The Stonewall Jackson High School Varsity Winter Guard team won the silver medal in the class A Independent Division World Championships in Ohio on April 11.
While team captains say winter guard remains an obscure sport, the Stonewall Jackson name is well known among the winter guard competitors.
“It’s still a little-known activity around here, but we’ve had a lot of success; and, it’s well-known in the circuit. When you go to shows, everyone knows Stonewall Jackson. We’ve done well in the last six years,” said Captain Daniella Arron-Schiavone.
Six years ago, director Lindell Palmer took over as director of the color and winter guards for Stonewall Jackson, after previously coaching teams at South Lakes High School.
With an ambitious new direction, Palmer helped the Raiders Winter Guard rise through the ranks of their division, winning award after award.
Now, he has a powerhouse team that includes staff member Mary Ann Melkonian; professional dancer, dance faculty at Towson University and director of VT Dance in Baltimore, Vincent Thomas; and former winter guard performer, and graduate of South Lakes High School, Kat Velkoff.
“We can never leave this program. The kids want to come back and help in some capacity,” Palmer said.
Although many of the same winter guard members perform with the color guard in the fall, winter is where they really shine in indoor competition season.
“People who are outside the world don’t understand it. It’s like theatre and dance meets the traditional color guard, so they’re spinning, yet they’re also dancing,” Palmer said.
Captains Rachelle Dietcel, Daniella Arron-Schiavone and Brittany Parowski are all seniors who joined the team together as freshmen.
“We just all brought each other. We were all freshman when we started,” said Dietcel.
The girls emphasized that it was never about joining a winning team.
“It wasn’t because we were doing well, it was because we enjoyed it,” Parowski said.
Every year, the team creates unique choreography, dancing a routine around a specific theme.
“There are certain emotions that you have to engage in and convey to the audience," Arron-Shiavone explained. “You have to build your own story, and find out what each section of the show means.”
This year’s theme was saying goodbye, and the team felt it was very personal.
“It’s somber. We have so many seniors that are graduating, so it’s kind of saying goodbye for them. It’s an end of an era, because I have had them for three or four years.”
The theme fit their team’s dance style, which is theatrical and emotional, and less of the militaristic style that once defined color guards.
“Our style this year I think was completely different than other guards. It would be more modern than other groups,” Dietcel said. “We did an all flag show. Other groups had sabers and rifles. It goes to show how good we were.”
According to Palmer, one of the biggest compliments they received was when a live blogger for the WGI website described their routine as “the most artistic show of the night.”
However, in addition to creating a brand new show every year, they spend most of the season not just practicing, but changing and fine tuning the routines.
“It naturally evolves throughout the season. I think Stonewall Jackson is notorious for (that),” Arron-Schiavone said.
Palmer said he would rather experiment with a change than to have them perform something less than stellar.
“If it’s not working, it’s not working. Even in a rehearsal before a performance, the perfectionist in me can’t let them go out there. I’d rather try something new and fail,” Palmer said.
The team appreciates the effort, because it makes every day a new challenge. However, they said there is another reason they believe they have been so successful. When working with each other, they are not competitive individuals; they are family.
“We’re a very tight-knit, close family. We are each others’ support system and best friends, which I think is awesome about our group,” Dietcel said.
“I think that’s why we’re able to do so well. We’re not just together when we’re on the floor. I think it’s very important when you do tosses or flag exchanges; it’s that sense of trust and community that is sort of rare and very genuine,” Arron-Schiavone said.
Palmer also thinks it helps that it is essentially passion for the sport, not winning, that motivates them.
“These guys are very humble,” said Palmer, “Even at national championships, they were still amazed they were doing so well and so supportive of everyone else.”
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