Congratulations to everyone that performed in our second week of premiere!  We have all successfully made it through our first show and are now ready to run with filling, tweaking, changing, and growing our programs to be the best they can be!  After talking with our panel of judges and overview clinician about next steps of consideration for shows, one of our biggest indicators is making sure there is a strong focus on the floor that is filling the voice in your show.  This also fell right into a good segue to close up on week 1 transitions as sometimes these transitions can take away from focus on the floor and explain how to create a focus that works!

There isn’t a right or wrong transition that can be picked but there are some that work better musically or help to build into your vertical moments stronger and those will need to be explored and planned for as you move through the design.

The use of line, shape, dimension, balance, space (both positive and negative), emphasis, symmetry, and asymmetry are all great elements of design that should be considered and utilized to create impactful staging!

Motion is one of the most valuable design elements.  Through the method, speed, and direction it helps to evolve the program and keeps your show from being static!  Always keep in mind that the eye is drawn to speed so be mindful of your entrances and exits if they are not the current focus.

Focus – As you start adding in choreography and seeing your design come to life stop and ask yourself “What do I want my audience to be watching or focused on currently?”  If you don’t know… neither will the audience.  Clarity is the key to getting your show to read clearly.  Multiple events can occur at the same time but the clarity in the design and choreography should support where the eye is drawn.

As you listen to your show music stop to reflect on the following things:

1. How many voices do I hear in this section?  (Voice lyrics, instrumentals, etc.)
2. What is the guard representing during this section?  If there are multiple voices in the music then you will want to reflect that but making sure that the equipment and ideas compliment each other and give a clear focus of what should be watched and what is secondary.  Varying speed within the written work to mirror what is being heard as focus and secondary will help support this!
3. If there is only one voice/instrumental, am I keeping focus well with what is supporting the voice or are other transitions/speed/density within drill taking away from where I want my audience to watch.

Remember if a member is on the floor, they are seen by everyone…sculpting and contouring transitions to the edge of the floor and to pick up equipment are just as important as the “big moments” and should be thought out to make sure they are also not taking away from focus on the floor.

As always we look forward to seeing everyone at our regular show competitions and congrats to everyone who participated in the last 2 weekends of premiere shows!  Great skill to you all!

Jamie Escobar-Dyer