qualities.

Scholastic World

Scholastic World in the Midwest is a packed contest. It really speaks well to the consistent levels of training and talent that are present in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and the surrounding areas. 

Two programs really stood out, for me, as unique amongst the pack: Norwin HS, and, surprise—Avon HS.

Norwin HS’s program is unique because of a live singer on the floor, and man, does she have some powerful pipes! 

Aubrey Burchell—a former American Idol contestant who finished 70^th out of 300,000—provides the music for the performers. The energy was electric between her and the guard. The performers move well, spin well, and really embodied the character of the music.

Avon HS’s 2019 program, “O’ Night Divine,” is..."ridiculous” is the best way to put it. 

When the guard first came on, I had to check to make sure my I was still watching Scholastic World, because these members are wicked talented. I honestly thought I was watching Pride of Cincinnati, from the way these kids moved, spun, and performed. 

There’s so much maturity, talent, and grace in the way they spin and move, it’s hard to pinpoint just one good thing about their show.

Set in a dry-cleaning shop, the guard makes excellent use of the props—laundered clothes in bags, a folding counter, and racks of hanging clothes—to shape and reshape the stages on which they perform.

The work is tricky, but musical, and well achieved, and there’s no element out of place. It’s really a masterpiece. If you get the chance, you should catch the show as well as that rifle soloist catches his gun.

Independent World

It’s always difficult to pick a “standout” IW show because every guard has a unique style and brings something different to the table. But two that I have to bring up are Bluecoats Indoor and Pride of Cincinnati.

Bluecoats Indoor again brings us a program that plays with the way music tracks are presented. Last year, the idea was to change the direction at which sound was blasted; this year, they’re using live musical looping to create a strange and fun performance piece that requires the performers to respond to a live track, rather than a prerecorded one.

I have to watch it a few more times to wrap my head around it, but my first impression was, “Wow…this show looks like Emerald Marquis in the late-1990s.” 

The work they are spinning is tightly packed, and moves in unique ways, picking up on the musical cues. Their movement book, taught by the inimitable Carol Abohatab, is quirky and unique and sets them apart from other units. This is a show worth watching several times to catch all the cool visual and musical effects.

Pride of Cincinnati’s program is a masterclass in staging, prop design, and prop utilization. 

They have unique ramps that are made up of several “doors,” in and out of which performers disappear and reappear, all while being moved around the floor to reshape the stage. The props connect and disconnect, and each one can be used differently – as slides, as ramps, and storm cellar doors – and then, another performer will pop out of the side of a prop when you least expect it. 

It’s a fantastic way to increase and decrease the number of performers on the floor, and transitions are seamless from section to section.

This is a showstopper kind of show that will be on our minds all the way to Dayton.