Olympia Winter Guard's show has a celestial spin

Olympia High School's Winter Guard competes March 19 at the WGI Competition.

By Jennifer Nesslar
| 4:42 p.m. March 16, 2016

Arts + Entertainment
Arts + Culture

SOUTHWEST ORANGE Eerie music plays as the 13 members of the Olympia High School Winter Guard come out in black socks that cover their bodies from head to toe.

But once the lyrics start, the guard emerges to reveal their costumes — aliens.

Senior Riko Sagara has been on the guard all four years at Olympia, but the “Xtra Terrestrial” show is her favorite.

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“It’s creepy with sass and attitude,” said. “I feel like I can relate to this show the most, honestly. These type of things interest me in general. I’m the type of person (who) likes murder mysteries and all those creepy kind of things.”

The show mixes Katy Perry’s “E.T.” with the X-Files theme song, mixing attitude with an out-of-this-world feel. The familiarity of the music has related to viewers, Sagara said. Because it’s not a typical Winter Guard show, it stands out.

“It’s a different style of show than most in our division,” said director Zachary Morgan. “It’s more upbeat, it’s more kind of in-your-face and playful. It’s not the stereotypical ‘pretty’ that tends to override this class.”

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The flashiness of the show doesn’t taper off after the beginning. The show concludes with a flag feature, where all the members of the guard begin spinning flags close together, adding to the performance value of the show, according to sophomore Diamond Bennett.

“That’s like the final statement of our show,” Bennett said.

COMPETITIVE SPIRIT

Color guard is a well-known component to marching band season, which takes place during the fall. But Winter Guard is a lesser-known activity that nonetheless requires dedication from its members during the winter season.

At a Winter Guard competition, performers take the floor independent of the other pieces of a marching band. Like a marching band show, the show has well-planned choreography and a unique theme with costumes and a custom floor tarp.

SabreWhen spinning a sabre, it’s important to release the weapon on the left side of your body and to catch the sabre on the tape.

On March 19, the guard competes in the Winter Guard International Southeastern Color Guard Championship at the CFE Arena. The competition will bring together schools from across the Southeastern region, some that the guard has not competed against yet.

“I want to see the guards that are in classes above us,” said junior Imani Somner, who is in her first year. “We’re in a really good class, but the classes above us have really awesome shows, and they have really good performance, so that’s always fun to see. It is really nice seeing people when they stick their catches; it’s really cool because then you feel taken aback because all their hard work paid off and you know they feel good.”

Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].