The new year has brought many new clubs and opportunities here at Malden High School. Color Guard club is one of those opportunities that has just begun as they held a successful informational meeting on January 22nd with interest from all kinds of students.
To start off the meeting, Addison McWayne, a junior at Malden High School, presented a couple of videos showing off what a color guard performance will look like. The students were mesmerized by the quick and coordinated choreographies that synced up perfectly. This already had everyone in the room hooked and ready to hear more.
McWayne then described what color guard meant to her and described it to be a “visual representation of the music.” She said this visual adds “another layer and another depth of what the music can mean to a person so having the band and the color guard have routines and play alongside each other just adds a whole other view to what music can be.”
As the club is brand new and there is more work to be done to truly finalize it, McWayne and Lauren Foley, the band director at Malden High School, want to scope out who is interested in participating while still having their goals in mind.
“Getting one routine down to a place where it can be performed at the graduation would be amazing.” McWayne expressed how her goal would be for the color guard to perform at this year's graduation.
“I think it’d be cool to see if we could get, if not all three, maybe two different forms of the props. I think flags are the easiest to start with but then see if we could get a start on sabers or rifles," said Foley.
During the meeting, Foley grabbed one of the color guard flags in her room and showed off a few techniques that they would learn. In college Foley was a part of the marching band and was always fascinated by the color guard.
“I was like ‘I love to dance and wow they get to spin and throw things, that’s crazy!’ But, I ended up changing my mind and thought ‘I’ll just keep playing my flute and marching instead,’" she said.
However, this did not end her color guard journey as throughout college she took a UMass “color guard techniques class which I started, then COVID hit so I never finished the class. I have a small background in some of the techniques and also a network of people I could reach out to for things like that.”
“I wanted to join because I thought Color Guard would be fun and I liked all the visuals of it and I like the dancing part. I feel like it would be something fun and interesting to do.” Ndiaye Destine, a sophomore who attended the meeting explained. She has never seen a color guard performance or experienced one but just from the meeting she found it to be helpful and encouraged her to try it out. For the future of color guard, she is excited about the “competitions and dance, it all just seems so fun!”
“My friends wanted me to come and I was already kind of interested in it so I decided why not just go and get some more information on it.” Sorin Mamouzette, another sophomore explained. “I have never experienced a live Color Guard performance but I have been watching them for a little over a month now. It’s a coincidence this club popped up at the same time but I hope I can pursue this interest of mine further.” This meeting helped her to want to be more involved in the Color Guard.
To close off the meeting, McWayne explained the situation with their equipment and how Christopher Mastrangelo, the principal of Malden High School, is ready to support the club once they need it.
“I just love being able to continue to expand the experience people can have within the band program, the music program, and other opportunities here, that’s always been a strong role of mine.” Foley left off with this final thought.
For more information check out another article the Blue and Gold published here: https://www.maldenblueandgold.com/2024/01/flag-corps-return-with-flying-colors/ or you can contact McWayne or Foley with any further questions.
