JMU Nuance Winterguard named as a finalist in WGI World Championships
News
Color guard reaches new heights on program’s 10th anniversary
DAYTON, OHIO— 2016 is the second time in Nuance’s ten-year history that they made it to the finals round at the Winter Guard International (WGI) World Championships.
This weekend, JMU’s esteemed color guard competed in the World Guard International (WGI) Championships. After three days of performing, they emerged 16th out of the 73 guards who participated in the Independent A Class.
On Thursday, they competed against 73 other guards. They made the cut to semi-finals the next day, and gave a performance that earned them a spot in Saturday’s final round. They finished with a score of 84.126, which ranked them 16th in the world – an impressive feat, which puts the JMU group atop a short list of the most successful groups represented from the east coast.
Nuance Director Carly Philp, credits some of this year’s success to the guard’s excellent work in previous years. “They wanted to pick up on the drive and passion they had last season, and continue to grow from there. It was incredible to see them continue to push themselves to another level.”
Curious about winterguard and the story behind JMU Nuance's show this year? Check out this interview with Captain and Age-out Sarah Slough, directed and produced by our own Courtney Coffey and MRD member Bryn McIntyre!
Posted by JMU Nuance Winterguard on Friday, April 8, 2016
This year’s show, entitled “Can You Hear Me,” is about struggling with internal and external voices of doubt. “We begin the show with hoods on, and as the show progresses, we each remove our hoods, representing that we can finally hear the voices telling us we’re good enough,” explained Sarah Slough, one of Nuance’s senior captains.
Slough went on to describe what she enjoys most about Nuance. “We are a family. Our bond is something that I haven’t found anywhere else in my color guard experience. I love being with these people and doing something we all are passionate about.” These close-knit relationships are really what bring their show to another level.
Kerri Seaman, another captain, recalled that their largest success was knowing that a season of hard work had resulted in a strong, meaningful show. “The end product was our great performance - making finals was just a reward. It was the cherry on top.”
JMU Nuance Winterguard performs at WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio.
