The Design Process vs. Actually Ordering Stuff

This is definitely a post for someone who has been teaching indoor guard for a while with no budget... or a warning for those of you just getting into it.

The design process is a fun thing where you toss around ideas with your team, other instructors, designer, or whoever you have to toss around ideas with. You come up with the most beautiful costumes, create intricate flags, and sketch out floor designs that make your heart flutter. You put everything together and the design is so incredible that in your head you've already won circuit championships and you are taking it to the next level by signing your team up for WGI!!

Then you check out your budget for the year, see that you have a little money. So you're like ok, we will skimp a little bit on the uniforms by leaving out the head piece, purchasing the cheaper version from Amazon, or going barefoot instead of using the glistening shoes. Then you look into buying your lovely flag design digitally printed and see that it's twice the cost of having a flag pieced together with the same colors, so you go with the money-saving option. There's also a guard in the next town over trying to sell a hand-painted floor that is similar to the digital design you imagined so you buy that used off of their hands. Pretty soon, your show is a mere mirage of what you had imagined.

The thing is, we have to keep from getting discouraged at this point. Remember what color guard is really all about; beautiful flags on the floor. Art in motion. Even without the perfectly designed show, you can still create something great and beautiful. It takes the students', instructors', and parents' beliefs in the show to bring it to life. The skill and performance quality are the portions of the show truly judged. That's what counts.

<3 Jackie

Human Relationships - Reprinted with Permission

Isn't it funny how human relationships work? I like to sit back and think about the psychology of it all sometimes. When you meet someone new, you hope that they are being honest with you, but you are suspicious that they might be. You also have the understanding that they are putting their best foot forward because they are trying to make a good impression on you just as much as you are trying to make a good impression on them. You can't really start to get to know what that person is truly like until you get past all of that nonsense.

 

There's also a problem if you go the other direction. If you are completely yourself when you first meet someone new, act as if you don't really care what they think of you, they might think you aren't interested in them because you don't care about their opinion of you. So... be yourself but be your BEST self I guess is the best advice.

 

I have problems behaving like a "normal" person in public often. I would be the kind of person who would organize and then perform in a flash mob (and I have on a small scale before). I dance out of nowhere. I occasionally burst into song. I snap my fingers. I can't whistle but if I knew how to whistle I probably still wouldn't whistle because the sound of whistling sometimes drives me a little crazy. Point being, I don't do what everyone else does all the time. I'm a menace to society. I also enjoy my life a lot more than a lot of people who are so worried about social norms that they actually alter who they are on the inside to fit some sort of outer mold.

 

We are Rome, ladies and gentlemen. Just please don't forget that Rome did fall.

J.M. Hope

My First Weekend at Spintronix

My first Spintronix weekend will be one I remember forever. I walked in thinking it was going to be an easy weekend full of great people and lots of down time. Needless to say I was wrong about a few things. The weekend was hard work, sore arms, and lots of bio freeze. Luckily though, I nailed the idea of the type of people that would be there and made lots of friends. We worked on "basics" with flag, rifle, and dance. I put quotes around basics because I have been doing colorguard for 3 years and I didn't know a lot of what I learned. I am very glad to have been welcomed and accepted at Spintronix. I can't wait for next weekend and the many that come afterwards. <3 <3

Shandon (1st year member)

Counting our Blessings!!

I couldn't ask for a better start to a season, and I don't want to jinx it, but I'm also not superstitious so I want the world to know what's going on at Spintronix Indoor Guard! We had the largest audition turn-out that we have ever had for this season, and we are about to commence in the biggest show we have ever done. The costumes are beautiful, the flags are going to be incredible, and we are working hard to get everything ordered for this. We moved the staff bedroom into the office, and set up more bunk beds in the old staff room to house more girls. I'm still looking for more bunk beds, but we have a few singles in the meantime and they are very helpful.

We had a very successful kick-off fundraiser so that's always a good way to start the season. The money is going to pay for our contest entry fees so that we can attend a competition in Memphis this year! It will also pay off our propane bill so we can be guaranteed to have heat this year as well. We also have more parents who want to be more involved than ever so I am very appreciative of the help around the Angelica building in keeping things organized, stocked, and clean!

All that being said, it definitely takes a village to raise these children so we are still looking for some donations of paper products (paper plates, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, etc.) and cleaning supplies (sponges, brillo pads, dish soap, floor cleaner, etc.) to keep our facility rolling. If you have any donations you can drop them off at the Angelica building or at Farmer's Feed in Mountain View, MO. If you would like to mail them our address is:

Spintronix Color Guard

P.O. Box 141

Mountain View, MO 65548

We ARE a non-profit 501(c)(3) so all donations are tax-deductible! We appreciate everything that anyone can help with!!!

Balancing the Arts and Earning - Reprinted with Permission

I've had a lot to do lately, and I am trying to do all of the things that I did when I was younger on top of it. The way I see things, when I was young I did a lot in order to improve myself as a person. I read, wrote, exercised, danced, sang, did math problems, took care of my pets, cleaned my room, etc. I still do a lot of those things but otherresponsibilities of being an adult have taken over a huge portion of my self-improvement and I feel as if I had been at a stand-still of personal growth for the last several years. It was like I suddenly felt content with the person I had become and was perfectly happy being that person for the rest of my life. Maybe I was at the time, but the world keeps changing, so if I can't change with it then I am going to be stuck!

 

So now I am incredibly busy (much like I was when I was young). I read almost daily, I write in a journal 1-2 times per week (although sometimes this blog is all that counts as my writing for the whole week, pathetic I know), and I write to my pen pal 5-6 days a week. I still dance, of course, but I am dancing more now, and watching what I eat, too so that I don't get lazy and just eat whatever is available. The only problem with all of this, I feel, is that my job performance may soon suffer because I am so self-focused right now. There are definitely two possible outcomes; I am going to crash and burn, or I am going to continually grow and become better at all of this.

 

Everyone wants more spare time. I say, for what? But then again, I find myself having a hard time finding the time to work on my next book, too. Hopefully I can remedy this as well.

J.M. Hope

First Weekend - SIG17 Member Blog

So this past weekend was the first weekend of the 2017 season for Spintronix, and a lot of really exciting things happened first we claimed our bunks for the season which makes Angelica feel even more like home away from home. And even though we didn't have a full guard, we had a very productive weekend. In only the first few hours of rehearsal we learned our WHOLE flag warm-up routine, which is AWESOME. We even touched a good bit of basics on rifle, though we all got a little frustrated and overwhelmed everybody was a trooper and pulled themselves together and pushed through. We moved on to dance when rifle got to be too much which was a nice change of pace everybody seemed to have lightened up and enjoy themselves. We even got to do a couple of across the floors in heels that we will be wearing for performances. We uped the anty by adding flags to jazz walks. We had a really great team-building exercise that helped us learn each others names and was a really fun and entertaining game that I think all of us are looking forward to playing again soon. Overall I think we had a very successful first weekend. I hope next weekend will be just as progressive and better with the full guard. It makes me giddy to think about how much potential this guard has due to such amazing individuals in our cast this season. Keep up the good work and remember to practice. I can't wait to see everyone this coming weekend. 

Megan

Do You Think We'll Make It? - Reprinted with Permission

You can look all the time at these quotes such as "it's not about the destination, but the journey" but until you can apply that in real life, these quotes are just words.

 

Take me for instance (and who could be a better example than myself when it comes to writing in my own blog?); I enjoy color guard. Duh, I know, because if I didn't enjoy it then why on earth would I spend so much time thinking about it and writing about it and teaching it, etc. So, I love color guard. When, during all of my color guard adventures, am I the happiest though? Is it during the 4.5-11 minute performance time that I usually can't even remember anyway because of my incredible adrenaline rush? (By the way, it doesn't matter if I'm performing or watching my students perform, my physiological reaction is the same!) Is it the endless hours of rehearsal? Is it the long car rides to performances? Is it the breaks where everyone gossips and bonds? Is it the actual spinning of my equipment?

 

Really, it is a combination of all of these things! If I took any one of them away it would not be the same. The end game might be a gold medal for me, or just a good championship performance, but really it is all of the fun and memories that are created along the way that make me love what I do so very much...

J.M. Hope