On Saturday night, the Los Gatos High School Winterguard moved another step closer to its goal of showing the world what makes them great. The team hosted a Pursuit of Excellence Winterguard Challenge competition in the gym which featured 19 competing teams from around the Bay Area.
The 11-member team run under the band department is a form of dance combining artistry and athletic ability set to music. Winterguard uses large flags, rifles and sabers in the dance, with members moving in unison to create a memorable visual effect. Also integral to the four- to five-minute visual show are breathing methods and facial expressions. Because of the amount of detail and timing in each performance, Captain Erin Christofferson said the team adds a small part of the routine, set to Piano Concerto #1 by Keith Emerson, each time they perform until eventually they have a complete routine. The senior, who has been a member of LGHS's team since its start four years ago, said the routine will be complete by the time the group travels to the Winterguard International World Championships in Ohio in April.
"It's an indoor competition that is also like a drama production," Christofferson said.
However in this production, the performance is judged on techniques including movement, general effect and how the equipment is used.
Christofferson adds that the five judges are able to tell at first glance if the group is properly trained and also by how team members breathe. She adds that this season the LGHS team has consistently won in movement and equipment.
To win a competition requires a lot of practice and dedication. Head coach Jason Peeples said the girls practice for five months before their first show and then practice at least three times a week after that.
Peeples, a former member of a world champion guard called the Concord Blue Devils, said the girls also meet daily in a class setting to practice. "We put in more practice and are more dedicated than any other sports group at the high school," Christofferson said. "We have no social lives."
The performance remains the same through the year with bits and pieces being added for each competition. By rehearsing and performing the show in gradual increments, Peeples said the team becomes synchronized through repetition. He adds the girls need to be coordinated and muscular to be part of the team and that many don't start off that way but learn through repetition.
Christofferson said it does help to have some background in ballet but it is not required.
LGHS's Winterguard has done relatively well in its four years at the school. Last year the guard won a regional championship title and was given the distinction of being among the best in the Western United States. So far this year, the team has placed first in a competition at Live Oak High School and second at Amador Valley High School and Mt. Diablo High School tournaments.
Winterguard will use all the profits from last weekend's event sponsored by the LGHS Band Boosters, to help fund its trip to the world championships.
Christofferson said the trip will be an expensive one with costs of approximately $1,400 per person plus the cost of shipping the floor mat and equipment.
The team will compete against more than 100 groups from around the world at the event, Peeples said.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
