As the last note of music faded, the Winterguard performers smiled and waved enthusiastically at their audience in the bleachers—the audience that had just learned to time travel under their guidance. 

With their show “Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel,” Winterguard placed fourth out of six competitors in their division during the first tournament of the season at Mission Vista High School, March 5. Autumn Kelly (11) said the group has been excited to work with this year’s theme, which is a continuation of their “Beginner’s Guide” saga.

“The show is so fun,” Kelly said. “Everyone just loves it. The costumes are cute, the choreography is quirky and fun, and we enjoy it so much.”

Throughout the performance, the audience is taken on a journey through time, guided by a disembodied narrator who explains the three essential rules of time travel. The show begins with a quick introduction, demonstrating a leap forwards in time and giving a sneak peek to where the whole group performs choreography with flags. After returning to the ‘present,’ the adventure through time begins.

Rule 1: Never travel with the intention of changing the past.

The main section of the show begins with a circus-like tune as the narrator explains the first rule. The performers split into two groups, some with rifles and others with colorful flags. Valerie Hsu (10) said the props, costumes and choreography are all designed to convey this time travel concept to the audience.

“Our [flags] all have time-related elements to them,” Hsu said. “We have various forms of clocks and gears on the silks, and choreographically, we’re constantly checking our watches and we move across the floor backwards [to show] we’re moving back in time.”

Rule 2: Never run into yourself.

The narrator returns with a warning: if you interact with your past self, you could cause a paradox. To demonstrate this, all of the performers pick up a rifle and move into pairs to begin the next section of the show.

“We all have partners, basically doing the same choreography, but mirrored and against each other.” Hsu said. “It’s a hard part, but it adds so much to the effect of the performance.”

This segment of the show corresponds to Rule 2, as the performers split into duos and ‘meet their past selves.’ Though this concept may seem difficult, Kelly said she believes the group was able to grasp it quickly.

“We all have each other’s backs, and even if someone’s confused, we’ll all do our best to help them,” Kelly said. 

Rule 3: Never travel without doing your research first.

By Rule 3, in contrast to the calmer introduction, the soundtrack becomes busier, mimicking the chaos that comes with traveling through time.

“The music and the tempo changes throughout,” Hsu said. “As you’re learning about the rules, the music gets more hectic.”

After the third rule, the narrator announces that the audience is now ready to time travel safely, and asks a final question: where would you go if you could turn back time? As the frenzied energy from the rules section dies down, the music slows and the choreography changes to match it.

“Everything finally comes together,” Hsu said. “You understand the rules, and you’re able to time travel with them, so the music becomes more calm.” 

With the soundtrack fading to Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” the main flag hit—the same from the introduction—returns for the grand finale, with every performer spinning in a sea of bright silks while Erika Takaya (11) performs a dance solo in the front. The show nears its end, and with a final flag flourish from Lauren Kadlubowski (12), the performers smile and wave at the audience to thunderous applause.

After their first performance, Winterguard received feedback from the judges, and the group is planning to utilize this experience to improve their show for the weeks ahead.

“We have new plans on how we can enhance our performance,” Kelly said. “We talked with our coach about it, and we plan on placing even better [in upcoming tournaments]. But at the end of the day, we’re all just super excited to perform.”