By Susie Harloff – Thursday, June 30, 2022
The color guard track at the 2022 Music For All Summer Symposium has been going strong all week. The students have been learning a lot, physically and mentally working hard, and growing as leaders and performers daily.
But have you ever wondered what a day for our color guard students is like?
Each day starts with movement. Physically warming up and building stamina are important to make sure their bodies stay strong and healthy during the week. Once they wake up their hearts and minds, they are ready for dance class.
Dance class takes the students through dance basics, across the floors, and choreography phrases. Faculty are able to give much care and attention to each student during small group rehearsal time.
Before lunch, students spend time working on equipment technique in their ‘main team.’ These small groups are based on the students’ ability levels and experience. Students are able to choose between focusing on flag or weapon throughout the week.
After lunch, it’s leadership time. Each day, our campers work with the leadership team to develop skills they need to motivate themselves and those around them when they get back to their own programs at home.
Electives are up next, which is a favorite with the students. They are able to choose their own camp adventure by selecting between a variety of classes. From discussions about being an effective captain, to lyrical dance combinations, to crazy flag tosses, there is an elective for everyone.
Students then return to their main teams for an afternoon of learning choreography that will be used in their performance at the end of camp. Staging, dancing, spinning, and performing are all refined during this time.
Before the day is done, the whole camp grabs their flag for one, big, fabulous ensemble flag block. Flag technique and show choreography are worked on during this time.
As you can imagine, after this very full day, our campers are excited to eat dinner, put up their color guard equipment, slip on some sandals, and enjoy an evening concert before heading to bed.
Susie Harloff is the Division Head for Color Guard at the Music for All Summer Symposium.
