Movement, Dance, Color Guard, Basic movement, Beginner dance, body movements, dance skills, body training,


Writing Movement for your Color Guard

When writing movement for your color guard, think about where they are and what you can get them to achieve well. Writing movement for your color guard doesn't mean that they must look like ballerinas.  Movement is simply a demonstration of skills with the body.  Taking simple steps to the left or right is movement and can also be characterized into a piece of choreography.   Using other simple things such as lunges and making shapes are other ways to increase vocabulary.  A back bend is also a movement skill that has a very interesting shape to it.  I imagine getting in and out of it would be something to consider.  How would these things look on your team and would it characterize the show?  Try to think about what things can your color guard already do well together.  Thinking this way will allow room for mastering of skills.

Eight on a hand - This is exercise is eight strokes on each hand played from slow to fast tempos. This is also played with different stick levels and heights to warm up the wrists.  Tenors and Basses will play varying in order to go through the different pitches and space and distance the hand must travel to play them.  And different techniques around the drum.

Double Beats - This exercise is a serious of two  notes in a sequence to develops the performers double stroke ability.  The double stroke is performed on one hand. This is one bar of 4/4 on one hand then on the other.

Roll Exercise -   A roll is a serious of double strokes from hand to hand in a particular meter.  The stoke sounds are very close together producing a sound similar to that of a helicopter or machine gun.