Colorguard program starts rehearsing for new shows
Clubs and student organizations are a staple of many students’ collegiate experiences. Members of Frente, a colorguard group based on campus, put their own spin on extra curricular activities.
A traditional colorguard group performs with a marching band, commonly during halftime at football games. Frente takes that to the next level, developing technical and artistic performances to compete against other colorguard teams. Most use flags, rifles, sabers and dance moves in their routines. Each group has a different style, ranging from ballet to modern.
Samantha Carter, a Frente dancer, describes Frente as a program that brings a visual element to music.
“You bring something you can actually see,” said Carter. “When you watch a guard show you don’t really listen to the music. You’re watching a story unfold through music.”
Though most members of Frente have busy schedules, they will take time every weekend for practice. Their first practice of the season was Sunday.
Carter said the most challenging aspect of Frente is the stress.
“Sometimes it gets stressful when you’re crunched for a show,” said Carter.
She teaches another colorguard class, which keeps her weekend schedule packed.
“I don’t get as long of a warm up as everyone else,” she said. “The most stressful time is right before we perform.”
Heather Martin, who started performing with Frente in 2005, laughs when she says Frente monopolizes her weekend.
“I have no life except for colorguard,” said Martin.
Oliver Bullock, Frente’s director, recognizes the difficulty students have in juggling schedules.
“The kind of member we want is a student at Fresno State that’s hard working and responsible, but those two things take a lot of time and energy,” Bullock said.
A search on YouTube for past Frente performances brings up their work from the past two seasons, including a routine called “Five Steps to a Successful Life” which samples audio from TV pop culture.
Two seasons ago, the club performed a darker routine that stretched the guard members emotionally. Martin recalls that performance as one that touched the members on a deep level.
“We had to figure out what was constricting us in life,” Martin said. “We had to expose ourselves and it was hard.”
Carter says that particular routine made guard members emotional.
“There were many practices where we would walk off the floor crying, because we put that emotion out there,” she said. “It felt like you went to a shrink.”
Because colorguard is physically demanding, it tells a story and it has an element of drama. Carter added that performing with Frente is much like theater.
“You have to become something you’re not,” she said.
The emotion pays off in the feeling she gets after a performance.
“Knowing that other people around you are enjoying it and you’re entertaining other people by doing what you love to do is a great feeling,” said Carter.
While colorguard programs are common in high schools, they are rare at the collegiate level. Bullock revived Fresno State’s program five years ago when Timothy Anderson, Fresno State’s marching band director, asked him to get involved.
Before working with Fresno State students, Bullock worked with a lot of high school groups. He wanted to see the kids he taught go on to college and continue with color guard after high school.
“I was excited to get the opportunity to start a program that I was able to say to my high school kids, ‘Hey, come to Fresno State, get an education, and keep working on your skill set at another level.’”
The biggest takeaway, says Jennifer Gallardo, another Frente dancer, is the life skills that Bullock emphasizes.
“It’s not about colorguard,” she said. “It’s about life and growing up. He wants us to take everything we get here and apply it to life.”