Bluecoats Indoor Brings Sonic Dimension to Performances
Formed in 1966, the Canton, Ohio American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps partnered with the Police Boys Club to start up a new unit. The name “Bluecoats” was born in tribute to the police department’s retired officers as a nod to the designation as a program of the Police Boys Club. Since those humble beginnings, […]
WGIcon 2019 Recap
WGIcon will return in 2021! On Friday, September 6, and Saturday, September 7, 2019, WGI launched the first-ever WGIcon in New Orleans! WGIcon is an educational event for all instructors, designers, technicians, and administrators of Percussion, Winds, and Color Guard groups around the globe. Featuring multiple motivational speakers and a Cirque Du Soleil® workshop, we heard […]
WGI Announces Inaugural Costa Rica Event
WGI Sport of the Arts, the world’s leader in producing indoor marching arts events for color guard, percussion ensembles, and winds groups, today announced the first-ever WGI event in Central America. WGI Costa Rica will take place on Sunday, September 30, at the Olympic Village Desamparados in San Jose, Costa Rica in cooperation with Marching […]
Visual Performers in Percussion Ensembles: Etiwanda HS
By Trudy Horsting Are you a percussion director who has been considering using visual performers in your next program? In this follow-up to the visual performers feature with Evidence from William Carey University, Director of Etiwanda HS Percussion (SW) Bryan Nungaray shares with us his perspective on how these individuals can be incorporated in a […]
Decade of competition leads to OC Indoor revival
By Kathryn Hardison They say change is a good thing, and that may be true, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. OC Indoor faced hardships this year that pushed the performers to work harder than they ever had before. For this Portland, Oregon-based group, change came just in time for its 10th anniversary of […]
Visual Performers in Winds Ensembles: Evidence from William Carey University
By Trudy Horsting Are you a winds director who has been considering using visual performers in your next program? Director of Evidence from William Carey University (WIA), Jeremy Morgan, spoke with us to help shed some insight on the process. He has had extreme success utilizing visual performers, presenting a spectacular production in 2019. Here, […]
The Standard Definition: Marching Arts
By Caroline Meister According to dicitionary.com, an athlete is a person trained or gifted in exercises involving physical agility and an artist is someone who produces works in any of the arts. When I searched marching arts in the search bar, nothing appeared. There’s no standard definition for the marching arts. That led me to […]
WGI in Latin America
By Jenny Lyons On May 11, 2019, one month after the final scraps of glittering confetti had been swept up from the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, a new chapter of WGI history was being written 3,504 miles away in the BN Arena in San Jose, Costa Rica. Outside, the balmy 85 degree heat hung […]
Recap of 2018 World Championships
We had an awesome 2018 WGI World Championships! With a record number of competing units, it was an exciting couple of weeks in Dayton. Take a look at the Finals recaps below to get a peek at what you missed. Color Guard World Championships Finals Scholastic A Independent A Scholastic Open Independent Open Scholastic World […]
Becoming “PHRĒ”
By Joselyne Grace A traditional percussion ensemble uses drum harnesses to move around the floor with their equipment. However, it can be quite demanding and restraining to carry a heavy drum with you while you perform. Then came Dark Sky Percussion’s 2019 program: “PHRĒ.” what is “PHRĒ”? “PHRĒ” takes the audience on the journey of […]
Moving with Mama Mia
By Michael Reed On the same floor where guards performed and confetti cannons shot off after the World Class Finale hours before, approximately 500 eager students got up to attend a Master Class with world-renowned choreographer Mia Michaels. After three days of performances and a late night, it would be easy to excuse the young […]
Bellbrook Dads Build Bridges to Support World Guard
By Adam Adkins Being a color guard dad is a year-round job. Even more-so if you’re like Brett Woeste. Brett is effectively in charge of building the props for Bellbrook HS World Guard, a process that begins months before the kids even take the floor for the first rehearsal. For the guard’s 2019 show, “The […]
WGI Signs Events in Asia
WGI Sport of the Arts, the world’s leader in producing indoor marching events, today announced a strategic partnership with the Asian Marching Band Confederation. A ceremony signifying the relationship took place at the University of Dayton Arena during the WGI Percussion and Winds World Championships happening this weekend. Also known as “the Marching Arts Power […]
Coronado: San Diego’s Newest Color Guard
By Mai Tran In the northwestern corner of San Diego, California, an 11-member guard rehearses on the blacktops of University City High School, braving wind and sun despite the “indoor” season. Instrumentals from the musical Bridges of Madison County play in the background, as director Greg Humphrey watches, scrutinizing choreography and technique. The inception of […]
Finals Recap of Color Guard World Championships
We had an awesome 2018 Color Guard World Championships! Take a look at the Finals recaps below for each class. Independent World Paramount (1st – 97.000) brought a unique performance to life. The floor was shades of nude which matched their unique uniforms. With resistance stretch bands incorporated into their uniforms, they beautifully utilized them […]
A Balancing Act: Academics & The Marching Arts
By Caroline Meister College students are notorious for living in a constant state of exhaustion and stress. They run from classes, to work, and to extracurriculars with barely any time to breathe in between. As a result, they perfect a necessary balancing act between their various responsibilities. Let’s raise the stakes. Not only are you […]
A New Type of Revolution: WGI Winds
By Caroline Meister The year is 2015. Winter Guard International has just announced a new category of competition, Winds. Fast-forward three years later – the year is 2018. The program has rapidly grown. With 48 Winds ensembles registered for World Championships and 65 groups competing nationwide, my curiosity was peaked. I wanted to know more […]
Norwin HS World Guard Reaches New Heights
By Adam Adkins Earlier in the 2019 season, WGI writer Adam Adkins had the opportunity to chat with Norwin World Guard Director Heather Shrump about Norwin’s unique show—”Out of My Mind”—one which incorporated live vocals from American Idol contestant Aubrey Burchell. With the culmination of Color Guard World Championships in April, Adam caught back up […]
WGI Welcomes Mia Michaels for “Day After” Class
The WGI World Championships is excited to welcome back world-renowned choreographer and three-time Outstanding Choreography Emmy winner, Mia Michaels. Michaels recently confirmed she will conduct a “Mia Michaels Live” session for the “WGI Day After Educational Series”. This dance master class and motivational session will be held for up to 500 participants beginning at 10am […]
Here’s To Ten: GMU Indoor Percussion
By Caroline Meister Fairfax, Virginia, is 45 minutes away from America’s bustling capital and home to George Mason University. Despite this hub of creativity, there were no independent percussion groups in Fairfax or in Virginia until 2009. This was the year that Chris Martin and Dr. Michael Nickens created George Mason University Indoor Percussion in […]