Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: CMU Marching Band

Media Credit: Jeffrey Lamonde Jamie Favazza, Macomb freshman, tosses up her flag during color guard practice Thursday afternoon at the Jack Saunders Marching Band Practice Field. [Click to enlarge]

Fraser sophomore Laurie Monahan waves her arms back toward the goal line with the rest of the color guard during the CMU-Army football game Saturday afternoon at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. [Click to enlarge]

Editors note: This is Central Michigan Life's first extended multimedia project.



It's 2:45 p.m. and a group of CMU students are preparing for another day of practice.

Rain or shine, they gather their equipment and head out to the practice field to prepare for the big game.

But instead of carrying helmets and shoulder pads, they bring flags.



The hours of practice come in handy when performing in front of thousands of fans seated inside Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

As the Chippewas make their way to the locker room during halftime, members of the CMU color guard take the field for their 10 minutes of fame.

"All the sections work long hours, though the color guard has some special challenges because they have to spend so much extra time learning choreography," said James Batcheller, director of the Chippewa Marching Band.

Leading the color guard on to the field each day is Whisper Getts.

The Belding junior runs rehearsals when Batcheller is absent. He helps write the choreography performed by the 24 color guard members during halftime of every home football game.

But with her title co­­mes plenty of responsibility and sacrifice.

One of those sacrifices is sleep.

Balancing 13 credits, marching band and sorority life leaves Getts with little free time.

While most people were sleeping at 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, Getts and her teammates were preparing for the CMU Homecoming Parade.

"We work, together and in sections, between 20 and 25 hours a week during a game week," Batcheller said.

Color guard members can be seen lining the Jack Saunders Memorial Marching Band Practice Field, located along East Campus Drive, from 3 to 5:20 p.m. throughout the week, while the rest of the marching band practices from 4 to 5:20 p.m.

Getts said the extra hour is needed because each color guard member needs to sync their choreography, whereas instrumentalists can practice at home by themselves.

"It's not as easy as it looks," Getts said. "There's a lot of dance involved. Everybody has to be doing it at the same time."

Getts said she chose to pursue collegiate color guard because of what it adds to the marching band as a whole.

"It adds a visual effect, and it's a way of interpreting the music," she said.

When choosing which college to attend, Nicole DiMartino looked closely at one aspect - color guard.

The Kentwood sophomore heard CMU had one of the best color guard squads in the Midwest, so she packed up and moved to Mount Pleasant.

"We just have a reputation of being a good, clean guard," said DiMartino, a color guard rank captain.

Aside from color guard, the entire marching band consists of more than 250 members.

Along with performing at every home football game, the marching band also travels to one away game each season.

"We have a very strong tradition of cheering after every down at every game," Batcheller said. "The bond between the football players and band members is unbreakable because we share a commitment that spans generations."



news@cm-life.com

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