I've put together a few methods you can try out to see what works for you. I've tried all of these, and it just depends on the group as to which will work best.
1. Faces
Around 2004 I taught color guard at a Vivace Productions camp with Todd Marcocci and there were four girls from this school in Maryland who never competed, they only performed at halftimes for their football team. Yet...they were incredible! It baffled me why their band director didn't like competing, but nonetheless, their performance ability was so spot on that I started to take notice. One day into the four day camp, I realized they would say "faces" happily to each other to remind them to perform. They would use that one word to mean "use your face to tell the story" and "change your face so it's not static throughout the choreography."
I also recently read an article online about the Rockettes1 and they had some great tips that I've highlighted below:
- Relax your jaw and your tongue inside your mouth to give your face a relaxed look.
- Lift your eyebrows a little - like you would if you're having an interesting conversation with someone.
- Take in your surroundings with your eyes. Bonus! This will help with things like balance and spotting, too.
- Breathe in through your nose, and let your breath escape through your mouth, which will be slightly open due to your relaxed jaw.
- If you're having fun (and we hope you are! you're dancing!), let the shine in your eyes lift the corners of your mouth and smile.
2. Storyline
In 2006 at Act 1, our inaugural season, we had a show to the music of George Michael's Mother's Pride. The show was about sending off men and women to war. About halfway through the season, the director, Marcus Lewis, asked each of the 8 members (our team was TINY!) to write their character's story. They each took a week between rehearsals to think about their show, the movement they did, the interactions they had with other members, and they wrote their personal story for the show. The main dance soloist's story was about how her husband went off to war and didn't come back, and then her son was following in his footsteps.
I also found out Pride of Cincinnati did something similar in 2013 for their Weight of the World show. Each member wrote about something that weighed heavily on them. Then they listened to the show music and thought about what they wrote, letting go a balloon when they felt like it was appropriate. I could see how this would help someone actively think about what weighs them and how to portray it in the show, and it would also be cathartic to write it down and then let that balloon go symbolically.
3. Improv
Improv is by far the most effective technique to get performers out of their comfort zone, but it's also really scary for rookies (and sometimes vets)!! I tackle it two ways.
First, I have the staff and maybe 1-2 REALLY strong team members demonstrate the idea.
Second, I don't put on music and say "go." I give them parameters for the improv so that it's structured. For example, I may tell everyone to start on the ground and that they must stay on the ground. Then 8-16 counts later I call out the next direction; perhaps I tell them to show they're trying to get off the ground but they can't. Then I say work your way to standing. Once they're standing I tell them to move without actively using their arms. Then they can move one arm. You get the gist. This takes the big scary improv, and gives it to the members in manageable "I can do that" pieces.
4. Imagery for Each Move
When I write a section of movement for Stonewall Independent, I often make up short phrases to explain ehat they're portraying. For example, if I have the dancers reach towards the rifles, I may say "don't leave me" because if I don't, some of them may think they're supposed to be communicating "come hither" which is a very different look. Sometimes, however, I make up something more nonsensical. For expand le two years ago they had a ripple to start the show where they fluffed their dress and then turned to the back. We called it the fluff and fold!
5. Watch other Groups Perform
Often times people watch good groups only that are in the same style as your group (i.e., in color guard, watching Onyx). I would employ you to think outside the box on this one. Try looking at these types of groups and see what you can learn from everything:
References:
- Not so good color guards - what can you learn from these?
- Dance companies or dance teams - watch their formations
- Cheerleading competitions - check out the lifts
- Baton twirlers - figure out how they turn so well
- Parade performances - sometimes simple and clean is effective
I think the most important advice a coach can give a team attending a competition for the first time is that they should watch every single group. As they watch they should start to make mental notes about (a) what they enjoyed and why they enjoyed it, (b) what interesting new moves they saw that they could work on, and (c) what they saw that they did not like as much and how they could do it differently.
IMPORTANT: You have to follow the golden rule in color guard: NEVER talk negatively about any group or person while at a competition. Not in the audience. Not in the cafeteria. Not even in the bathroom. Assume someone from that group, or their mom, can hear you. Don't say, "I didn't like xyz color guard" but you could say "the style of that group wasn't really for me." Avoid saying anything that can be interpreted as "they are bad" but saying something that implies "it's me, not you" is okay.
If you like these posts, check out the Stonewall Rules that translate into the real world: Rules 1-5, and Rules 6-10.
If you like these posts, check out the Stonewall Rules that translate into the real world: Rules 1-5, and Rules 6-10.
References:
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