Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Instructional”
The term “visual performance” has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. For our purposes, we will concentrate on the principles involved in performance based in dance, (marching band) color guard, and military exhibition drill.
The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency does a meticulous job reflected in their mission statement: “Provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.” An extraordinary mission. The Missions The Recovery Mission – Long before a team is selected to roam a foreign countryside and climb rocky terrain, government-to-government talks take place, locations …
Whether you are a soloist, part of a tandem, tetrad, or larger drill team, understanding and applying the concept of vocabulary in a visual performance is essential.
What is it that makes a routine grab the audience by the eyeballs and yell at them, “Don’t miss this or you’ll regret it!” Audience engagement, my friends, audience engagement. What is it and how do you get some?
The issue is that the service drill and ceremonies manuals do not specifically state that a color guard must be covered (wear their headgear: hats, helmets, or berets) all the time when presenting the colors. In this article, I go over the standards of being covered and when we can remove the cover.
This information affects all bases overseas for all services. The photo at the top of the page is from 2025 of the Spangdahlem Air Base Honor Guard color guard in Luxembourg for the celebration of the liberation of Vianden with the wrong colors in the wrong positions. When my wife and I were stationed at Spang, I did this very …
The correlation between dance, other performance activities, and unarmed/armed military exhibition drill (UXD/AXD) is strong, as these disciplines emphasize precision, rhythm, coordination, and expression.
My suggestions here are based on my research and anecdotal evidence, I am not giving medical advice, just passing along what has worked for me.
Time and space. Drill competitions across the country are underway each school year. School campuses are taken over for one day out of the year with different drill decks on various grassy fields, the football field, and even inside the gym and field house.
It can be a bit annoying to face and then move to Right/Left Shoulder but there is good reason for it.