Twirling through the winter
With high hopes and even higher flags, the Diamond Bar High School varsity Winterguard will perform their showcase “Quodlibet #1, 5, 6, 4” on Feb. 25 at the Winterguard International (WGI) San Diego.
At first glance, the music accompanying the performance seems like a medley of popular songs with no correlation like “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and “Crawling” By Linkin Park. However, all the music in the show actually follows the popular 1564 chord progression: where the first, fifth, sixth and fourth notes of a scale are played.
“[Quodlibet] is an old term for ‘mashups,’” senior varsity captain Jana Ramos said. “It’s inspired by the 2020 varsity show ‘Pachelbel’ which was performed before COVID happened.”
The 2020-21 varsity Winterguard show was led by coach Rob Jett, but the team was unable to attend WGI World Championships due to the pandemic’s restrictions.
“It’s very different from last year because this is the first time we’ll be able to attend this special competition since COVID-19,” Ramos said.
With a fresh start to the new season, the varsity team’s rehearsal schedule is from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, an hour-long practice on Wednesday and Saturday rehearsals from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We rehearse to learn new choreography and review and practice what we already know. [The Colorguard] uses this time to learn new drills which is where we stand on the floor,” junior Alivia Marinofff said. “We have sectionals on Wednesday separate from our normal practice days because our captains run them.”
During rehearsals, the team practices their choreography and drill combined. The entire performance features flag solos and also highlights saber and rifle acts along with dance.
The solos and separated group dance routines underscore moments in the song.
“The most difficult parts of the show are definitely the tricks,” junior Violet Kieta said. “It’s one thing to throw a toss perfectly, and it’s quite another to do a trick at the same time.”
Due to the team’s promotion to a higher division, the varsity team’s main goal this season is to make it to the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio to compete for a finalist position.
“The ultimate goal is always to reach our full potential, and showcase our skills and technique as well as we possibly can,” Kieta said.
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