Why You Will Never Forget The First Independent World Guard You Ever Saw

 

I will never forget it. It's been over 25 years and I still remember the first time I ever saw my first Independent World Guard, except then they were Open Class and then, there were only a handful of independent programs around. I think for me that's why I will never forget it. There was a time when the choices for performers to march an independent guard weren't as vast as they are now. A region would have at best one and possibly two independent guards to watch and choose from. Travelling and moving was a necessity for many of us if you wanted to march in a good and established independent guard. There was a time, when you as a high school performer grew up in the activity falling in love with one guard, because they were the one guard in your circuit that was going to represent your community in Dayton. You dreamed of performing with them. You knew the performers names, you got their autographs, and you fell in love with them. For me, it was the Pride of Cincinnati. I will never forget the first time I saw them. It was an SCGC show. It was 1987. The show was about a fun house...and they were larger than life!

The story is the same whether it was 1977, 1987, or 2013. You are in a high school guard and your hardest skill is a quad with maybe an assemble on the catch. You are struggling to just roll on the ground while holding the sabre and get up without looking like you need a walker. They...are throwing that same quad, but rolling on the ground under it and standing up just in time to catch it, while doing a saute', assemble, and turn around on the catch (or at least that's what you think you saw). You move from set to set while holding your equipment in a static position. They move from set to set while manipulating the equipment under their legs and around their body; using points in space you never knew existed. They are older than you. They are more experienced.

They look like rock stars!

When I saw Pride for the first time, I was completely unprepared for the grandeur of it all. You see, I was doing a show about a dandelion. I was portraying the life cycle of the dandelion to be exact. I loved it, but didn't know there was life beyond seeds, bees, umbrellas, and pollination. The sophistication of their soundtrack, the costuming, "the hot guys" (yes I know now...) and the skill. They had so much skill! I couldn't take my eyes off the rifle line and all I could think was, "I'm hooked." Most of us see our first independent world team in a small gym at a circuit show. This makes them seem even greater, because you can get so close you can almost touch them.

In my first year of the activity, the Pride of Cincinnati hung the moon for me. There was no one like them...until Pensacola. In 1987, the Pensacola Regional was almost like a mini-nationals and I was there to see it. Pride, Odyssey, Millers, Sac...they were there. Nouveau, Thunderbolts, and Alliance. Heaven and Hell. Funhouse. Colors. Square Root. Circle, Cycle, Cycle, Circle. I was 17 and couldn't for the life of me grasp what I was witnessing, but knew that after Prelims, I would be front and center for finals. I remember watching Odyssey and in my 17 year old mind thinking, "What was that!" I asked my staff about a dozen times, "What does it mean?" I remember watching Nouveau and going outside trying to throw a rifle while making the square root sign under it. (I still can't do it) I remember when the gym came alive with colors and I remember Heaven and Hell. I was floored. I'm not sure I even took a breath for about 5 minutes when State Street  performed. The rifle line was spectacular. Their sabre line took my breath away. Their performance made you feel the heat of hell and the wonder of Heaven. When prelims was done and we were waiting for finals (my guard wasn't in finals as we were dandelions and you don't traditionally see a lot of flowers in finals at regionals), I walked around and watched warm up. I made a point to find State Street and Pride. I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve spying to try to get just one glimpse of Santa.

The intensity in their warm ups was palpable. I could feel the energy of an ensemble ready to destroy their competitor. I wanted to be them. From that night on, I knew I had to be a part of that much energy and that much passion.

During finals I sat on the front row with my best friend. The performers allowed me into their worlds of fun houses, colors, the brass ring, and Hell. State Street however, was the guard I fell in love with that night. They brought a world that I couldn't ever imagine to life and to this day I can still see them on the floor. I even got some of their autographs. One of those autographs was a person who eventually became a co-instructor, roommate, and close friend...Ron Comfort. I didn't know it then, but I was watching some of the activity greats that night. I can name someone in every one of those guards who went on to create some of the best shows of our time and people who eventually became some of my closest friends and mentors.

1987 was a great year for a teenager to start winterguard with and it was a great year for independent guards. Every guard had a personality and had a way to excite even the most inexperienced member of the activity. In 1987, we didn't have social media sharing sites such as YouTube. All we had was word of mouth, which made the anticipation of seeing the guards even greater. I remember my first year of winterguard like it was yesterday. I didn't have a clue what I was getting into and in my wildest dreams would have never imagined doing it past high school, much less a lifetime. I don't know why I have stayed in it for so long, but I do believe  it has something to do with those independent guards and the energy they gave me that night in Pensacola.

Because of the Pride of Cincinnati's, State Street Review's, and Miller's Blackhawk's of the world, I practiced a lot. I was going to be in one of those guards one day. I wanted to be a part of something that was the best in the world. THE BEST IN THE WORLD! Can you imagine that? When you watch an Independent World guard you are watching some of the best performers in the world spin a sabre, rifle, flag, ...while bringing a story to life...while dancing...while performing.

For anyone over the age of 40, we think of those days with a sense of nostalgia. One day though, every one of you will look at the Onyx's, Cypress Independents, Fantasia's, Braddock's, First Flight's, Sac's, and Zydeco's of the world with the same sense of awe I had with Pride and State Street. For some it was The Alliance of Miami or The Company. Some say it was San Jose and their "Good Morning Vietnam," show. For others it was Escapade with, "The End of the World,"  or Royal Guardsmen and that girl who caught a sabre on the the hilt out of a multiple turn around...bringing the house to their feet. (OMG What was that!!) If you were from Tennessee it might have been Chimeras or in Portland... it was Everybody with their "Peacocks." Maybe it was Pride and "Alcatraz." If you were from Florida it might have been Northeast Independent. What about Northern Light's and two very high sabre tosses being thrown perfectly in the air in the back corner of the floor? What about Emerald Marquis and a Celtic jig?

It doesn't matter what guard it is, because we all have one and we will never forget the first time we saw them.  Some of you just saw your first world guard this season and I will guarantee that you thought the same thing I did. "OMG...what was that?" "They are amazing!" "I could never do that!!" Even if you never perform after this season and even if you never see these guards again, I guarantee that you will never forget them.

I love pageantry. I love the people it has brought together, but mostly...I love the shows. I love Independent World Class and I love the passion they bring to the stage with their creativity, skill, and wonder. I adore watching a 14 year old freshman fall in love for the first time with the world guard of their generation and fantasizing of the possibilities and then getting on the bus, chatting incessantly about what they just saw.

We have a month to go. Which world guard will it be for you? Someone out there is the next great. Someone out there is marching only once, because they wanted to know what it was like to walk on the floor Saturday night to an arena full of thousands of people and be challenged beyond imagination. Every one of those performers in those world guards at one time was you and wondered if they would ever get their chance to bring the crowd to their feet. Most of them thought, "I could never do that."  Regardless of what they thought when they saw their first world guard, I guarantee all of them wanted that one chance to live how Federico Fellini described as, "spherically and in many directions," which is exactly what performing world class is all about.