The Color Guard team hosted their spring workshops from May 9, 2025 to Friday May 23, 2025. These workshops introduced newcomers to this new style of dance and allowed team bonding experiences.
Honing New Skills
“Sometimes you’re gonna look at people and they’re doing crazy things. Do not compare yourself to them. They’ve probably either been doing it for years or practiced like seven hours a day, like a full time job. don’t get discouraged because you see someone do, don’t force yourself to do something just because other people expect you to,” said Senior Captain Ace Yu (26’).
These two hour workshops serve as a blueprint for students to see what skills they can improve on during the summer before practices get into full swing. In addition to the skill benefit, the workshops provided students with an opportunity to get to know their teammates better.
“ I think interacting with everyone and learning new things was pretty fun. I don’t know about how the newbies felt, because it might have been a little overwhelming. But I think for returning members, it was chill,” said Color Guard member Chelsea Ha (28’).
Cooperation and Coordination
Color guard is a team sport that relies on how well you can communicate with your team which improves the synchronization and overall cleanliness of the production. As a result, the friendships made between teammates are often tight since they spend more than nine hours a week in practices and travel to competitions together forming a close knit bond.
“My friend group is like 50% band. I mean, it definitely is a time sink, but it’s an enjoyable time sink,” said Yu.
While newer trainees who haven’t yet experienced that synchronization, can make that confidence break easily. Although, it can also be a powerful way to build dependence as it can challenge individuals to perform and master complex routines.
“ I found it a bit challenging at first, especially with the J tosses and all the spins. But as the hours went on, I found it getting a bit easier. My confidence kind of built up after that,” said new member Shruti Konka (28’).
Overall, the color guard spring workshops provided students with a sneak peak at what the color guard experience looks like leaving students looking forward to the upcoming season.
