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The One About WGI 2025 Colorguard Championships
188 Plays10 days ago
🔥 This week on On A Water Break, we’re LIVE from the 2025 WGI World Championships floor with your recap dream team: Ricardo, Trish, Whitney, Dylan Watson, and Bryan Ayala!
💬 Segment 1:We break down the highlights from an unforgettable WGI weekend — rain, props, floor drama, tears, and triumphs! From scheduling madness to weather woes, we cover the real behind-the-scenes of Dayton. Plus, we celebrate the 2025 DCI Hall of Fame inductees: Jim Moore, Matt Harloff, and Jack Bevins.
🥇 Segment 2:We’re dishing out the medals and celebrating top-tier performances! Huge congrats to:
- The Woodlands HS (Scholastic World Gold, 98.000) — first Texas gold in SW!
- Pride of Cincinnati (Independent World Gold, 94.900)
- Little Elm HS (Scholastic Open Gold, 98.400)
- Third Legend (Independent Open Gold, 96.900)
- Pope HS (Scholastic A Gold, 96.555)
- Homage Independent (Independent A Gold, 95.985)
Texas DOMINATED in all classes — with six SA and six SO guards in finals and three Scholastic medals coming home to the Lone Star State!
🛠️ Segment 3: 60 Second Tech BlockDylan Watson breaks down how to nail multiple three-turns in one show. It’s technical gold — you’ll want to replay it again and again!
😤 What Are We Doing?!
- Trish calls out copy-paste scoring from Power Regionals to finals.
- Whitney blasts WGI proposal culture at retreat (it's giving Phoebe from Friends).
- Dylan questions post-show photos (makeup meltdown edition).
- Ricardo demands tents for rain logistics and questions A Class burnout with 2-shows-a-day finals format.
- Bryan asks WGI to up the wristband allotments for staff — can we get a little more help?
🎉 Gush & Go:
- The clipping trend is here and it's adorable.
- Texas celebrates a true glow-up year.
- Dylan gets personal about his choreography growth and starting year 3 at ASU.
- Bryan shows love to all the first-time finalists and the amazing young directors.
- Ricardo gushes over the power of WGI fellowship, The Cookout, and community.
🎧 Guests: Dylan M. Watson @that_dude_dylan18, Bryan Ayala @itsbadluckbryan / @ehsfriscocolorguards
🎧 Catch the full episode now and celebrate the season with us!
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEIZAjFybvq_AzpFUXvNJDQ
🌐 Brought to you by our sponsors:
Guard Closet — https://guardcloset.com | IG: @guardcloset
Peak Group Travel — https://www.peakgrouptravel.com | IG: @peakgrouptravel
📩 Want to be a guest? DM us or submit at the link in bio!
💌 Email: onawaterbreakpodcast@gmail.com
📲 Follow us everywhere: @onawaterbreak
#WGI2025 #ColorGuard #MarchingArts #OnAWaterBreak #PrideOfCincinnati #TheWoodlandsHS #LittleElmHS #TexasGuards #TechBlock #PageantryLife #WGIRecap #GuardLife
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everyone and welcome back to On A Water Break, the podcast where we talk about everything you and your friends are talking about at rehearsal on a water break. In this week's episode, we are live and we are recapping the WGI championships.
00:00:15
Speaker
We'll also find out what make Trish say. i said, I don't care if we got a five. I don't. You did. And why Whitney said... Because they looked a little bit smaller, but they were doing ridiculous things, so it was like, yeah, that's them.
00:00:31
Speaker
All this and more on this week's episode of On a Water Break.
00:00:37
Speaker
Ate off the Met and go. Welcome to to On a Water Break.
00:00:43
Speaker
The podcast where we talk everything marching arts. Everyone, bring it. It's time for a water break. Hey, everyone. It's Ricardo back, back, back again. and we have a great episode this week.
00:01:00
Speaker
And I don't know how this will all turn out, but we are live right now on YouTube. So if you have questions or you want to be a part of the broadcast, come on over to the sidelines and join us.
00:01:11
Speaker
Jackie, Nicole, and Steven had so much fun doing the live that we decided to do another one. So before we see who's on the sidelines this week, go and subscribe on your favorite listing app, write us a review, and then please, the most important part of this is, share it with a friend.
00:01:28
Speaker
Got a question or good topic to talk about? Email us at ask at gmail.com or find us on social media and DM us if you want to be on the show. We even have a form now for you to fill out if you want to be a guest.
00:01:41
Speaker
Check it out at our link in the bio. So let's move over and see who's on the sidelines this week. Trish, my darling. How are you? well I'm good. I'm sad that I didn't get to spend that much time with you last weekend.
00:01:55
Speaker
No, but I did see you out there with Tampa Independent, who was fabulous. Oh, thank you. They're great kids to teach, man. It was nice seeing them. I've been getting comments and pictures of me on the floor scrubbing the water off of the floor so we can get a penalty.
00:02:13
Speaker
I hear you. So Whitney is going to be a little bit late to rehearsal tonight. So we're just going to, you know... Ski past her right now. And also, I believe that Cynthia might be joining us, but you know how the Canadians are. They operate in their own time frame. So we're going to get to those people when they get here.
00:02:31
Speaker
So we want to take this time to preview some amazing episodes and bonus content we have going on. We have On a Break with Gonzalco, a super fierce bass drum duo that put a but really fun video called More Bass in the Club together.
00:02:47
Speaker
Hmm. A really special episode is coming out called On a Water Break in Crisis, where Alicia and a panel of hosts talk about the recent tragic events that have happened in our activity, including the shooting in Texas and the fires in California, and how we as an activity can and should respond.
00:03:05
Speaker
They even get to talk to staff members from the Palisades High School, whose school was devastated by the California wildfires. On a Water Break Around the World with Grantis Pernada is interviewing marching arts people from around the globe.
00:03:20
Speaker
Check out his recent episode with Khoshen Siprasiguong, the president of the Marching Band Association of Thailand, and everything else he is doing globally. Steven just did an episode with Julie Dahlia where she talks about everything she's been through, a ton of her judging philosophies.
00:03:37
Speaker
Steven even got to nerd out with her and Annie Turner over bass drumming. And Trish just did a great episode interview with some WGI performers. Tell us about it, Trish.
00:03:48
Speaker
Oh, it was so much fun. We had Jacob from AF. um We had somebody from Etude and we had somebody from Cincinnati, which I loved all three of those shows. so It was an absolute pleasure to talk to them.
00:04:00
Speaker
They really went into, you know, how they felt about the season. And it was really interesting. You've got to check it out because they flashback to what they said earlier and how much it came true.
00:04:13
Speaker
So you've got check it out. It's a really good episode. Nice. Oh, look who it is It's my roomie from way back when. Whitney, how are you? Hi, Whitney.
00:04:24
Speaker
Hi, I'm good. How are you? We're good. How things going? You had rehearsal tonight because your season is not done yet. You're right. You're right. I don't understand that going on after WGI, but I know a lot of circuits do it.
00:04:39
Speaker
um We're doing TECA this year. I've never done TECA before. We usually do TCGC, and they just happen to do theirs after WGI. So I had my last regular cadet guard rehearsal tonight.
00:04:50
Speaker
Oh, how'd it go? theyre They're adorable. And that's what cadet guard should be. It should be adorable, right? Hi, Dylan. Anyway, we have left him on the sidelines long enough, but joining us for this live is someone that just received a gold medal and is known by some as the hands of WGI.
00:05:13
Speaker
Please welcome from the pride of Cincinnati, Dylan Watson. Hey, guys. Dylan, how are you? How does it feel right now? It honestly feels a bit surreal.
00:05:25
Speaker
Like we went into finals with just the mindset of we want to do the best run for each other. And for us, we don't really focus on the scores. We just focus on...
00:05:37
Speaker
what better version can we do for ourselves? And I think we were all in that same mindset, that collective unison mindset of this is our show. This is what we do for us. Let's do this for us.
00:05:48
Speaker
And I think when we left that floor, we knew that we did that for us. I love it And then the reflection of winning first place was just the cherry on top.
00:05:58
Speaker
So we're going to dive into all of these feelings and emotions here in a second. But Dylan, here and on A Water Break, we do a thing called a 32-count life story.
00:06:09
Speaker
So what happens is you're going to get eight counts off the Met. You can duck-duck yourself in if you want to. And then you have 32 counts to tell us everything about your life from birth up until getting that gold medal put around your neck on Saturday night to being here on this recording tonight.
00:06:25
Speaker
You ready to do this? Let's do it. All right, here we go. Adolph the Met.
00:06:32
Speaker
Was born and raised in Tennessee and then moved to Clarksville, Tennessee to March Eclipse, then watched Paramount, then moved to Ohio to then March Pride of Cincinnati for 2018, 2019, up until 22, moved to indian Indianapolis March 23, 25, and March Cavaliers within the years of 2015 to 2018, and then ended up with the gold medal around my neck last weekend.
00:06:54
Speaker
Okay. He said he did not even need all of his 32 counts. Okay. So listen, the degrees of separation between you and I are a little bit insane. So, and Whitney too.
00:07:05
Speaker
marched Cavaliers. I marched prior to Cincinnati and I am one of the acting coaches for Eclipse. So lots of connections there. Whitney marched prior to Cincinnati.
00:07:17
Speaker
And aren't you close to Tennessee, like in your North Carolina home, close to Tennessee? Yeah. Where I grew up in North Carolina is only like an hour from Tennessee. Connection.
00:07:29
Speaker
And I taught Eclipse last year. so That's right. You did teach Eclipse. Dylan, when did we march Eclipse? Awesome. I did not know that. That's awesome.
00:07:40
Speaker
So Dylan, you were saying the feeling of going on that floor and it was all about you and the members just doing the thing that you were doing and being connected with each other. Keep going into that. Give us a little bit more insight on, you know, kind of how the season started and where it was going. And what does it feel like to put in all of that work and time and effort and then come out on top?
00:08:03
Speaker
Well, it's like when you, what we look forward to like having to WGI every single year, I think because a lot of us in that cast marched 23 during All Your Love season and the unfortunate event of them not coming out in 24. A few of us marched in some other places in which would be totally respected support those organizations as we continue to improve our skill set.
00:08:29
Speaker
And then we had the mindset. I know for me personally, I was in the mindset of, I know they're coming back in 2025. I want to make that seat feel even more special because one of the instructors at pride did tell us in the mid season of 2025, just like COVID, you know, like any opportunity can just be taken away from you so fast. So we, I was in the mindset of,
00:08:53
Speaker
pretend this is like the last time you're going to do this. So any rep I got, any show we were given, it was like an opportunity. And we made it all the way to Dayton.
00:09:05
Speaker
It felt like like this is just celebratory. It didn't feel like a competition. It felt like you made it through the very end of that marathon where you're like running past that finish line, you know, like that moment where marathon runners run and they have their hands in the air because they knew that they made it.
00:09:22
Speaker
it's kind of the same exact feeling like this is just celebratory. The energy is so electric from the crowd for any performer that's walking on an independent world finals. Like there's not a single person out there in that audience that's against you. They're all just like, they just want to celebrate with you.
00:09:40
Speaker
i think that was the collective energy of everybody, especially like from beginning to end. It was more just like, what product can we create that's going to be special for this particular cast?
00:09:53
Speaker
this particular staff and this particular year at WGI. And this is definitely one that is going to be ingrained in my memory from the moment I walked on, from the moment I set the 50 to the moment I walked off.
00:10:06
Speaker
Every moment, just like I remember connecting with one person in each of those sections of the show. That's magic, man. So I have to tell you personally, okay, this is for the listeners too.
00:10:20
Speaker
I do not like to watch Winter Guard videos online or wherever during the season because I can't connect with the performers through a video.
00:10:33
Speaker
So I saw the flag feature for Pride. That was one of the few things that I did see before we went in. i was like, oh, that's a pretty cool flag feature. When I finally got to see it live on Friday night, it literally took my breath away.
00:10:48
Speaker
Just seeing how all of you on that floor, this little tiny circle floor with all those people, spend time in close proximity. i mean, there was a magic. There was an energy. but There was something undeniable about it. And I was so glad that my first time to see it was you guys living your best life out there on that floor.
00:11:08
Speaker
I mean, you guys have to feel that love coming from the audience as you're performing. Are you too busy worrying about where Count Eight is? It's kind of a mixture of both.
00:11:20
Speaker
We talk about a script in our brain because throughout the performance career, ah Whitney, this might be something that you can relate to too, especially in your years of marching.
00:11:31
Speaker
where you have your designated counts on your checkpoints, but you also have the script in your brain like telling you, make sure you do this, like hit that angle, do that on this this count right here, or a little to the left, because you know you might hook something to the right.
00:11:46
Speaker
like your constant year That's one thing that we always talked about, was work on your script. What is your script in this moment? Are you performing here? Make sure you're telling yourself that you perform here.
00:11:58
Speaker
Like I know for the flag feature, for example, I was not part of the flag feature. I was part of the three turn group. So doing the obnoxious version of it. Well, damn.
00:12:09
Speaker
Well, the obnoxious part where we ran it five times, I was like, I got to do five three turns. Okay, let's do it. But... But that was, ah that's what we worked on a lot was that script and that approach. And I think that was one of the most successful approaches with all of us because it was able to balance between technical and emotional with that one teeter-tottering more than the other.
00:12:35
Speaker
Like we had that, that insurance policy, which I'm sure we've all heard that phrase before, you know, make sure your insurance policy is good. How's that coming along? You can always like be able to find that balance.
00:12:47
Speaker
That's what tell my kids too. I'm like, what are you, what what's going on up here? i know you can do this, but it's all this. who it is. It's more mental than anything. I think there's something interesting too about crazy coming into world-class finals um and like walking out of the tunnel.
00:13:03
Speaker
And one, like if you're with pride and some of the other groups, like the crowd just loses it. Like they, they see the curtain open and they're just losing it. And that's when you're like heart drops through all the way to your toes and you're like, Oh God.
00:13:18
Speaker
But even, even more now, like you guys have three 60 of, of people watching you you, know, wasn't quite that aggressive when I, when I marched, but like still like you walk in and there's just people everywhere and you can just like the electricity that you feel on the floor. Like there's nothing, no other way to describe it besides literally it just feels electric in there and you just get, are getting all of that. And you just feel like your skin is buzzing.
00:13:44
Speaker
And it is, it's just like, like I have chills thinking of right now because it is just so, it's so wild and nothing can prepare you for that except for world-class finals. That's it. That's the only thing you can do. DCI finals doesn't prepare you for that. Like literally nothing.
00:14:01
Speaker
All right. So we are going to take a moment and jump over to a little bit of commercial. So we will be right back with you here on a water break.
00:14:19
Speaker
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00:14:35
Speaker
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00:14:48
Speaker
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00:15:01
Speaker
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00:15:13
Speaker
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00:15:25
Speaker
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00:15:41
Speaker
Hey friends, we are back to On a Water Break and we have a new friend who is joining us on the sidelines. Everybody, please let's welcome from Emerson High School in Frisco, Texas, the fantastic director, Brian Ayala.
00:15:58
Speaker
everyone. Ryan, how are you? I'm good. How are you guys? I'm good. We're good. We're glad to have you here on a water break tonight. So I know you're listener because you were actually watching online and that's why we pulled you on.
00:16:11
Speaker
But you know that we do a 32 count life story with all of our guests. You get eight counts off of the Met and then you give us 32 counts of your life from birth up until today when you stepped onto this podcast.
00:16:25
Speaker
You ready to do this? Yeah, let's go for it. All right, here we go. Adolph the Met, bet yourself in. All right, I'm Brian Ayala. Oh, early again. I'm Brian Ayala, constantly early, as you guys can tell.
00:16:37
Speaker
um I was born in San Francisco, California. I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan when i was eight. Moved down to Florida few years ago, teach Sebastian River High School, and I currently live in Texas. My marching experience includes Airplay High School.
00:16:51
Speaker
or Interplay Winter Guard back when was high school. Onyx Winter Guard, Blue Coats, and Crown. And I've helped out with a multitude of different programs when comes to choreography, technician, or just clinician work.
00:17:02
Speaker
And yeah, I'm in Texas just getting all the support and all the love I need for beauty. Love it. Awesome. Okay, b Brian, so first of all, I'm going to ask some questions.
00:17:14
Speaker
How long have you been at Emerson High School? ah Two years. Okay, so it has come to my knowledge that you guys started off in Schoolastic A at the beginning of the season, and you were promoted? That is correct.
00:17:29
Speaker
And you were promoted by the circuit and not WGI. That is also correct. So WGI went through the appeal process and stayed in A. But you are fifth place in Schoolastic Open Class. Sir.
00:17:44
Speaker
Sir.
00:17:47
Speaker
I have to tell you, going to get you, going to ask you to talk about and kind of tell us through the show. But when I sat and watched it, the thing I got to know is, did y'all have to rehearse in those costumes to figure out all those costume changes as it went along?
00:18:03
Speaker
How many costume changes were there? um There was an arm sleeve at the very beginning. If you count the hood, the hood of reveal after two counts was the second one. um The top coming off, the pants coming off, and finally the base layer being revealed under the flag toss. So a total of five different costume changes. answer your question, every single rehearsal was always a uniform rehearsal, which is awful considering that they were white uniforms. So we had to clean them and wash them almost weekly.
00:18:31
Speaker
Okay, so shout out to the moms at Emerson High School for keeping those costumes clean because they look stunning. I had no idea. I'm sitting here watching. I saw the first costume change, the sleeve, as you said, and I was like, oh, that's cute, like a little sleeve.
00:18:47
Speaker
But, you know, I'm a fan of RuPaul's Drag Race, okay? And so, you know, if you're going to pull your wig off and you're going to have another wig underneath it, it better be something stunning. Not only did I get one wig reveal, I got a second wig reveal that was like, oh, the third wig reveal was like, oh my God. And then that last one with the arms and how it was, I was flabbergasted just by the costumes along.
00:19:14
Speaker
And that's not even talking about how good the kids were, how good their hands were. Like tell us what was your inspiration for the show? How did you come up with all of this? um So crazy story. So was actually all Tim Newbern.
00:19:26
Speaker
So famous designer down in Houston, Texas. He sent me a little music. And at first I was really hesitant, not because I didn't trust it, but because there was no tempo. And I was just like, Tim, I'm not sure. it's just like, you marched on it. He'll be fine. I was just like... I did, but we marched the temple years, not the non-tempo years.
00:19:44
Speaker
So I had to do a lot of extra work on my end. But the whole inspiration, I mean, like you nailed it, RuPaul's Drag Race was part of the inspiration for the uniform. And the whole black to white um theme of the show and the whole science of the show was just part of just the piece itself and just branching off of that. And then the...
00:20:03
Speaker
eerie, ethereal sound from Eric Whitaker just brought it to life. So it was a combination all these three different things that just really brought the show alive. And top of it, the students just handled it so maturely. We had a lot of students from band and orchestra in the color guard.
00:20:17
Speaker
So at least made the tempo little bit easier. But I just remember early season, just defining sections. as was like, all right, on the third, hmm, you're going move here, banana but not on the hmm. There's a higher pitch. Hmm, it's very subtle, but you want to make sure you're moving at that point. So it's just a lot of work on our end. And it definitely helped me grow. as a director this season because boy oh Temple List show is so much harder than what I thought it was. Yes, as someone who just did a Temple List show as well, I know that pain and choreographed into oohs and do's, honey, is a lot.
00:20:48
Speaker
But you hit the nail on the head when you said that you had band and orchestra members in there. That explains a lot of the musicality in your performers because that's not something that most color guard people possess on that level to be able to pull off that level of artistry with the musicality and something that doesn't have a tempo. It was just stunning.
00:21:11
Speaker
Thank you. Stunning. All right, guys, we got to get our actual conversation. ah producer Jeremy Q the news music music music
00:21:38
Speaker
Okay, so we all know we just came off of this big, massive WGI Championship weekend. I want everybody's roundtable opinion right now.
00:21:48
Speaker
I'm going to go ahead and say this. think I said it on one of the recaps at WGI the other night, but our activity is alive. It is well. It is breathing. It is thriving.
00:22:00
Speaker
It's pushing new boundaries. And it makes me excited for what is going to come next. I did not get to watch a ton of Color Guard this year because I didn't make it in as early as I normally do.
00:22:12
Speaker
And I was doing my duty with both Tampa Independent Open and Tampa Independent World. So I missed seeing a lot of the groups all the way through like I normally do. But everything I saw, I was inspired by the performers. I was inspired by the design.
00:22:27
Speaker
And I have to say, being back in that arena with all of these people that are family, even if you don't know their names, even if you've never talked to them before, being surrounded by that much love for the same thing is just electric.
00:22:44
Speaker
What'd you guys think? I thought it was amazing. I thought it was really, really, really great year. I could have made a case for, you know, i was... Not only because Dylan is here, but I was really, really rooting for pride. I loved that show all year.
00:22:59
Speaker
But I think I would have been like, oh, okay, Paramount won. Or, oh, okay. Because everybody was just so good. Everybody was just so, so good. It was a really exciting WGI.
00:23:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's really interesting. Sorry, go ahead, Ricardo. ah My mother-in-law comes with us to WGI every year. It's turned into like a family event for us because my husband is from Dayton. And we always leave before retreat happens just so we can beat the crowd out and all that stuff.
00:23:27
Speaker
And we were sitting in the car and she looks at me and she goes, Ricky, who do you think won? And I was like, I don't know. I was like, everybody won in my eyes tonight. everybody won and she was like yeah i feel the same way she was like it could go either way she was like every single group was good that's what a world-class finals is supposed to be like i thought it was really crazy that like like the top five of independent world like was just this like every day like dylan didn't you guys come in like fourth or fifth we got third after simis but after prelims we tied with paramount
00:24:01
Speaker
So it kind of was like, oh, we could land anywhere. Yeah, yeah it was was just kind of all over the place. And everybody kind of had their favorite. Like, I know a lot of people that were really rooting for Etude to win or whatever. And it was just like, who knows?
00:24:16
Speaker
And I thought it was either... Honestly, don't from Dear Pride fam, I thought Paramount was going win i really did. like after After the finals, I was like, i think I think Paramount may have just won. I don't know.
00:24:27
Speaker
But wasn't it pretty close? It was like only like a like tenth or something? Yeah, it was like tenth. 1.15. So like it it just was... I don't know. I mean, clearly the Woodlands won, but they're my favorite color guard that's ever existed. so They're insane.
00:24:44
Speaker
Did you get see them live? We did not because we were getting ready at the time, but I had a flow subscription every year because while I'm like getting ready, i was like, I want to watch. I'm going to be supportive because like those kids deserve to have fans like Anybody in independent world is like awning over these like scholastic worlds. They're like, they're 12 years old and they're doing all this stuff. I can't do that at 28, but okay. So we're like playing in the hotel room. It's like me, my roommates, somebody's getting airbrushed for makeup.
00:25:17
Speaker
And then like three other people are behind me just like this, watching like the top five of like scholastic world. I'm just like, okay, that's going to be us in like two hours. They're like, yeah, but they're 12 and they're doing some really hard stuff.
00:25:31
Speaker
Ridiculous. And it wasn't even just in world class. I mean, it was all. helas the class. h A is not A class. No, there was one color guard in Scholastic A that I saw that I was like, yes, they're A class. the ah the Elvis show.
00:25:48
Speaker
That was the only one. I was like, this is A class. The rest of them, i'm like, get them out of here. Yeah. Up here. That was crazy. I have personally started to really, really, really enjoy open class. Like it's kind of my favorite thing because it's such a weird class because it doesn't know what it's supposed to be. it doesn't know what it's supposed to be. It really doesn't.
00:26:12
Speaker
But that's the beauty of it. Because it but yeah doesn't know what it's supposed to be, it could be anything. And it is, you get this gambit of performances. And I, I mean, like back to Emerson, I had no idea what to expect because I don't watch videos of people before i see them live.
00:26:29
Speaker
And I was just bored. Like, and the magic and the artistry in this. I mean, you know, back in my day, back in the, uh, ah Like the A class is what world class was doing.
00:26:45
Speaker
World class would be galactic class at that point. You know, i mean, it's just, it's insane. So I want to do this. I want to go around the room very quickly. We're not going to dwell too much. I want to go class by class.
00:26:58
Speaker
I want to know somebody that you thought was memorable in each one of those classes. If you got to see them. I know Dylan, you were busy doing your own thing. So you probably didn't get to see him Brian, you may not have seen him.
00:27:11
Speaker
um And Whitney, you were busy competing and your kids did pretty good too. so I know. Shout out to Semis. Great job. Thank you. My girl's doing it. But I'm going to start in A class.
00:27:23
Speaker
I did not get to see much of Independent A, and that was because I was busy running around and doing stuff. ah But I will say that when it comes to the Scholastic A class, I did get to see a lot.
00:27:41
Speaker
um Freedom High School, one of the hometown favorites here from Orlando with Ice Ice Baby. Like, who? would have thought that that would have been great, but Randy Nelson and Carlos did, and it was fantastic.
00:27:58
Speaker
But big, mad shout out to my friends over at Pope High School, because that was just beautiful. So good. So good. And not put together not put together like an A-class show.
00:28:12
Speaker
like now And everything was very open class. I was like, get... Well, they're out of here now. So welcome back for like the third time Pope High School. Right. Bring it back.
00:28:25
Speaker
What about open class? I did through and watch pretty much all of open class. um and The Scholastic open class, definitely one of my favorites was Emerson for sure.
00:28:38
Speaker
Little Elm. Wow. Oh my God. wow So good. World class all day long. Yes, they are. And I have a personal favorite, mostly because I get to spend a little bit of time in the gym with these kids. But Tampa Independent Open in the cave was great. But I mean, whew.
00:28:59
Speaker
It JMU nuance with that glass of whiskey and homegirl flopping down in that glass of whiskey. I can't lost it. I was screaming.
00:29:11
Speaker
That is why my voice sounds like this right now is because I lost everything on that. It was so funny too, because we saw them in prelims and remember all that controversy a few weeks back when somebody was commenting like, that's terrible.
00:29:26
Speaker
They put that girl in the water and then they drag her outside in the freezing cold. And she's, you know, she's, and that, that staff made a point of coming in, walking right across the front with arms full of towels. put a purple off on a tree She was literally in a robe at retreat.
00:29:44
Speaker
That's great. That's great. Oh, that's fantastic. i didn't see I didn't see the retreat thing, but I did see on the internet. Did you guys see that the prop broke the night before?
00:29:56
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. And they had to glue it back together or do whatever it See, and this is another reason why I say prop parents are the best parents. Okay. prop daddy will fix your life.
00:30:09
Speaker
Okay. With a drill and some duct tape, they will get your life together. All right. What about, anybody else have any favorites other than the groups I said? I don't want this to be about me. Oh, yeah.
00:30:20
Speaker
I'm going to Wiley High School in A-Class. Yes. Oh, my God. Yes. So much fun. So electric. Yeah. And I'm going to Third Legend. Absolutely beautiful.
00:30:33
Speaker
One of my favorites all year. i did I just actually watched that because someone sent me. Okay, yeah, back to my conversation from earlier. I do watch videos after WGI i when I no longer have a choice and I know I'm not going to be able to see them live again. i do watch videos and I got sent that video and that was pretty.
00:30:49
Speaker
It was a pretty show. Yeah. was going to say shout out to Carol for making class finals for the first time in their history. yes Yeah. program for four years and and I'm just so thankful that they finally had the opportunity to do that. Awesome.
00:31:08
Speaker
Congratulations. What about open class? Anybody have open class favorites? Oh, I thought we were doing both when we were doing Little Elm. That's why I threw third legend in there. I'm sorry.
00:31:18
Speaker
um no. It's good. What's just chatting amongst friends? that's where I didn't get to see it live, but they were rehearsing right next to us, Palm Desert Charter Middle School. Ridiculous. i know that they're middle schoolers, but like seeing them actually rehearse, on yeah it was just insane. We rehearsed next to them, too, on a Thursday. We were right over there.
00:31:36
Speaker
was like, those are the middle schoolers, right? Because they looked a little bit smaller, but they were doing ridiculous things, so it was like, yeah, that's them. Yeah, they smiled. I saw the braces. was like, they don't know what algebra is. Oh, my God. They do know what changes are.
00:31:50
Speaker
And I know that we have talked to that staff and like their approach and how they do things, but it just, I mean, as, as someone who teaches high school, who can't get my kids to do that in high school, I'm like, what are they feeding them kids?
00:32:05
Speaker
rifle them They literally eat rifles.
00:32:10
Speaker
On a platter. your rifle Be a rifle. There you go. oh Come back. Come back. I was like, come back next week and know how to throw a quad. And they do.
00:32:21
Speaker
Yep. oh The whole color guard threw a quad minus like two kids doing something up here in the corner. el my gosh. All of them. and Middle school.
00:32:33
Speaker
I'm jealous. So this is like a shameless thing that I do to my kids. Sometimes will put on videos of them and I will go just so you know, those are seventh and eighth graders. I know. It's like, what? I'm like, yeah, so you can do anything you want to do.
00:32:46
Speaker
I also do that with the Scholastic World kids too. Cause I go, these kids are the same age as you and they can this. So. Yep. so So, Ricardo, we have a question here from Sammy McClinton. He wants to know, she wants to know, I'm not sure, what is the song of the season?
00:33:02
Speaker
Is that a question? It's hope. so I mean, are we talking the best song or the most overused song or both? I... It'd be both.
00:33:13
Speaker
Both. could be That could be both. That's a great... I just think it's so interesting that we finally found rap music that is appropriate for the Wintergarden stage, but it was just the one song. like Right.
00:33:27
Speaker
But even with that and all the different times that we saw it, every single time I saw it, it was a completely different take. It was a completely different approach of it. And I was just like, this is cool. And you know what's funny that lyric in the song, give the people something different.
00:33:41
Speaker
Every single one of them gave the people something different. I did think it was interesting though. There were a few that I saw this weekend who did exchanges over the props at the, it was the same part, the 30 seconds or 30 years part, really heavy rap part where Warren did the double time feature.
00:33:57
Speaker
There were a couple guards that did exchanges with flags over props at that same part. And I was like, How'd that, what? Weird. Just crazy. It was like really the only similarity.
00:34:08
Speaker
i was like, Fiend was independent doing that. Oh, they were so good. i really liked them. Oh, yeah. I liked them. Oh, my open, independent open class shout out is LeVotte? LeVotte? LeVotte? LeVotte. What does that even mean?
00:34:22
Speaker
What does LeVotte mean? i took French. I don't remember. I haven't been practicing my French in a while. No, I only practice ballet French now, so. Right.
00:34:34
Speaker
I really loved them. they were beautiful. All right. Let us move into Scholastic World first. Hands, Four Days, Warren Central High School.
00:34:48
Speaker
Thank you. We were talking earlier about, you know, and we can get back to this, but what's the guard that really grew on you during the season? It was them.
00:35:00
Speaker
It was them. I don't know if it was the whole thing for me in the beginning or I don't know what it was, but they actually came to our power regional in Pennsylvania and seeing them in person is totally different.
00:35:11
Speaker
Oh yeah. Totally different. Yeah. And I saw them in Dayton, too. Their rock star girl, she's incredible. I don't look at my rifle when I'm tossing it. I just put my hands up there because I know it's coming back to it Right.
00:35:25
Speaker
Yeah. I watched her the whole time. I have no idea what else was happening on the floor, but I was just watching her the whole time. She was amazing. And those kids are so sweet, too. Really? We a chance to, like, sit by them at Tri-State.
00:35:40
Speaker
Because we went on an exhibition. They were sitting behind us a while before we went to go warm up. And I like turned around and was like, wait, are you guys wearing Central? And they were just like, hey you guys are Pride. And yeah they decided to clip me right then. And I was like, oh, you got clipped.
00:35:57
Speaker
Oh, I got clipped all weekend long. Like I had my jacket and someone goes, he's in Pride. They gave me like two E-mails. And I was like, oh, was like, okay, thank you. But they're so sweet as well. It's like super talented. So like as much as like they they fought over like independent world. We fought over high school. Right. It's that mutual mutual fangirling type of thing.
00:36:23
Speaker
yeah They were great. They really turned up the energy in the arena. like Everybody was doing well, but then Warren came out and it just like erupted in there. It changed the dynamic.
00:36:33
Speaker
It changed the dynamic. And then when the Woodlands... i mean Listen, and please, see everyone listening... I think that because we're not talking about your color guard specifically that you weren't great. Everybody was fantastic. We need to establish that as a baseline for this conversation.
00:36:50
Speaker
We are just talking amongst each other, talking about things that really, really, really stuck out. The Woodlands, my God, today. My God today, when I was in the airport getting ready to get on the plane, I was on Instagram and of course everything was all like these little clips and stuff.
00:37:08
Speaker
And my husband, who is not a color guard person, looks over my shoulder. He goes, oh my God, is that the Woodlands when I saw the clip, the closeup clip? And he was like, is that the Woodlands? And I was like, how do you? He was like, oh my God, they were one of my favorites.
00:37:21
Speaker
Non-color guard person said that. remembered the exact feature and knew everything about it so shout out to the woodlands well deserved for your gold medal for sure i'm so lucky that i get to see them so often like it is just it's awesome to like be able to expose that level of color guard to my kids on like a Like we see them twice a month usually, you know, or yeah usually at like all the regionals and yeah they have rehearsed in my gym.
00:37:51
Speaker
Their energy is in my gym. They had lunch with my kids at the Austin regional and I'm like, soak all of that up. They are literal like gods of color guard. Like they, they are so important to the activity.
00:38:04
Speaker
Enjoy like getting to have face to face time with them. Like I just, I adore them. I'm their biggest fan. Yeah. That's awesome. Can we just talk about the growth of that program too? I mean, this is what they're... Literally since COVID.
00:38:17
Speaker
Since COVID. That's what it really blew up. They gained kids during COVID and the middle school program has just like sent them in a direction that is just incredible. Anybody else have any Scholastic World groups that they want to chat about?
00:38:32
Speaker
I have a few actually. El Dorado. Dorado. All of them. American Fork, Fun Show. Yeah, that was Standing in the rain for that.
00:38:43
Speaker
I was a big fan of Bellbrook this season. Oh, they were beautiful. looked so sophisticated and just so poised. Those sabers. Man, those sabers are good. Every second I got a chance to watch it. was in the front row. I'm amazed by what they did. I'm so glad they made it. We got to see them at the Bellbrook preview, and we were like front row. I'm just so proud of Sheldon. So happy for him.
00:39:07
Speaker
They were great. was like, Miami's Berg also like looking at swimming as well. and We have a couple members who taught Miami's Berg at the time while marching, which shout out to them to be able to do both. That is insane.
00:39:24
Speaker
ah One of the members that I marched, his name is Joseph. He was also co-directing them. And I was like, how are you doing both? Like that's crazy. You're directing a scholastic world group and you're an independent world.
00:39:35
Speaker
Seth didn't March though, right? Just Joseph. It was Joseph. Okay. That would have been crazy. March with both of them at inspire and adios and all your love. And now Joseph for to the fullest, but yeah, they're always stunning. They're always so beautiful.
00:39:51
Speaker
i love watching them. We were always watching them whenever we got the opportunity. he was like like, can you watch Miami's Berg at this one time? We're like, yeah, let's do it for sure. So we're, Be supportive of each other's groups.
00:40:03
Speaker
Yeah, give it another shout out to another team, Florida, Flanagan High School. Yes! Oh my God, the bounce back. The bounce back. Mm-hmm. Oh. And it looks so poised.
00:40:15
Speaker
Yeah, they were gorgeous. I got to see them early season um at the Tampa Regional. And just the costume was the thing that stood out to me the most at first. So flowy. Hanging on a fence.
00:40:30
Speaker
And I was like, this is beautiful. And then you put the whole aesthetic together with how those flag pieces were cut out and like the texture and all of it. And I just, oh, it was great. It was great. It took me back, you know, couple years ago when it was always the fight between Flanagan, Avon and James Logan.
00:40:51
Speaker
Like, yeah. So it's good to see them moving out Arcadia was super beautiful to watch. Those costumes were everything. They're so Oh my god. Every one of them is a freaking contortionist.
00:41:05
Speaker
but I'm still obsessed with their program last year. and me too. that was Intricacy with all those boards. I was like, yes Just the thought process behind that.
00:41:16
Speaker
Yeah. And even with the tentacles this year, I was like, that's so cool. That's like heavy. Like when they hit the ground, I was like, there's sand or something in those because they were it was they sounded really easy.
00:41:29
Speaker
And then of course, like Carmel with those props, like having the one girl, the ripple saber all the way down to her. Like you could hear that saber crack through the video. was like, she's insane.
00:41:41
Speaker
But like she broke that saber in half. but i didn i feel the good cause makeup I know. I know my makeup. But I went, did I just hear a saber break?
00:41:52
Speaker
Awful. That would have been awful that happened. really liked El Dorado. like Fourth place? That's crazy. They've only been in world class for a couple years now, right? know. They got promoted not too long ago.
00:42:04
Speaker
But they they were just beautiful to watch. it was They were just easy to watch. really liked them. Center Grove 2. Center Grove. Northview. Northview. Northview.
00:42:17
Speaker
Everybody. All of them. Everybody. Everybody. yeah so like Since we're talking about everybody, let's talk about Independent World. so We have a comment here from Garty from our live YouTube.
00:42:31
Speaker
says, Vox Artie and Rest in Peace was amazing. They always just bring the energy. They know you're going to get an outstandingly fun show from them.
00:42:43
Speaker
and You know what's so funny? is when we went to After we performed in Kentucky, we ran back to watch the last round of Independent World. Vox and Amp were on back to back and we were like, oh, it's the Scream section of the show.
00:42:55
Speaker
You know, because you got those two back to back, the crowd ain't sitting down. So I will say that my saddest thing of this season is that I did not get to see Vox because we were in rotation when Vox was going on and came on right after them.
00:43:12
Speaker
So all I got to see was Homegirl still performing her way all the way out the ramp. as coming out the It's the same girl that played Bloody Mary last year, right? Yeah. We interviewed her last year, too. We did.
00:43:25
Speaker
We did. Got it. After Dayton, we did, yeah. You know, i just have to say, like, my favorite part about Vox is I got to watch them from the back in all those, like, way up high seats. They always give the back audience a show. They do. And thought it was just last year, but they did it again this year, and I just appreciate that so much from them.
00:43:43
Speaker
You have to now. There's people everywhere. When are we going start designing shows that are meant for 360? Or an arena? yeah Or what? Designing shows for an arena?
00:43:56
Speaker
An arena stage is literally yeah all the sides. and you know, it didn't dawn on me until we were in Dayton, until I was in Dayton with my kids and it was their first date. um You know, because like I said, we went back and we watched, you know, the last block of prelims after we left Kentucky. And all the, you know,
00:44:15
Speaker
At local shows, I mean, we have and fusion in our local circuit, New Jersey, but they always have to see them from the back. And they got to see them from the front. And I turned to them and I said, it's a lot different in the front, isn't it? They were like, oh yeah.
00:44:29
Speaker
So you're right. You might be onto something with the 360 for sure. but sure i have another we another shout out from YouTube. Dylan Overreader wants to know, it's a question for Dylan, as a member of Pride, how...
00:44:44
Speaker
How was it to perform in such a small area? It certainly had its challenges at first. When they were staging it, we i was like thinking to myself, I'm very close to this person and I'm holding a piece of equipment.
00:45:00
Speaker
They're holding a flag. And I'm like less than a foot away from them. It's like, so this is going to be a very interesting process. It definitely had its trial and errors, but everything that we did, thought the staff was the design staff, the choreographers, they were very smart about like what to do and to also like stay true to our aesthetic.
00:45:23
Speaker
And whatnot. And I think that was, that was key to making the show successful because the point of it, it kind of reminded me of my first year in 2018 where didn't have floor the time, but we started pod and we've moved.
00:45:35
Speaker
Yep.
00:45:38
Speaker
and we've moved yeah i So it kind of reminded me of that, how we were put in such a vulnerable position where it was about you. It wasn't, you weren't playing a character or you weren't, it wasn't about the twirls. It was about like, this is me. This is my genuine self performing to you.
00:45:59
Speaker
it's one of those like, really unique experiences like kind of what ricardo was talking about earlier saying that it was a different feel versus a video versus in person that type of caliber of show i think is so unique because of that connection from performer to viewer that you can get only in that in-person experience you can't through a video sorry we apologize it's still an oxen reader sorry but i also have a question for dylan watson um We didn't get to ask, we had Andrew on the earlier podcast.
00:46:32
Speaker
We didn't get to ask him. For those who don't know, what's the significance of the different costume at the end? I, from my understanding, was just the idea of... So the whole show was basically a statement about saying that... How they presented it was saying that life can give you an amount of circumstances. What you choose to do with that is up to you, saying that you live to your fullest capacity. They stuck on the word capacity, saying like, okay...
00:47:03
Speaker
What can you that is going to be to the fullest of your capacity? Like what choice you going to make in your life that can be but the fullest of that space? So the idea was like we're in a condensed area. How can we make this be this type of this type of show within a small area? How can we make it be just as grand as if we're on an 80 by 100 floor?
00:47:28
Speaker
that was something I thought was super interesting that they're taking the space of what would be like a regular sized tarp, condensing it down. And they're like, we are still going to stage something that is just as, just as unique and just as quality worthy of as if it were um a couple of years ago as well.
00:47:48
Speaker
Awesome. Who are some of your other favorites, guys, from Independent World? I'm going to go ahead and say Paramount, Paramount, Paramount. For sure. Love Paramount.
00:47:59
Speaker
Fantasia. Fantasia. Fantasia. Whitney. Shout out to our local Jersey teams up here, Amph and Fusion. Did anybody get a chance to chat with Latrice?
00:48:10
Speaker
I did. Yes. yes I met Latrice. I met Latrice. Awesome. So cool. I've known Tim since before the Latrice days. So it was fun to see Tim back in color guard world, as opposed to his ultra stardom now as, as Latrice. So was of fun. Shout to Shoday for those gorgeous costumes. And we were talking on the other recording earlier about how many people in the tent actually wore that fur jacket.
00:48:40
Speaker
How many people actually had that on? Did a little catwalk. It was too fun. as a shout-out to Elevate for making Independent World Finals. yeah paul well Ricardo, you had the amp jacket on, too?
00:48:57
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I did a whole thing across the floor. Now, it only fit like on one arm, but I did. and okay That's all right. Oh.
00:49:08
Speaker
So many good shows on Independent World. So many.
00:49:12
Speaker
Yes, Jaxa. Juxta, juxta, juxta. When that moment, when those people jumped into that fabric and were suspended there, that was probably one of the coolest innovative moments in world-class finals for me.
00:49:27
Speaker
For sure. It was like, shout out to that designer because I worked with her at Carol. was like, that is stunning that you did that. That's so right. ah I love Becca. I love me some Becca.
00:49:38
Speaker
ah love Becca. So in other news, things that happened at WGI, we had a fantastic wedding proposal by one of our Tampa Independent members, Maddie Nelson, got engaged and it was caught on social media.
00:49:54
Speaker
And I will be chatting with Maddie soon about how her proposal went. Oh, yay. That's going to be fun. But Trish, I believe that you have a little announcement for us about the DCI Hall of Fame. yeah I do. The announced their...
00:50:10
Speaker
Hall of Fame class of 2025. It includes Jack Bevins, who's the former director of the Velvet Knights. Dating back to my days in WGI, the Velvet Knights were always like kind of the amp or the Vox Arnie of that time. They always did these crowd-pleasing shows. And even a draw in DCI, they would do these like, you know, they would do a beat show and then they would have like, you know, a shark fin run across the field and play da-da-da-da-da.
00:50:38
Speaker
So... Definitely some memorable moments for them. So congratulations to Jack. The husband of our good friend, Susie Harloff, who's been on the podcast many times, Matt Harloff, the longtime brass caption head of Carolina crown.
00:50:53
Speaker
um So many Jim Ott awards. So congratulations to Matt Harloff. yeah Maybe we can get him and Susie on at some point to talk about it. ah Alan Christensen, DCI adjudicator. Congratulations to him as well.
00:51:06
Speaker
And finally, somebody that many of us in here know and have had the pleasure of working with Jim Moore. So congratulations to Jim Moore.
00:51:18
Speaker
birthday today too. Yeah. Oh yay. Happy birthday Jim. Michael Gates post was funny. was like, wish him happy birthday and DCI hall of fame induction.
00:51:29
Speaker
Happy birthday. Right. Jim shouting back to our old alter ego days when alter ego was an aid guard and you coming in and writing amazing choreo. So shout out. Good times back then. And congratulations.
00:51:42
Speaker
Right. Who here has been taught by Jim Moore? ah Not taught by work to win. He taught me pride and crown. So a little bit of both.
00:51:54
Speaker
That is one thing i wish I could have experienced is learning from Jim Moore. And I ah love it.
00:52:02
Speaker
I feel so beautiful doing his choreography. I used to sit there back in the day. Did write the part of the choreography where you lifted me? I probably lifted you. I was one of the boys. I lifted everybody. Amanda across the floor, whatever. That crop.
00:52:16
Speaker
We're like, who's that? That's the Whitney Houston. Come on, Whitney Houston. I'm tired. And he used to come into Alter Ego back in the day when when April Gilligan was staging. And you know we kind of had this little cadets connection. He would come in and write choreo.
00:52:32
Speaker
No, you know, no computer. wasn't sitting there with my iPad back then, but I would sit there with a notebook and write down every checkpoint and every, you know, count because I knew those kids were going to be like, that's not what Jim said.
00:52:47
Speaker
That's not what Jim said. So I was like, here's what Jim said. had every stick figure pictures. marsh What year was that? ah Do I have to say? yes Yes, you do.
00:52:59
Speaker
did Chicken Man show in 1996 and then our first year in finals in 1997 Phoenix in Invented A. See, now we just take videos of the choreography and that's the place. Yeah, that wasn't happening then.
00:53:15
Speaker
Yeah, I know. All good, though. Back in the 1900s, we didn't have video cameras on the telephones. Because you know the kids always relate better to the stars, right? You know, my kids do it too.
00:53:28
Speaker
They always relate better to the stars, right? So I used to be like, these kids are going to, when I go to clean this flag feature, these kids are going to that's not what Jim, used like, no, here's what Jim said. And I would even like write down quotes like that. He said, I would, you know, he'd be like, you have to like pop your hip like something, I don't even remember.
00:53:46
Speaker
And I would, no, Jim said you have to pop your hip like, you know, I just, I wasn't going hear, I wasn't having it. Trish is the original keeper of receipts. Uh-huh.
00:53:57
Speaker
You do not even want to see the screenshot section on my phone. Oh my God. Congratulations to all of the DCI Hall of Fame inductees. And it's a great class of people that have definitely changed the game. So it's time for your peak group travel tip of the week brought to you by our sponsors at peak group travel, helping you navigate your next adventure, whether it's across the country or just to your next competition.
00:54:24
Speaker
Hi all it's Beth from peak group travel with your travel tip of the week. Be sure to plan your trip well enough in advance of your travel dates. six to 12 months out ahead at least. Hotels, flights, buses and attractions can fill up fast.
00:54:38
Speaker
And you want to make sure you can maximize the time you need to fundraise for your trip as well. If you want more tips, be sure to follow Peak Group Travel on Facebook and Instagram. And if you're ready to chat about your next trip, send us an email at info at peakgrouptravel.com.
00:54:54
Speaker
This is Beth with Peak Group Travel and your travel tip of the week.
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and be sure to visit peakgrouptravel.com today. You pick the date, and we'll make it great.
00:56:29
Speaker
Okay, everyone, are back and it is time for 60 Second Tech Block. This is the segment where one of our hosts or guest clinicians is put on the spot to deliver a nonstop 60 Second Tech Session on a topic that needs some serious attention after the last run.
00:56:46
Speaker
60 Second Tech Block. 60 Second Tech Block.
00:56:56
Speaker
I was waiting for it. I was like, wait, there's those. I love that sound.
00:57:02
Speaker
So our special tech this week has come prepared with three topics that they think they can talk about for a full 60 seconds straight. No hesitation, no pauses, just pure technical goal.
00:57:14
Speaker
And this week, let's see. I think we're going to throw it over to Dylan. hey friend. Hey, girl.
00:57:26
Speaker
So Dylan, you said your best topics were one, how to nail multiple three turns in one show. Two, to precisely center a floor.
00:57:37
Speaker
Or three, what is the best method for achieving a good makeup highlight? Okay, everybody, what do we think? Dylan should do. want to hear about the three turn. Three turns, something I'll never do. Let's hear it.
00:57:49
Speaker
ah yeah, I'm definitely going with three turns because I'm not doing one turn right now. So times three, absolutely not. Dylan, we are going to pull up a clock right now, stopwatch. Trish, my friend, you got your phone out. Did you do that?
00:58:07
Speaker
Love it. Okay. So Dylan, you get 60 seconds on the clock. No break at all. You are going to tell us how to nail multiple three turns in one show and five, six and five, six, seven, eight, go one.
00:58:26
Speaker
So you want to start thinking about the way you prepare your toss. You want to start compartmentalizing by throwing yourself a good toss, then doing your body and then nailing the catch like any other type you do.
00:58:36
Speaker
Like you toss, you turn, you catch. To add a three turn, you want to think about a couple things when you're finding the peak of the toss. I think about like if I were to do a progressional thing, I would do toss, do a two turn, make sure I finish the two turn shot.
00:58:50
Speaker
two turn by the peak of the toss so I'm able to watch it on the way down and know the amount of time that I have. If I want to do a three turn, I want to think about getting that two turn finished by the peak of it, getting that two turn nice and consistent, nice and tight, arms pressed down, make sure that all your energy is nice and squeezed.
00:59:06
Speaker
including your inner thighs and your arms. Make sure everything is nice to squeeze. Don't delay your head back so far so you'll throw yourself out balance. Use the weight of your eyeballs and then watch the strap underneath. And finally going in for the catch as I start to throw, make sure I throw a little bit more on the left side so I can nail the catch right in the center of my body, pulling apart at a nice rifle right flat.
00:59:26
Speaker
Wow. Wow. wow Period. ah Also, I think we could do a three-turn now. I know. I'm actually not scared to try it now. I'm going to go outside in the dark and go try it.
00:59:42
Speaker
I'm so glad that this is recorded because we can actually take this clip. We can give this to every high school kid that wants to learn how to do a three-turn. This is probably the most informational, correct, technically accurate 60-second tech block that we have done on this show. So Dylan, I am tipping my Imagineer hat to you, sir.
01:00:03
Speaker
Dylan, had you done a three-turn before this season? Yeah. ah did one in Inspire. Right when, if you remember that show, there was like a rifle that flew over a pot of people. Yes.
01:00:16
Speaker
That was me that caught the center, and then the camera's like on the low part of the ground looking up. The one who caught it cross-port was me. Into a six-man seven.
01:00:27
Speaker
That show was probably the most... I call it a mousetrap because of the amount of like... run here, throw this tip trick toss. Okay, now catching your leg. Okay, now do this foot twirl. was like, that show was just nonstop of like, what a typical Boston Crusader show would feel like right now. and I remember watching your live of your last performance. I remember that.
01:00:49
Speaker
Because we were just all like, so devastated that this was, that all this was happening. that And I remember watching your live of that. It was so good. was shame that the season didn't finish.
01:01:00
Speaker
Yeah. The cast was so talented too. over ah Dylan, I want to be you when I grow up. Same. ah
01:01:10
Speaker
So, go ahead. I was just going to say, it's it's so funny. like I say the same thing to some of the first year members who were just so talented that I was marching with. And they're like, no, I want to be you. I want to have five titles on my jacket.
01:01:24
Speaker
I was like, oh, this just shows that I'm old. No. In a funny way. Yeah. but that looks what and So sorry. I was like, and the question that everybody asked me as soon as I got off the floor was like, ah great job. Are you done?
01:01:43
Speaker
Are you done? Are you done? Inquiring minds want to know. Inquiring minds. I've been going back and forth. And if they make the decision to come out for the 2026 season. Yeah. Yeah. but
01:01:56
Speaker
And will follow up with you here on a water break. That is adorable. listen right to the my We're need you to do live, like, either gush and go or what do we do from auditions for sure.
01:02:14
Speaker
top secret. Well, speaking of, you know, that was a solid 60 second tech block. So hopefully someone out there just got the advice they need. They didn't know that they needed. i know I definitely did, but it's time to switch things up because it's time for everyone's favorite.
01:02:29
Speaker
What are we doing? What are we doing? are we doing?
01:02:40
Speaker
What are we doing? So this is the part of the show where we let loose a little bit or maybe a lot. ah This is your chance to rant about something in the marching arts that just Doesn't make sense.
01:02:52
Speaker
Maybe it's a tradition that needs to, maybe it's a habit that performers can't seem to break. Maybe it's something that makes you think, why are we even doing this? Or why haven't we started doing this yet?
01:03:05
Speaker
Whatever it is, this is your moment to call it out. So who's got something they need to get off their chest? Trish, sister girl. Okay. So what are we doing giving Scholastic A guards the same exact score they got at the Power Regional.
01:03:23
Speaker
And it wasn't just my team. Because I started looking at the recap. I'm like, that one had that at the Power Regional. That one had that at the Power Regional. I get it. the the The neighborhoods are set up. We get it. They know what's up. They know what's going on.
01:03:38
Speaker
But it was just like, so when we got back, so after we left Kentucky, we got to the arena. ah The recap had been posted. And My assistant said, you better go talk to the kids. And I said, why?
01:03:52
Speaker
And she said, well, they're really upset about the score. And I said, are you kidding me? Like, get over here. I said, I don't care if we got a five. I don't. You did your first date and you had an amazing run in your first date and I honestly don't care, but joe I kind of, you know, talked them off the ledge a little bit about that, but they were kind of like, you know, they're kids. Like one of the judges lazy, you know?
01:04:16
Speaker
and I'm like, you know, I didn't, I didn't get into the whole process. I didn't want to go there with them. Just know you had a great run. You're at your first date and it's exciting. Who cares? Who cares?
01:04:27
Speaker
So, you know, And it was a completely different panel too. So it's just, what are we doing? And it wasn't just, like I said, as it wasn't just us. And there was another guard from my local circuit, actually two.
01:04:40
Speaker
One, they both got the exact same score because of where they were. One advanced and one didn't. So it's just, you know, it's just very interesting. a class is crazy. It is crazy. It's cray cray. It is.
01:04:55
Speaker
Whitney, what are we doing? Oh boy. Oh, i'm I'm about to burst some happiness bubbles. But what are we doing proposing at WGI retreat? I'm sorry. I think it's tacky.
01:05:07
Speaker
Do like let it let that moment in its own moment. Like you're stealing people's thunder. Dylan got his gold medal. Get your gold ring out of here. don't, I just, I just don't think it's the appropriate place to do that.
01:05:22
Speaker
I just always have thought that it's weird. And you're, I just like, are you going to say no? Are you gonna is somebody going to say no in that setting? Like, honestly, like nobody's, nobody's saying no when they're being proposed to in a big crowd.
01:05:39
Speaker
with all this excitement, like who's saying no. So like, I feel like, I don't know. think it's a trap. but the trap bit This is so Phoebe and Mike right now from friends. This is so Phoebe and Mike when she was like, they're at the game and she was like, Oh, it's so tacky.
01:05:55
Speaker
And then he turned around and got on his knee. And then and he tried to do it in the restaurant with the ring and the cake. And then she's like, Oh, it's like those people who put the ring in the cake. And she's like, the rings in the cake. Great.
01:06:08
Speaker
So this is very friends right now, but then I have a friend's reference from pretty much everything in life. So that's my, what are we doing? I'm sorry. And I hope that, I hope they end up very happy. I hope they're happy with their decision and their choices, but it's just not for me. i just think it's tacky.
01:06:24
Speaker
The end. it's not laughing right I'm so sorry. this ah Okay. Dylan, what are we doing?
01:06:37
Speaker
Hmm. I was more so in like, just get through it. But I would say what are now? taking photos post-run-throughs.
01:06:48
Speaker
Like, pictures. Like, you know, talking that, like, sign. Everybody's sweaty. The uniforms look gross at that point. Your makeup's all sweated off. It is not a good look. and Why don't we do this? The brown spot on my teal uniform from my foundation. I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna buy photos of that.
01:07:08
Speaker
No! i didn't even I'm such a bad director. I didn't even see the Joe Lesch thing at Truist. We came out, they had their oranges, and then they were of like, you know the people were like, get the floor out, get the floor out.
01:07:22
Speaker
And then we got back to the hotel. was like I said to the band director, said, we didn't take a Joe Lesch picture. But I honestly didn't see it. So whatever. I will say we do in Florida at our circuit championships, we do a specific picture time before you start your rotation. So you get like time to go and get yourself, make sure your face looks good, that you like are in full drag, like your hair is looking like what you wanted, what you intended to look like.
01:07:49
Speaker
And your costume does not have sweat marks on it. And we take the picture and then we go through rotation and we do the show. I have never understood we have this. the show, when everybody the hot mess, can't nobody breathe, half the people are falling out on their asthma inhalers, laying down on the floor somewhere, and we got to drag them and hold them up and prop their asses up so that they can be in this picture with everybody looking a hot mess. And it's like, oh, this is the end of our season.
01:08:21
Speaker
No, no. Dylan, I'm giving you two notes for calling it out. Something needs to be said about it. We're bringing it to the table right now in this forum. Let's do the pictures beforehand, because don't nobody want to be taking a picture after us. We just want to love on our friends and be sweaty and stinky together and helping homegirl up with her asthma inhaler.
01:08:38
Speaker
I want to get the tire bloated in the van truck or something. I can get out. In the case of this year, fighting the rain, you know?
01:08:48
Speaker
so thankful we did not have props like i felt bad for like mox like who was like and so within our same like round of prelims and every single thing we had a ring plan essentially like we practiced how we were going to wrap all the fabrics all the tarp strips that we did but like i'm looking over and i see all those panels that they had i was like i feel really bad for them like for that loading for that loading crew so kudos to that entire team and also because they're traveling from the other side of the country like you know that's easy but dylan what are we doing sure the the picture at um ud was that in the concourse like where equipment warm-up used to be so remember that's where it was last year which picture i'm sorry you were talking about the picture after prelims the group photo
01:09:37
Speaker
Oh yeah. It's like, it's where the old equipment used to work. It's like, yeah. And you're like, they have those line of iPads or whatever. Yes.
01:09:48
Speaker
Yeah. We, we did ours at Nutter center and that was prelims for, you know, it was prelims. Obviously they did it for everybody, but we were, we were sobbing like all of the kids, staff, parents, everybody's sobbing. Cause they were so beautiful.
01:10:01
Speaker
And then they had to go take their picture and they're like, makeup is just everywhere. Looking a hot mess.
01:10:09
Speaker
Cut it out. I'm throwing in a bonus. What are we doing? Just to piggyback off of what we talking about with the props and the rain. What are we doing? Not having another tent outside so that people can travel from movement warmup out to equipment warmup in a tent and also keep all of the props stored in some dryness.
01:10:30
Speaker
That's a bonus. WG, I figured that out. I said it. It's fine. yeah Fight me. Just connect to the tents. Connect to the tents. There's a tent company that will provide it for you. I know that they can get you a tent big enough for equipment warm-up.
01:10:45
Speaker
There can be a tent to keep all of this stuff dry because we know it's going to rain or snow or something ugly in Dayton every year. Anyways, that was a bonus. That was not my real one. We'll come back to me in a minute. But Brian, what are we doing?
01:10:57
Speaker
Bristbands. Listen, my biggest thing is that we've grown so much in this activity that we only get 10 wristbands for staff and chaperones. i just feel like we just need up it.
01:11:09
Speaker
I mean, I'm looking at the world-class staffs and just like, you have 15 people on staff. There's only enough wristbands for that alone without paying the VIP package. So I would like to at least increase the wristbands. That's my biggest take.
01:11:20
Speaker
Get more chaperones, more help. Right. Charge us more money, but give us more wristbands. Like, I'm all for it. but So we don't have to, we don't have to buy tickets for those people. Cause you can't get into those spaces with tickets, you know, like you have to have the wristband to go anywhere, like any, yeah you know, or at least the option to buy more wristbands at the discount, you know?
01:11:45
Speaker
Okay. So, um, my, what are we doing is probably going to, um, either get me a boot or a toot, but I feel like it needs to be said.
01:11:58
Speaker
What are we doing having the A-class kids doing two shows in one day running all over the state of Ohio? That part. Toot. Toot.
01:12:10
Speaker
I get it. I understand. But it is the largest class in WGI. It is the most brutal class to fight in. And those kids and those judges are having to narrow all of that stuff down. And the turnaround time between semifinals and finals is insane.
01:12:26
Speaker
I know. It's a huge... huge cost overage to move and start a class at least one day earlier on Wednesday so that the kids can do prelims on Wednesday, semifinals on Thursday, and then Friday night have a true final show where the kids are rested and they're in their best light.
01:12:44
Speaker
But bless those babies' hearts out there on that floor on Friday night. They was tired, honey. here They was tired. Like, nobody's having a fantastic... I mean, guards did have good runs, but nobody's having, like, a flawless, fantastic run when they have ran all around the state of Ohio for two days, and then they have to go and be in finals.
01:13:06
Speaker
Like, it's just... It's not fair. I'm sorry. Get mad at me. Again, I'm i already going to putting my boxing gloves on because I've talked about the tent. So if going to fight about this, we can fight about it, but...
01:13:18
Speaker
I think the only solution is to move it, have a class start on Wednesday. did that a few years ago. In 19, the A class was Wednesday because it was it was actually nice because I was with West Milford High School then and they ah got to perform prelims in the arena. We were on last like 1030 at night in the UD arena. yeah So because nobody was performing in UD arena, they did SA there and um it was awesome. It was great experience for the kids.
01:13:48
Speaker
But you got to go out day late or early. Great job, everyone. set your equipment down. Gush and go.
01:13:56
Speaker
All right. Well, we got that off our chest. So now let's bring some positive energy into the room. Welcome to Gush and Go. This is your chance to shout out something awesome happening in your life, marching arts related or not.
01:14:11
Speaker
Maybe you're excited about a performance, a student success, a big life event, or just something cool you want to brag about. No negativity here, just pure unfiltered hype. So who's got something to gush and go about?
01:14:25
Speaker
Just call us out, whoever. Trish, how about like right no My gush and go is the clipping. What yeah a cute, cheap, easy idea to bring everybody, you know, and everybody's doing it. It's not, you know, just the little essay guards, everybody's doing it.
01:14:48
Speaker
And my kids got so excited, like, Oh my God, I got clipped you know, some world guard or whatever. And it's just, it's what, I mean, the friendship places for a thing for a minute, but that's,
01:15:01
Speaker
time consuming and you got to go buy the stuff or whatever this you go to the dollar store, honey, you buy those clothes pins and it's super easy. Everybody was, you know, buying into it.
01:15:11
Speaker
I was kind of like a little jealous with my kids. Cause I was like, I didn't get, I didn't get clipped. They're like, you don't clip your own guard. I was like, Oh, okay. Whatever. What cute, easy idea.
01:15:25
Speaker
ah was also, Trish, upset that I did not get clipped. And my kids were like, you walk too fast. And I was like... but I had them all in my dreads. I was like, I felt something hit. was like, what is going on? It was like T-Kids, Eclipse Kids were just hitting me up and clipping me down. It's crazy how it blew up. hope they bring back.
01:15:48
Speaker
Me too. Me too, Brian. um like a Like a Lululemon or any type of crossbody. I saw those things lined up. yeah Elevate like a couple of them have the top hats or people who wore like the like anything like that they were just like wrapped around.
01:16:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So cute. No Jeremy I don't think percussion's gonna do that. but but but um I don't think they're clipping each other.
01:16:16
Speaker
They're too busy hanging out in the lot. A lot. Jeffrey what lot are we doing? Who are you asking Trish? Christine, he has that catchphrase, Lottery doing, because he hates Lottery. He's a percussion guy, but he doesn't like the Lottery. He likes to watch the show.
01:16:34
Speaker
was like, who's Jeffrey? Okay, what i what are you guessing going about? family I'm going to gush about Texas and how we freaking threw down at WGI. And did.
01:16:47
Speaker
And did. It was awesome. There were six Scholastic A-guards in finals, six Scholastic Open Guards in finals, and we got three Scholastic medals.
01:16:58
Speaker
First gold medal in Scholastic World coming back to Texas. like It was just really awesome. And I understand that the state is big, but we're far away. It takes a lot to get us there.
01:17:09
Speaker
like For example, my kids paid $2,100 a piece to go to WGI. we went through music travel. So like it, it is expensive. We had our tour guide, charter bus, all the things, flights.
01:17:20
Speaker
But like, it's, it it's expensive to get there for us. And it's, it's hard. And a lot of districts don't let you go every year, or they have like the four year rule where you can't, you can't travel out of Texas, but once every four years.
01:17:33
Speaker
But we had, we had 36 guards in at WGI. So we had the highest amount by a good amount. So the ratio is going to be there probably, but like, There's been years in the past. I remember 2023, a lot of Texas guards, including myself, we got preliminated.
01:17:49
Speaker
So it was awesome to see Texas just throwing down. And like in Scholastic A, it was like 11, 9, 8, 7, like back to back Texas guards. And it was like that Scholastic open too.
01:18:02
Speaker
I think we had 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. one four five six seven eight Like it was it was crazy. So i'm I'm just really happy for Texas. And I'm glad that we're finally like showing up and showing down.
01:18:13
Speaker
Oh yeah, it was noticed everybody. Dylan, what are you gushing and going about? Okay, mine's a little more personal, like more like a little bit post-season.
01:18:26
Speaker
um Gushing and going about the the more exposure I got as as an individual. more recognition within the activity, especially like, cause I had been spending so much of my time in it. Like we're like saying, Oh, like you're this person, you're this person. So I've been really, really trying to hone in on like my choreography gig and get better at that. And and that's what I've been improving on.
01:18:56
Speaker
And I, and I guess another thing too, um I'm starting my, my third year and the architecture program at Arizona state university. Wow. Oh, wow. Good fun, Dylan. Be done in two years.
01:19:09
Speaker
Nice. That's awesome. Dylan, what do you like to choreograph the most so people can hire you? I'm pretty versatile. I like pretty much anything. I know at Carol, it's all about like, we just tag team the sections. We're like, obviously my specialty is most is weapon, but sometimes I can write a cute flag twirl. Brian, what are you gushing and going about?
01:19:31
Speaker
I'm definitely gushing over all the first time finalists and even semi-finalists that made it this weekend. It was just so like everywhere I looked on social media it was like first time this, first time this. So it was just really just heartwarming to see that from all these different programs from across the nation.
01:19:48
Speaker
And for me personally, I was just very gushy about all the younger directors being able to be so successful. It just goes to show like how bright the future of activity will still continue to be um as it continues to evolve in its pageantry and its arts. So I was just gushing all over that.
01:20:06
Speaker
A lot of women directors too. A lot women. lot of female representation. Shout out to Zoddy at Little Om in the Woodlands. Fantastic job. Mm-hmm.
01:20:17
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm going to gush about the fellowship that is WGI. It was so good to watch Color Guard, to see so many people that you only get to see once a year or people you haven't seen years.
01:20:31
Speaker
And like events like the cookout where we got to sit around and it was like raining or whatever, but it didn't matter because we were together. Because this whole Color Guard world, just like every other part of pageantry arts,
01:20:43
Speaker
as a family and I'm just excited that that all got to happen and I got to see all of you even though I didn't even know you Brian or Dylan it's called gush and go not gush and stay let's go all right guys So thanks for a great rehearsal this week. I can't believe we did this live. Thank you, Trish and Whitney and Dylan and Brian.
01:21:11
Speaker
Dylan, where can we find you on your social medias? My Instagram would be that underscore dude underscore Dylan 18. I made it in high school. Don't judge.
01:21:23
Speaker
And then my Facebook is just my full name, Dylan Michael Watson. And it's a picture of me holding the trophy. Love it. Brian, what about you? Where can we find you on socials?
01:21:35
Speaker
Facebook would just be Brian Ayala. I have a picture with this rapper as my profile picture. Nothing too crazy on that one. On Instagram, you can either go to yeah EHS Frisco Color Guards or just it's bad luck, Brian.
01:21:49
Speaker
Made it a while back. So no bad luck this year. Awesome. All right. Got a question or a good topic to talk about? Email us at onawaterbreakpodcast at gmail.com or find us on social media and DM us if you want to be on the show.
01:22:05
Speaker
We even have a new form, how to fill out, or now to fill out to be a guest. We love having people on the podcast. So check that out at our link in the bio on our social media. Or you could just take out your phone, make a video and send it to us. And maybe you'll see yourself on the podcast soon.
01:22:22
Speaker
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01:22:37
Speaker
Follow us on social media at On A Water Break, and we'll see you at the next rehearsal, On A Water Break.
01:22:49
Speaker
The On a Water Break podcast was produced by Jeremy Williams and Christine Ream. The intro and outro music was produced by Josh Lida. To learn more, visit LidaMusic.com.
01:23:00
Speaker
And until next time, thanks for tuning