On Tuesday, March 26, the winter guards and percussion ensembles from Pleasanton and Dublin schools gathered at Foothill High School for an awe-inspiring showcase for family and friends called Night of Drums and Dance.
The free event was attended by parents and students from around the Tri-Valley area and featured performances from Amador Valley’s Junior Varsity and Varsity Winter Guard teams in addition to Varsity Percussion.
“It’s a time when your family can afford to come, whether it’s money or time. Competitions cost a lot of money to [attend], and you have to commute, too.” said Varsity Winter Guard member Andie Edwards (’26).
For some parents, this is the only time they see their kids perform.
“This is invaluable,” said parent Catherine Clark. “At the end of the workweek, [it’s] just getting them out the door for their Saturday event. I’ve got XYZ to do before the week starts, so it’s just ‘Have fun at your competition! Do you need more makeup?’ I’ll do the errands and hand wash all her clothing.”
Winter Guard
Amador’s first performance came at around 7:00, from JV Winter Guard. Decked out in pink uniforms, the JV team danced to the song “Flowers” by the musical artist In Love With a Ghost. with flags and rifles in an astounding performance. The team had been preparing this routine for months.
“We practiced around 15 hours every week, start[ing] a little bit before winter break, and during winter break too. It’s a lot of repetition.” said Edwards. “This [event] allows families to see what you’ve been working on, and why they’re sending their children to school for an extra fifteen hours.”
Preparing for events and competitions like this requires a massive amount of time and energy, necessitating that students maintain strong time management skills.
“I’m in Bollywood too, so it’s kind of hard, you just have to make time on the days, like Tuesdays and Thursdays, for all your other classes,” said Varsity Winter guard member Malvika Nagaraj (’26).
Amador’s Varsity Winter Guard came out for a spellbinding performance at 7:15, dressed in bedazzled white suits and performing impressively with rifles and flags. They danced to covers of the songs “Remember Me” from Coco, and “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story. Parents on the sidelines marveled at the team’s dedication to teamwork while setting up and taking down the stage.
“It’s almost more intense than marching band season. I have a son that was in the marching band, he graduated, but he says that Winter Guard puts in more.” said Clark.
Winter Percussion
Finally, percussion came out for an amazing performance for the ‘drums’ part of the event. Decked out in gladiator-esque uniforms, their performance featured drum solos juxtaposed with melodious xylophones.
“The show went really well. We spent over 3 months on this project and it is really hard technically and visually really appealing as well. We just had a lot of fun with it for the show, the crowd was really responsive and they were having fun with us too” said Winter Percussion marimba Olivia Cheng (‘24).
Both performances were spectacular, showcasing all the work the students have done over the past months. Now, both winter guard and winter percussion prepare for their respective championship performances.
“I’m really proud of the people working on the show with us and I think that we have done a really good job this season,” said Cheng.
