It's exciting, entertaining, innovative, crowd pleasing, award-winning, often brash and bold! It's marching, spinning, twirling and swirling, complex maneuvering of bodies and equipment! It's a touch of ballet, jazz, pop and modern dance, and the synchronized use of tall flags, rifles, short flags, explosion flags, double silks, fans, umbrellas, and balloons! It's props, theatrical sets, scenery, gigantic dots of vinyl floor covering, and glittering costumes. It's indoor pageantry at it's finest! What is it?
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When Richard Kramer, the official WGI announcer said “And with a score of 99...” the UD Arena went crazy! You couldn’t hear the rest of what ever he said because everyone was applauding, cheering, and/or asking their neighbors questions - wondering if they heard correctly! It was truly a historic night for pageantry! After all, this was only the 2nd time in the 31-year history of WGI that someone announced a score of 99! This 99.5 was the highest score in the ‘modern era,’ with the current sheets and judging format.
Of course, Fantasia salutes the 1996 Blue Devils, who still hold the ‘highest ever’ score of 99.55 – something that will never be topped. But as world-class performances go, this was truly one for the ages. The 30 talented performers from Riverside Community College exceeded all expectations, bringing to fruition the vision and genius of WGI Hall of Fame member Karl Lowe, and the choreography of Mykail Costner. It was a lot of hard work and it took dedication, commitment and sacrifice as these busy college entertainers changed their work schedule, their sleep schedule, their eating schedule and their social schedule to accommodate the rigorous rehearsal schedule. The results are a tribute to each and every one of them – and to the outstanding staff and to the continued support of the college and the RCC pageantry programs. Unable to ‘burst the curse’ last season – the weird dynamic that keeps Fantasia from winning in back-to-back years – everyone committed themselves to follow the motto - ‘what ever it takes.’ With a simplicity that drew the audience in, with one white table and one white rocking chair on a black floor, the show took spectators on a 6 1/2 min ‘memory play,’ allowing everyone to ‘bring to the table’ what ever they could, based on experiences from their own life. In this way, no two performances were exactly the same to the audience. It was emotional, involving, entertaining, intriguing – all at the same time. Earning WGI gold medals in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, this 6th one puts Fantasia in truly elite company, alongside winter guards who stand out from the rest due to their consistency over the years. To be mentioned in the same sentence with the Blue Devils (4 in a row!), State Street Review (5 overall) and San Jose Raiders (6 overall!) is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations, one and all! Read all about it at the WGI website at www.wgi.org |
