Life Lessons from Color Guard

Color guard teaches members so much more than how to dance and spin. It even goes beyond increasing flexibility and strength. Many members and coaches talk about teaching life lessons, but what are they? Here are five life lessons that I've learned from color guard that can help you succeed at life:

Self-Confidence. Remember the first time you stepped into a color guard audition? You had no clue what you were doing, you didn't even know what you didn't know, but you learned. The more you learned, the more confidence you gained. You also had coaches and teammates who would not give up until you came out of your shell, because the show depends on your ability to perform confidently. Real Life Application: At school or work, push yourself to do something you’re a little afraid of, because you know you’re going to rock it. Audition for the solo in the school play. Volunteer to present your work in front of a room full of suits. Just think of being on stage right before the curtain goes up, and think: I can’t wait to show them what I’ve got.

Determination. No one was born knowing how to do a 45 toss caught behind the back. You got there by practicing. You tried … you didn’t get it. You tried again … you got closer. And finally, you got it. Real Life Application: Take your determination to reach your goals to school or work, too. Spend an extra hour with your textbook. Track down that study guide—even if it’s in the scary part of the library where no one goes. Stay late to put together the best proposal. When your project calls for extra hours and work, you’ve got the endurance to handle it.

Precision. Dancers think they're precise? Color guard people watch professional dance performances and critique how precise they are (at least I know I do). We CAN'T do sloppy. Think back to your perfectionist coach. Would he or she accept anything less than the perfection from every single member, every time? Nope, and neither should you when it comes to school work or work projects. Real Life Application: Proofread your paper—twice. Double-check your calculations on your lab report. And when your boss or teacher walks by your desk, she’ll smile a little because, it’s actually pretty organized.

Teamwork. You know the importance of a team that’s in sync, throughout an entire 5-10 minute show. If a fellow member is lagging behind, the whole team is affected, and so is the final product. Everyone helps everyone to make sure they look good out on the floor. Real Life Application: Speak up and do your part on group projects, and encourage others to shine, too. Try to make a team or group member look not-so-great, and you’ll all end up looking not-so-great. To succeed in school, work and dance: Rely on your group, and let them rely on you, too.

Talent. Even if spinning and dancing are your strongest talents (or even if it isn’t), don’t forget you have others, too. Think of that amazing feeling when you’re peforming… that feeling exists in other parts of your life, too! Real Life Application: Are you an awesome baker? Volunteer your best-ever brownies for the bake sale or a party at the office. Do you have an eagle eye? Offer to proofread a final document. Play to your talents and not only will you feel good, you’ll leave a great impression.

What other life skills have you learned?

Color Guard: Tips for Turning - Learning the Turn

After building strength, here are my top seven tips for learning a pirouette itself.

  Learning the Turn  

1. Practice by going onto releve and posse, without turning first. Prep count 8, up on count 1 in posse, hold for count 2, down on count 3. If you achieve that with a solid balance, hold counts 2 and 3, and come down on count 4. If you can balance in posse on releve, you'll be able to turn better.

2. Balance by engaging your entire standing leg all the way up into your hip/butt muscles and engage your core. If there is a weak or non-engaged muscle in the chain or alignment, it will be the weak link that makes your balance not as rock solid.

3. Do not twist your back. Shoulders and hips should stay in line. And make sure your shoulders and hips are both parallel to the ground both when you start, and during the turn. If not, it will cause you to go off center.

4. Launch your turn from a balanced, centered pile. Feel grounded before the turn and feel the energy that you need to push off the ground into the turn.

5. Withdrawl your working leg quickly and get it into posse right away. It will make the turn look cleaner.

6. Make sure your working leg is turned out and the toe is at the knee. Depending on the technique or school of thinking (or in guard, the choreography!), you could have your toe on the side, the front or the back. NEVER put your arch on your leg. Ick!

7. Practice the turns slowly! If you can turn a pirouette slowly, you can do them controlled quickly. You'll also be able to know which way you're leaning if you fall off balance and should be able to analyze your standing and working legs better.

Do you have any other tips for pirouettes?

Color Guard: Tips for Turning - Building Strength

At Stonewall Independent auditions, I taught pirouette turns and thought I'd share some of the tips we used to help everyone learn how to do them properly. In this blog I'll cover how to build muscle strength to prepare you for turns such as pirouettes. In a future blog, I'll cover some tips on the turns themselves.

  Strengthen Your Muscles  

1. Build Ankle Strength: Your ankle strength is key to avoiding that wobbly-ankle look when you releve or turn.

One exercise it to use a bar or the back of a chair, and standing up very straight on one leg (turned out), coupe the free leg. Slowly go into releve and back down 10 times. Then switch legs. Your ankles should feel tired. If not, try doing 15 or 20 in a row. Be sure you are maintaining control and engaging your core. You also need to ensure proper alignment to bring your weight over the middle of the ball of your foot - don't roll out or in or you'll actually start straining the tendons and ligaments around your ankle.

A second option is to scrunch a towel in your foot. Stand up, and put a towel on the ground. With your bare feet, grab the towel with your toes and lift it off the ground. Control the release back to the ground. Repeat 10 times, and then switch sides.

2. Build Calf Strength: When I was at Crown, I believe it was in 2000, the horn line had a marching exercise to build calf strength. They would backwards march a yard line (10 yards) in 8 counts and then stay on that yard line 8 counts, up in releve, while lifting one foot at time (so their body stayed at the same height but their ankle would bend so one foot would come off the floor, then they'd switch feet). As I explain this, I think I need to make a video!

Color Guard: 7 Dance Terms Explained (and demonstrated)

UPDATE 10/1/2014: Clarified what I mean by using tendu when you walk, and also clarified the difference between the classical ballet tour en l'air and the way we use the term in color guard (which is technically a chasse en tournant).

In color guard, we don't usually learn what the terms that we use mean, or even how to spell them! Here are a few basic terms we use all the time but may not know the meaning or explanation.

  Chassé (shah-say)  

Definition: to chase

Description: The concept is that one leg is chasing the other. The thighs should pull tight together, in fact the entirety of both legs should pull together. But guess what, you don't have to leave the ground for it to be called a chassé. See the "how to" video below to see what I mean.

How To: Here is a link to a ballerina demonstrating the chassé in the air, and here is another link with more of a "how to" video for chassé on the floor, and lastly a "how to" video for chassé in the air.

http://northlandschoolofdance.com/2012/11/c-is-for-chasse-dance-terminology-a-z/

  Passé (pah-say)  

Definition: to pass

Description: Passé is a movement in ballet in which the working leg passes the supporting leg, sliding close to the knee. Passé is sometimes confused with the ballet position retiré in which the toe of the working leg touches the knee of the supporting leg. However, in color guard, we use passé to mean retiré, so don't stress about which to call it.

How To: Check out this video to see how you can do a passé correctly

http://www.showcasedanceproductions.com/aboutus.htm

  Pilé (plee-ay)  

Definition: to fold or to bend

Description: This is an exercise to render the joints and muscles soft and pliable and the tendons flexible and elastic, and to develop a sense of balance.

How To: This is a link for a grand plié in first position (notice how her heels go to the ground as soon as they can as she rises), and a basic first position demi plié.

http://dicasdeballet.tumblr.com/post/32241865384/o-que-e-plie-en-dehor-e-passe

  Relevé (rehl-leh-vay)  

Definition: to rise or raised

Description: In a relevé, you rise to the demi-pointe or to the ball of your foot

How To: Here is a great, detailed explanation of relevé

http://www.evolutiondanceleander.com/not-about-dance-workshop/2014/3/15/elevate-ballet-intensive

  Sauté (soh-tay)  

Definition: to jump

Description: Typically, we think of a sauté as jumping with off one foot, landing on the same foot, with our free leg straight behind us. And yes, that is a sauté. However, any jump you do is really a sauté! Try varying the types of jumps by putting the free leg into coupe or pase

Factoid: Did you know it's the same word for when you sauté something in a frying pan? The food "jumps!" 

How To: Here is a sauté in first position (two feet), and here the last jump she does is a sauté as well

http://entertainmentguide.local.com/types-dance-leaps-10940.html

  Tendu (tahn-deu)  

Definition: tense, strained or tight (this is the literal french translation)

Description: This is something we do day-in-day-out in color guard. You can do an exercise with tendu's. When I teach jazz walks, I explain that you go through first position, and straightening/lengthening to a tendu before stepping. Another option for jazz walks goes through coupe which would not include a tendu.

How To: Here is Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg demonstrating a tendu

http://www.nanou.org/sports/ballet/leia/Standard%20positions%20gallery/pages/tendu-front.htm

  Tour en l'air (toor ahn lehr)  

Definition: A turn in the air

Description: In traditional classical ballet, the tor en l'air is a jump turn that men (typically) do where they start in fifth position, jump straight up in the air and turn 1 or more times, landing back in fifth position. In color guard, however, we sometimes use this term to mean a chassé turn, in which you essentially do a chassé while doing one full rotation, straight up in the air. Just like with a non-turning chassé, the thighs should pull tight together. Our use of this term in color guard is not technically correct, and yet, we still call it a tour en l'air or an "air tour." Just know we are using the term the way color guard means it, and not classical ballet. Technically, in ballet this would be called a chassé en tournant (sha-SAY ahn toor-NAHN) (thanks to the commenter who posted!)

How To: Seems I can't find a good video of a chassé en tournant! Maybe I'll just have to make one. Below is a graphical explanation of the classical ballet use of tour en l'air.

http://theclassicballet.blogspot.com/2010/12/tour-en-lair.html
Note: this is the true classical ballet version that goes straight up and down, and often has 2 or more rotations before landing. It is often a jump for the male dancers.

What other steps would you like to learn more about? I am thinking of a post all about fun unique jumps (e.g., the firebird, a calypso). What else would you like to see?





References:
1. http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_ballet
3. http://www.step-by-step-dance.com/ballettermspronunciationdefinitions.html
4. http://dance.about.com/od/ballet
5. http://ballethub.com/ballet-term/chasse-en-tournant/

Color Guard: How Can I Learn Faster?

Now that you've aced your auditions for winter guard, or soon will, your season starts with a lot of technique and new choreography. That means, after getting to that comfortable auto-pilot phase of performing at the end of last season, you now have to start learning to learn again.

Some people learn quicker than others and I wanted to give a few tips to those who may find themselves wanting to be more efficient learners.

  1. Think Big Picture First  

Everyone knows that one person on your team that always asks super detailed questions after the choreography teaches the first 8 counts. Don't be that girl or guy! You need to look at the big picture first before you start getting into the details.

First - Watch the general movements of the flag or weapon. For example, is it going up and over to the right or to the left, or is it making a cone up or a cone forward.

Second - Look at the hand positioning of each movement (don't worry about counts yet!)

Third - Look at the body underneath. This is a pet peeve of mine, considering I'm the movement instructor for any guard I work with! What do the feet do? Do they go into passé? Are you up on relevé? Does your leg rond de jambe around? What about your free hands?

Keep in mind, you don't need to get all the big picture components perfectly, but you do need to know what they are!

  2. Count or Talk as You Spin  

Most color guards I teach either count through most of their sections or talk through them (up, down, around, over the mountain, wiggle wiggle, whatever works!). It's usually something we make them do when they're not getting the choreography or spinning together, but I recommend that you use the technique when you're first learning the work. If you feel weird talking out loud, try doing it silently. If you start talking yourself through the choreography, you'll actually be using a larger portion of your brain and connecting more neurons so that you can start to put it into your long term memory rather than remember it for 2 seconds and then struggle to get through it once the instructor isn't in front of you anymore.

  3. Divide into Chunks  

Sometimes the instructors do this for you as they teach, but if not, make sure you do it for yourself. Divide the work into manageable, logical sections or "chunks." It may be every 16 counts makes sense, but maybe 8 counts is more manageable for you. Then practice each chunk separately. I like to do one chunk a few times, and then move on to the next chunk. Then I connect the two chunks together. Every time I do a chunk, I first think about what comes before it, and then as I finish the chunk, I think about what comes next. That will help your brain start to put the pieces together because your brain needs to understand the work before your muscles will start getting it right (for most people anyway.

  4. Don't Stop, But Go Slow  

After you've learned each of the chunks, try this one! One technique I found particularly useful when I was at Carolina Crown was to force myself not to stop as I went through the work. I had a habit of getting to a part and making a mistake, pausing, and then resuming the work. Or I would do a chunk, my brain would freeze, and then I'd do the next chunk. I realized I was trying to take the work up to the right tempo. I tried slowing myself down and forcing myself to do every count in time, to that slower tempo. I found that I could get my brain to go through the work and not let me stop spinning. Eventually then I could pick up the tempo little by little and was back up to speed, but without pausing!


Do you have a technique for learning faster that works for you?

Color Guard: The Audition Mindset

It's the time of year when winter guard auditions start occurring, and it's a great time to really grow as a performer. I've attended auditions for the specific purpose of getting better, because it's a time when instructors can really push you and try out new ideas without worrying about a specific show yet.

Last year, Byron Valentine (of Zydeco and Fred J. Miller fame) posted his thoughts about what you should think about going into auditions, and this year I wanted to put my thoughts on paper (virtually...so to speak!).

With Stonewall Independent auditions only a week away (September 21!), here are my top five tips to get yourself in the right mindset for any audition.

These are on top of the basics like (a) bring your own equipment in case it's needed, (b) wear form-fitting dark clothes (unless told otherwise, (c) have your hair neatly pulled back so you don't mess with it at all, (d) stay hydrated....etc.

  1. Fake it Till You Make it  

As I posted before, Stonewall's number one rule is "Fake it Till You Make it." Oftentimes, the instructor is looking for you to perform well, and just make things work. They know that you'll have a very short amount of time to figure out the choreography and they're not looking for perfection. They're looking for someone to perform it no matter how well (or how little) they know the choreography. To help yourself LEARN how to perform, check out my blog here.

  2. Crave Corrections  

My favorite auditioners are those who come to us and ask "what else can I fix?" or "how can I do xyz move?" Better yet, we love it when auditioners use each other to figure out what they are doing wrong! It warms my heart when someone goes up to a vet and asks them to watch them do the work and then ASK for the feedback. If you go into the conversation requesting the feedback, your more willing to hear what someone has to say. However, if you get a correction without asking for it, just say "okay" or "thank you" (love the Broad Run HS girls that say thank you!). Then, try your darndest to figure out how to fix it! Just like on the judges sheets, recovery is important. If you can take that correction and do something with it, the staff will notice you. More importantly, they will be excited to work with you throughout the season.

  3. Embrace a Beginners Mindset  

"In a beginners mind, there are many possibilities. In an expert's mind, there are few." ~Shunryu Suzuki

When you enter the audition space, remind yourself of this quote. Anything is possible if you recognize that within this audition, you are a beginner. That's not a bad thing. You just don't know exactly what it is the instructors will give you in terms of choreography. You may not know the instructors or veterans yet. Even the veterans are entering a space where they are learning. They won't be given choreography they've seen before, just like the rookies! If you embrace that fact, it will both allow you to have confidence and the openness to absorb everything you can.

  4. Don't be Married to "Your" Technique  

Students who audition for a new guard sometimes don't realize that every instructor or team has their own version of technique on everything. If you take the opportunity to be in a beginner's mindset, you will also open yourself to new technique as well. This new guard may toss differently. They may hold their arms in second differently (like we do...we use Horton modern technique for this arm position, which isn't typical in color guard). They may do a lot of body wraps (again...we do this!) and you may not be used to that. Even as a vet, you can use the opportunity to FIX your technique. Assume there may be a bad habit that you have. Use the auditions to fix those technique habits because it's a time to learn, not to be perfect.

  5. Try Something New  

As I've mentioned, auditions are a time for instructors to try out some new things. At Stonewall Independent, we often try some crazy tosses, just to see what happens. It's important for those auditioning to try something new even if it's scary or different. That doesn't just apply to a single piece of choreography, but maybe there's a weapons audition and you've never spun weapon. If you're interested, tell the instructor on the side that you haven't spun before but you'd really like to give it a shot. That way they know you're knew at this AND you get a chance to try something fun and different! Maybe you don't make the weapon line, but the instructors will see that you're willing to try new things. Plus, there's value in spinning a different piece of equipment and learning bits and pieces that you can take and apply elsewhere. For example, in high school I learned how to catch solid on rifle, and that improved my solid catching on flag!


What other recommendations or thoughts do you have for those who are auditioning this month?

Color Guard: How a Being a Mom is like Being in Drum Corps

In the summer's of 1999 and 2000 (my age out), I was a proud member of the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps Color Guard. There were many details that were less than fun, and yet I never wanted to go home, and I marched two seasons (so clearly I liked it!).

Flash forward 14 years (eeeek!)....and now I am married and have a 7 month old daughter.

I was thinking about my time in drum corps, and realized "man, there are a lot of similarities to my life right now." As I went through a few band camp rehearsals, while simultaneously watching my daughter learn to crawl, I started taking note of specific similarities.

  Sleep:  

• You start to sleep in random places (like the couch, the nursery floor)
• You sleep whenever you can, like today, when I napped during her morning nap

  Eat:  

• You eat whatever's available, sometimes it's whatever's leftover or fast
• You have to stay hydrated (specifically if you're a mom who's nursing your little one)

  Schedule:  

• Your schedule is not your own, even though you planned to go to the grocery store at 10 AM, she may need a nap then unexpectedly
• You have sectionals (you and your little one), and ensemble (you, your little one, and your significant other), and each has their own purpose

  Injuries:  

• You're likely to have aches and pains

  Other Areas:  

• Repetition is the norm - what infant or toddler doesn't like doing the same thing over and over and over and over
• You have to think on your feet to answer questions or find a new way to solve an issue (dirty diaper during a road trip... too hard to stop and find a bathroom with a changing table...so you improvise!)
• You sing random songs (at least when I was in drum corps, we did..."we're here, because we're here, because we're here, because we're here....")
• You never want to mess up, but it's bound to happen

The most interesting similarity for me....I sing "You are My Sunshine" all the time!!!!!! Crown folks will understand!

What other similarities can you think of?

Color Guard: Teaching Jazz Runs to Marching Band

This past week I had to teach the band members (winds and percussion) how to jazz run because one of their drill moves requires them to move quickly and cover a large distance. It got me thinking about how I was able, in only 30 minutes, to get them all looking infinitely better than when we started...and I wasn't the first one to try to teach them this season!

Here are the elements of what I taught:

• Start with the left foot back, so that you step with that foot first
• Take one step all together first, and explain that you have to take a very large step and push off the back leg
• Then explain that you have to stay in plie (which we explained meant "fold" because you're folding your legs...and oddly enough they already knew what a plie was!)
• Then we sprinkled the guard members throughout the band so they could watch around them
• I had them add in their arms at their attention position (similar to below, but our band actually touches finger tips together instead of the traditional fist, because it requires even more stability)

• We gave them the rule that when they get across the stage, they must turn around and watch the people behind them (i.e., the rule isn't that they don't talk, but no talking is a result of them watching)
• Then we repeated multiple times with each line leading off every 8 counts, so they get the hang of it; each time I gave them ONE thing to think about and told them to make ONE thing better (See my post about Rule #7: Make One Thing Better)
• Then, because there were just THAT many corrections I needed to give, I had one line go at a time, all the way across; I gave them corrections and then had the next line go
• We then showed the band director a few times and he was impressed by their improvement!

Have you taught jazz runs to your marching band before? How'd you go about doing it?

Color Guard: 5 Methods to Teach Performance Qualities

One of the most difficult tasks for instructors of newer guards is to draw out performance qualities and get them to really convey the show to the audience and judges. I am teaching Broad Run High School tomorrow morning and started to think how I would help them learn how to perform.

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:

1. Relax your jaw and your tongue inside your mouth to give your face a relaxed look.
2. Lift your eyebrows a little - like you would if you're having an interesting conversation with someone.
3. Take in your surroundings with your eyes. Bonus! This will help with things like balance and spotting, too.
4. Breathe in through your nose, and let your breath escape through your mouth, which will be slightly open due to your relaxed jaw.
5. 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:

• 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.

References:

1. http://www.rockettes.com/dance/facial-expressions.html

My Week Ahead - Aug 3, 2014

In my second installment of my week ahead, Monday won't have the blahs because my week is exciting!

1. Dance: This week I get to take our little daughter to her first dance performance! We're seeing Taylor 2 and I'm hoping that even though she's only 6 months old, she'll love dance as much as I did from an early age.

2. Teaching: Saturday I get to teach Broad Run HS's Color Guard for the first time in quite a while! I have a three hour dance block in which we'll warm up, stretch, do some technique block, cover some basic and fun across the floors, and then learn a combo! Now I just need to figure out which song to use for the combo. Any suggestions? The front runner at the moment is Peace by OAR.

3. 4-H Fair: The annual Frying Pan Farm Park 4-H Fair ends Aug 3 and we're hoping to bring our little one to see the animals!

4. Coffee: Two days a week I'm a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) and one of those days this week I'm meeting up with a friend so she can take a quick coffee break at work! I can't wait to catch up, and for her to see how much our little girl has changed since she last saw her about a month ago.

5. Leadership Coaching: This week at work I'm listening in to a webinar focusing on mindfulness within leadership and coaching. I'm loving coaching, and I'm someone who constantly wants to learn so webinar's like this excite me! Maybe I'll report back after the session to share what I learned.

Color Guard: Rules at Stonewall (#6-10)

A few days back, I posted the first five rules of Stonewall color guards, and how they apply to the real world. Here is the next installment: Rules #6-10.

  #6 Do What You Can Do, to the Best of Your Ability  

At Stonewall, we push the team members to consciously understanding what they're good at and encourage them to do whatever it is to the best of their ability every single time. There will always be things you're not great at (maybe it's a specific toss, or a turn, or a drill move), but there will always be things you're great at. Exploit that! Then start to work on the things you're not so good at, one at a time (see Rule #7).

Real World Application: Often times people focus on improving what they're not good at. Think about at school, it's the classes that you don't do well in that you often focus on, and if you pay attention closely, you'll notice it's likely at the detriment of what you're really good at! Gallup - a consulting firm best known for it's polling capability - talks about exploiting your natural talents, and then do your best to make your weakest areas acceptable.  For some more insight, check out Gallup's website, and how they distinguish between a talent and a strength here. At work, if you are known for something, people will know to call upon you for that subject matter expertise, and it becomes part of your personal brand. For example, at work I'm known for my expertise in Federal Recruiting, even though I also know how to do Competency Modeling, Workforce Planning, Leadership Development, and leadership Coaching. People know that if they need expertise in Federal Recruiting, they call me first, but they also know I'm capable of doing other things as well.

  #7 Make One Thing Better Each Time  

Particularly during auditions, at spin clinics, or when learning new work, we tell the members to make one thing better each time. Sometimes if they think about the work as a whole, they get overwhelmed and they try to get everything right every time...and as a result, don't get anything right and worse yet, get anxious and frustrated. Instead, if you don't worry about everything, and focus in on one thing to improve, you're more likely to actually improve that one item. Think of it as a small win! If you add up all the small improvements you make, by the end of running through the choreography ten times, you'll have fixed ten things!

This advice is also something choreographers, coaches and instructors should remember. Don't expect one of the members to fix everything you're asking them to fix in one try. Give them corrections at the same rate that they can actually apply those corrections. For example, if you're teaching a movement section, first fix the steps or their feet. Let them get that right, and then work to correct their arms. Once that's corrected, then give them more information about where their head should be facing. You get the idea.

Real World Application: No one is perfect, and yes, you should knock it out of the park in the talent area you have (See Rule #6), but that doesn't mean you should ignore your weaknesses - or as we like to say at my company "opportunities for improvement." But sometimes when you try to improve in multiple areas at once it's overwhelming and you're less likely to make noticeable improvement. Take, for example, my job. I need to know multiple functional areas of human capital (like I mentioned above), I need to know the contracting process, I need to know financials (finance I know, our method of finance tracking I do not know). I have to be good at people management, and I could go on. Each of those categories has multiple areas that I need to learn, too! If I try to become good at all of that, I won't be able to improve a noticeable amount in any area. However, if I choose a couple areas to focus on at a time, I'll get noticed for my improvements. For example, this year I'm working less on learning new functional areas within human capital, but rather am continuing to develop my project and people management skills. I love both areas, but am finally getting the opportunity to build on what I know and manage a team and a project. By the end of this project, my boss will know I can manage people and projects, and I can start expanding my financial knowledge next!

  #8 Finish Strong  

Color guard is a judged activity. Human nature is to remember your first impression and your last impression. Every performance will have mistakes - be them minor or major - but the judge and the audience will remember how you end. Choreographers and show designers keep this in mind when they create the show. We want to have an opening that sets the stage for what the judges and audience should expect. And most importantly, we need an ending that leaves an impression with them so they remember your team. Here's an amazing moment from SI in 2013, captured by Jolesch during their finals run at WGI World Championships, where they went on to win the silver medal in Independent A (IA) class.

2013 Stonewall Independent WGI IA Silver Medalists
The Ending
(c) Jolesch Photography

Real World Application: Let's say you're on a project for 6 months, and a couple moths in, the client or your boss is less than thrilled with your progress, your team is showing up late or missing meetings, and you have a new requirement you somehow need to adjust for! Life happens. It's what you do next that matters. Your job is to produce a high quality end product. If you can do that , your client/boss will remember the end result, and may even recognize how you overcame difficult obstacles. No matter how a task or project appears to be going in the present, there's almost always time to finish strong!

  #9 Just Breathe  

Often times in color guard or other performing activities, coaches remind the performers to "just breathe." We often use this at Stonewall when we're warming up before a show and someone is trying too hard to get a toss and is messing it up over and over. I remind them to take a deep breath and it helps them recenter, and remember that there's no need to stress. I would say 9 times out of 10, just a few deep breaths are enough to recenter the students I work with, and remind them that they're supposed to LOVE performing, not stress about it. The other 1 time out of 10, I just have to try something else.

Real World Application: Breathing is the body's natural way to de-stress regularly. There's even research that shows that how you breathe can cause your brain to get out of the stress mode, it can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, spark brain growth, and can even change gene expression (check out this article on NPR or this one on Forbes)! Imagine you're at work, you just found out your client/boss hates what you're working on and you have to redo it tonight because it's due tomorrow. So you stop, and take a few really deep breaths. You automatically can refocus and stop panicking, so that you can stop wasting time worrying and move into action to get the job done.

  #10 Don't be Married to Anything (aka expect change)  

At Stonewall, we constantly tweak every single count of the show. We have about 7-8 months to work on a four minute show, rehearsing about 15-20 hours a week....on four minutes of a show! That's a lot of repetition. Many color guards have portions of their show that don't change and they practice by repetition over and over. At Stonewall, we run rehearsals a bit differently. We do far fewer repetitions, and instead spend time in rehearsals tweaking parts until they make the most sense. We expect the members to pick up the changes quickly, and just get them right, even if we only get to practice it a few times. As a result, our show changes every single week, and not in the sense that we add to the show. No, we fundamentally change a couple sections, and then minority change nearly every single section of work (adding lower body, adding free hands, turning some people around to face backwards, adjusting choreography, switching entire drill spots).

We don't EVER set anything in stone, until the last week (and even then, we make changes!). The students we teach understand that change will happen, and they know we always have the best interest of the show and group in mind. It's never personal when we make changes (okay, ALMOST never personal). As a result, they've all learned to adapt to change incredibly well! It is not innate in everyone to be adaptable like that; you have to practice it so that you can change quickly, when needed.

Real World Application: When I hear about employees or staff who are unhappy at work, it's often because there is a major change occurring (or they perceive the change to be major). However, my assumption is always that change will occur. I can decide to go with the change or find another job, but there's no use in stressing over the change. If you start to embrace change as a necessary occurrence for business to align to the market, then you won't see change as a bad thing, or a personal attack on you. Imagine if you just go with the flow, and start to find ways to make the change work, you'll be seen as someone who is a problem solver, instead of a problem identifier. And your stress level will go down 10000%!!


There are probably 20 more rules at Stonewall that apply in the real world, so there may be yet another post. We shall see! What rules do you have in your performing group that may translate to the real world?

Color Guard: Real World Application of the Rules According to Stonewall Independent (First 5 Rules)

I coach Stonewall Independent color guards (all three of them!) and we have some basic rules that we often talk about in rehearsals. They apply in a lot of scenarios beyond the color guard (or dance) world! After each Stonewall Rule, you'll see how it applies out in the real world.

(Update: see here for Rules #6-10)

  Rule #1: Fake It Till You Make It  

This is always the first rule that we share with any new members, or when we teach our annual summer spin clinic. If you don't know what you're doing, just look like you do! We would rather see you mess up fabulously large and confidently, than look meek and scared when attempting something new.

Real World Application: In my company, you're seen as a subject matter expert (SME) after doing something one time. That means, even though you may not really know what you're doing, you'd better act like you do, and do the best you possibly can to help the client by relying on what you do already know and asking questions when you don't know. In general, your presence will say a lot about you. Act likely you know what you're doing but be humble enough to ask questions when you don't.

  Rule #2: No Excuses, Ever!  

If you get a correction, just say "okay." We don't necessarily care if you were late on count 7 because you had a sail, or because you had an itch on your nose, or because Sally in front of you was late. Just be right on count 7 next time. Now, if you have a question about how to get to count 7, that's fine, but just ask, don't make excuses!

Real World Application: When you go into the workforce, your boss doesn't want you to give him or her a lot of excuses as to why you didn't get something done. If there was an obstacle or barrier, speak up and approach your boss to bring the challenge to them, but come to the table with a solution. Don't be known for complaining about your work. No one needs a negative Nancy on their team.

  Rule #3: If You are sick or injured, See Rules #1 & #2  

If you are sick or injured, unless you physically cannot practice or perform (as in you can't stop throwing up, or your dizzy which is just dangerous to spin), you should come to EVERY rehearsal. If you can, practice and learn everything as it's being taught and just follow Rule #1 - "fake it till you make it." If you can't, sit and watch it being taught. If you REALLY can't be at a rehearsal because of illness or injury, make sure you learn every single count, drill move, and detail before the next rehearsal and follow rule #2 - no excuses, ever. For example, here's Drum Corps International (DCI) performer from Blue Stars 2008 - Dan Federspill - who broke his nose in the middle of a show at DCI Atlanta, and kept performing!!

Dan Federspill - Blue Stars 2008 - DCI Atlanta Regional

Real World Application: This one's obvious. Don't cry wolf! Don't use sickness or injury as an excuse unless it really is one. If you are sick or injured, work around it however you can, because you're likely more capable than you think you are. If you can telework, do it. If you need an accommodation to get your work done, politely ask for it.

  Rule #4: Pointing Your Feet Makes Everything Look Prettier  

In dance and color guard, adding just a little bit extra finish on the end of your feet can increase the level of perfection just a bit more and give a better lasting impression to the judges. You want to remove the small distractions like a not-perfectly-pointed-foot so that they focus on the bigger picture of what's going on on the floor!

Real World Application: This is similar to saying "dot your i's and cross your t's." In other words, put the finishing touches on everything and it will stand out. Too often in the business world there are a lot of grammatical or spelling errors, or formatting isn't on par. If you take the time for those small details, your will prevent the audience from looking at those tiny details and get them to focus on the content of what you're saying/presenting.

  Rule #5: If You Don't Know the Free Hand, Make it a Pageant Arm  

At Stonewall, many of our free hands are a pageant arm, hand behind the head, or hand behind the back. So, if you don't know where the free hand is, assume it's one of those (and for us, it's usually pageant arm!). See below for a demonstration:

Emily - Sporting the "Behind the Back" Free Hand (Stonewall Independent, 2013 IA Silver Medalists)
(c) Jolesch Photography

Devon - Sporting the "Hand Behind the Head" Free Hand (Stonewall Independent 2, 2014 IA Semi-Finalists)
(c) Jolesch Photography

Kenny - Sporting the "Pageant Arm" Free Hand (Stonewall Guard Staff)

Real World Application: Oftentimes at work when you have a question, you can deduce the answer based on what you already know. Don't ask questions if you are likely to know the answer to them. First analyze what you know. Then determine if you know the answer and/or look around you to find the answer for yourself. THEN if you still aren't sure, you can bring it up to your boss. 


What rules does your team or group have that could apply to the real world?