The tradition of the Winter Guard Showcase started during the pandemic, because the students weren’t able to travel to competitions due to the COVID-19. It continued for a third consecutive year on March 29 as Liberty hosted the event in the large gym. 

However, this year’s showcase started with Frontier Middle School’s first-ever winter guard, performing their program “Smile” directed and choreographed by KC Starr with additional assistance from senior Natalie Hoffman and junior Tessa Wilson. The students at Frontier rehearsed for nearly nine months in preparation for their debut at this year’s Winter Guard Showcase.

Following Frontier Middle, North Point Middle School debuted with their program “The Queen’s Gambit” directed and choreographed by Jarred Carey with assistance from others.

“Our middle school program is really about getting students involved and getting them to love the sport. So their concept was picked based on wanting to do something fun and upbeat,” Carey said. They started learning the technique for this routine in October, and then started on the show choreography in January. 

Wrapping up the middle school performances, Wentzville Middle School performed their debut program “Dream” directed and choreographed by Molly Krejci assisted by Leah Huitt, Emma McCarthy and Lily Nemec. Director Krejci says that she “picked the song because it had an audible beat, and was easy to count for a team with beginning-level skills. It is also a song about childlike dreaming that the students can relate to.” The director also mentioned that they started learning the show back in December. 

Following the middle school routines, a member of the La Voûte Artistic Collection, Nikole Florence, performed the first solo of the night entitled “Unlucky” choreographed by Jarred Carey.

“Nikole and I started brainstorming ideas for her solo around October of last year. We really dove into the concept and choreography in January,” stated director Carey.

Starting off the high school performances, North Point High School performed their program “Unrequited” directed and choreographed by Jarred Carey with the assistance of Brady Eaton, Eric Welker, and Theresa Winkle, with music by Woodkid.

“My inspiration for the North Point programs always comes from the identity of the membership. You get a good sense of the cast through those training months and that helps develop the concept,” Carey said. At North Point, they typically like to “start with technique rehearsal and then start to develop the show,” says the director.

Following North Point, Timberland High School took the floor performing their program “You are a Miracle” directed and choreographed by Katie Bender, Zachary O’Connor, and Michelle Peetz assisted by Zachary Barber, and Robert Jordan.

Breaking away from the high schools, the next performance was from another member of the La Voûte Artistic Collection, Alyssa Moody performing her solo, “What Could’ve Been”, choreographed by Zoë Miller, with music by Sting. 

Returning to high schools, the program from Holt High School “Autumn Leaves” was directed and choreographed by Molly Krejci.

“‘Autumn Leaves’ is a beautiful and recognizable piece that resonates with the audience. This team does a fantastic job of showing the journey of love and loss. The use of leaves throughout the show convey the fall theme as well,” Krejci said. She also had stated that they started on the show back in November but would have “camp days where they rehearse for about eight hours.” 

Finishing our high school performances was our own Liberty High School with this season’s program “Down Home Cookin’”, directed and choreographed by KC Starr with additional help from Danielle Welch, Patrick Slifer, and Helen Tolcou. The inspiration behind this program came about when “I came across this song one day and thought it would be a fun concept for a show. We all have that one family recipe that nobody else can quite replicate,” stated director Starr. They have been rehearsing this program since November and the showcase was the last public performance before they go to championships in Springfield.

Finishing our winter guard performances was the La Voûte Performance Ensemble performing their program “The Greatest Gamble” directed and choreographed by Brandon Fink and Joy Eslick with additional assistance from Alyssa Navarro, Emily Navarro, Adam Ray, Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson, Jordan Swierczek, Jarred Carey, Brady Eaton, Halima Hussain, Jasmyne Tyler, Zoë Miller, Audrey Johnston, Zac Barber and Robert Jordan, with music by ABBA sung by Joey Niceforo. The ensemble contained a Timberland alum, two Liberty alumni, a Liberty staff member and three North Point staff members.

“The LVPE started with technique rehearsals in September and began working on the show sometime in November. The process at La Voûte is very organic and collaborative so the program has developed naturally over time,” Carey said.

Closing this year’s Winter Guard Showcase was Timberland’s Indoor Percussion performing their program “Connect” directed by Derek Peplaw with assistance from Andrew Lamer. So much talent was shown in these performances before the Mid-Continent Color Guard Association Championships in Springfield.