With competition season right around the corner, now is the perfect time to take a look at some of my personal favorite shows from years past. Here are five of my favorite shows in no particular order.
Phoenix Independent – Exposed
First up we have Phoenix Independent’s show from 2019 titled ‘Exposed’. First off, the song, Everybody Knows by Sigrid, is an absolute ear worm. Every time I watch this show I find myself humming the chorus for weeks after. It doesn’t help that once I watch this show, I find myself putting it on repeat whenever I’m taking a break from homework. I absolutely love the tarp and its relation to the show. I also love the variations in costumes. I’m not typically one who likes having a guard that doesn’t have a uniform costume, but I think it fits well with the show. Overall I recommend this highly entertaining show.
Etude – The Bloom May Be Brief
‘The Bloom ay Be Brief’ is Etude’s 2019 show, and while the music may not be as earwormy as Everybody Knows, the music fits the show super well in my opinion. Plus, the costumes just hit different. I personally love it when everyone in a group wears the same costume. Let me tell you, the first time I saw the pants that they wear in this show, I instantly wanted a pair myself because they just look so pretty when Etude performs. I also adore the flower petals that they throw around, I mean who doesn’t love watching confetti or anything like it slowly flutter to the ground while people spin underneath it. It’s a beautiful show that doesn’t get boring at any point, as expected from a World Class group.
Onyx – Shelter in Place
While Onyx is typically known for their all-black outfits and solid-colored tarps, they switched it up in 2019 for their show ‘Shelter in Place’. The unitards are super interesting to look at and the show truly embraces the chaos that goes on when people are given the order to “Shelter in Place” due to a disaster. There’s a reason that Onyx consistently places in the top for World Championships. I will admit the show can be incredibly weird at points, but that just adds to the spectacle of it in my opinion.
Mechancisburg – Every 40 Seconds
Truly one of my iconic shows that I show people when I want to introduce them to winterguard. While it is truly a depressing show, the skill that these high school, yes high school, girls display is truly astounding. I love the rope props and while the tarp looks incredibly busy, it fits the show very well. The ending of the show is super emotional so make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when watching!
Paramount – Rule of Three
Hear me out, this show is literally just the primary colors and that’s why I love it. There is no switch where they suddenly have a second silk, there are the three primary colors, and they all spin a silk that is that color. Granted, they do pick up each other’s silk so you may have a performer in yellow spinning a blue silk but that doesn’t happen till towards the end of the show, and it really ups the performance value in my opinion. It’s a fun show to watch and I definitely recommend it.
Keep in mind these are only five of hundreds of shows out there. While these might be my personal favorites, keep an open mind and try out shows that may not look entertaining at first, you might be surprised.