The St. Louis color guard of 2024 is here to perform its routines for this year’s marching band halftime show.
The color guard adds something to watch as the band members play their show, “Journey.” The four members are Seniors Bethany Bowerman and Kailee Reese, along with juniors Noah Bobzien and Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans. Being on the guard takes commitment such as the harsh heat of band camp which takes place the last week of July and remembering four different routines for four different songs. The guard members keep up their smiles and give their performance their all, even when he or she drops a flag.
The color guard is a smaller section of the marching band, which gives the chance for the members to be closer and support and uplift each other. Junior Noah Bobzien says, “I like the atmosphere of colorguard. Throughout my entire time in colorguard, I never once felt judged if I made a mistake. It really keeps me motivated.” Mistakes happen, especially when he or she is throwing a five foot pole into the air on a windy day. The important thing is to smile and push through, and recognize the mistakes and correct them for the next performance.
Even with the challenges, there is always a reason to join the guard. It could be something he or she always wanted to do or it could be something he or she saw once in high school and wanted to try. For junior Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans, he says, “I wanted to wave the beautiful and colorful flags in the air. I saw all the flags waving in the air, and I was so interested in it.” The flags are definitely the eye catcher of the color guard. It seems the flags are what people think of when he or she thinks of color guard.
The next time the guard will show off its moves is at the homecoming parade and homecoming game, both taking place Sept. 13. The parade starts at 5 p.m. and the game will kick off at 7 p.m. The guard will be with the band starting at Frosty Cone. The band and color guard will be performing at pregame with the band instead of at halftime.
