When most people hear the name Color Guard, they do not realize what this name entails. This formal name is unknown to them. The Color Guard is what most people know as the �flag team�, the group that is seen marching on a football field with the band, spinning flags. However, there is more to Color Guard than just these few simple things. Color guards are made up of two types: Color Guard and Winter Guard.
The first group, Color Guard, is the group that you see marching on the field with the band (Cork). This team is what you notice first and what you watch during a half-time show, most of the time, so they are �considered to be the visual musicians in the marching band� ("Welcome"). It is the �combination of dance, spinning, drama, and stamina�, (Cork) and �their primary role is to support, enrich, and enhance the total show� ("Welcome"). Most sources have the same interpretation of the name Color Guard. George Jenkins High School describes it to be �the auxiliary unit that uses dance, flags, rifles and sabers to create visual music� and the Color Guard Handbook of the Jefferson Performance Ensemble describes it as a �combination of dance, equipment skills, theater and physical strength and stamina, a true �sport of the arts��. It is with this team�s �special contribution� that they are able to create a visual reflection of the music being played and provide a �unique enrichment to the entire show� ("Welcome").
There are many things that Color Guard teaches and through this there are many benefits. It teaches members how to "tackle new challenges" and how to "set goals and work toward achieving them". It also teaches that the "whole is greater than the sum of its parts". The benefits of being in the Color Guard are friendships, school spirit, and a lot of fun. Getting to meet new people, make new friends, and share new experiences are all a part of being in Color Guard. It is also about �teamwork - setting common goals and working toward your individual best to achieve team greatness." Members also learn how to set priorities, make the most out of what they have, and how to plan and structure their time efficiently. Most importantly, "Color Guard is about dedication � about making a commitment to always strive for the highest" ("George").
As well as being a performing art, Color Guard, to most, is considered a sport ('Welcome'), and it is because of this fact that it opens an avenue for both males and females (Cork). �This activity demands total body use, involving muscle tone, timing, and simultaneous coordination of the head, arms, legs, and stature as well as poise and control� ("Welcome"). �This strong mental and physical training instills a more disciplined focus and a higher level of self-confidence.� It is all of these qualities that will transfer into better �study habits and scholastic efforts.� The members of this team are �consistently honor roll students, scholarship recipients, and honor graduates� ("George"). Color guard is a �team building experience�you have to work as a team, because it is a team effort.� In this activity �there are no individuals�unless a solo is being performed, and even at that point the soloist is still part of a whole� (Cork).
To enhance the unity of the Guard as a whole, dance is choreographed into the routines with the aid of props. Most of the dance used in color guard comes from Classical Ballet, Jazz Dance, and Modern Dance. However, when dance is used in Color Guard it takes on its own form. Dance allows the team �to layer movement with equipment.� For example, �you could toss and toss in the air, but underneath the toss put a turn, leap, or some sort of body isolation to create a different line, shape, but overall a different look� (Cork).
Though dancing is considered colorful, without the use of props the routine would not be quite as unique. The core prop used in Color Guard is the flag. A flag is basically a piece of material �cut and shaped into a design or blend of colors to enhance the visual program of a band. With a flag we have different sizes and shapes that�visual designers can choose amongst�. There are many different types of flags. One example is a swing flag. This flag simply has a weight at the end of the material so that one can just swing it. Another example would be the hand flag, which is a flag that is on a three to three and a half foot pole. This flag is used with just one hand to simplify yet enhance the visual effect. However, the flag that is used most often is a flag that is on a five and a half to six foot pole. The second most used props in color guard are weapons, which consist of rifles and sabers. Knowledge of the different types of weapons is unknown to the average person. The differences in each weapon, such as the rifle, portray an advancement of skill level (Cork). These weapons tend to give routines a type of military aura that enriches any routine with patriotism (Eubanks).
To enliven the use of these props the routines must be well choreographed. Choreography is a �combination of stamina, performing skills, dance, drama, and spinning a piece of equipment such as a rifle, flag, sabre, or some other kind of prop� (Cork). However, �color guard choreography goes beyond just a flag routine� (Cork). When a choreographer creates a routine for the show, he looks at �creating a vivid picture or an effect that is pleasing to the eye�. It helps him, while he is creating his artwork, to paint a colorful picture in his own mind (Cork). The choreographer is said to spend �numerous sleepless nights�dreaming and creating, hoping that their vision can be shared by many.� Hours are spent on every detail in the routine. The anticipation is that others will be intrigued, excited, and moved by the ideas that they have developed ("Welcome").
�Choreography for�color guard�is a complicated topic because it must deal with issues including safety, competitions, rules and regulations, themes, age appropriate material, precision, layout, formations, transitions, and more� ("Choreography"). It has to be �presented to members in a progressive" form that will fit their individual skill level; then as they �master those particular skills, the level of difficulty increases� ("George"). Color guard choreography �has many segments.� For example, the equipment can be used as a singular effect, or it can become more innovative by being used to explore different planes, whether it is two-dimensional or three-dimensional. You can even explore different levels, different shaping, different speeds within time, or use the piece of equipment to become an extension to the body (Cork). With the perfection of these skills a choreographer can make this a profession. Most choreographers charge around twenty-five to thirty dollars an hour, but this cost is flexible depending on the school at which they teach (Cork).
The second group, Winter Guard, is simply a Color Guard that goes deeper into the learning of moves, precision, timing, and working as a team. It goes a great deal further than what you see on the marching field. Winter Guard is an avenue just for people in the Color Guard, a way to expand their knowledge in this art without having to deal with the regular band kids. Winter Guard �allows the Color Guard members to truly combine together and achieve higher challenges, such as being the only performer on a gymnasium floor performing a three to six minute show to taped music� (Cork). For students participating in Winter Guard being able to interact with other students from other communities is a worth while experience� ("Welcome").
Although Winter Guard is just an extended version of Color Guard, there are differences between the two. The biggest difference is the fact that Winter Guard is performed in a gymnasium while Color Guard is performed outside in a football stadium. While that is the biggest difference, there are other more subtle differences between them. One of them is how Winter Guard takes a lot more time to perfect its routines than Color Guard does. The amount of time spent �perfecting a Winter Guard show goes far beyond the amount of time spent cleaning and defining a field show with the Color Guard� (Cork).
Winter Guards do the same thing in their show as the Color Guard, except the Winter Guard goes considerably further into it. Everyone in Winter Guard has to know how to dance well because it is essential to their entire show. Though Color Guard uses flags more than rifles and sabres, Winter Guard uses all of the props equally, having a flag line and a weapons line (Cork).
Choreography in Winter Guard also goes a little further. Here choreography is the "vehicle for a Winter Guard show and its success". The choreographer has to be able to choreograph a routine that will inspire the team to work and yet be complicated enough to show off their skills. The routines have to be harder and livelier than what you see on the football field because there is no worry about field positions or marching. Because of all these reasons it takes a great amount of skill and patience to create a routine that will meet the standards and skill levels of a Winter Guard team. (Cork).
Another example of a Winter Guard is the Ventura Winter Guard. To them Color Guard is "the culmination of many efforts. The performer, the designer, the educator, and the supporter all play an equal role in the process." Through Ventura Performing Arts the youth of the community develops "both self and group discipline, confidence, pride in their accomplishments and competitiveness that is essential in today's society" ("Ventura").
In finalizing the facts of all information gathered on this topic, it was interesting to see so many similarities and differences of this art. Color Guard has so many branches in its tree, so to speak. Just to think about drama, routines, timing, flags, weapons, dance, skill and so on, the members that perform this art must have more dedication and love for it than most sports or favorite activities. If these facts alone are not enough, the fact that there are two major types of Color Guards will enthrall the most dedicated participant. This means not only can one perform through the season of football, but also through the winter and spring by joining Winter Guard. Performances made to the best of these groups' ability will bring an abundance of applause from a crowd of onlookers and a thrill to the heart of the members performing. Routines that are specially made for certain music material are considered �Art in Motion� by fans of all ages.
