Reese Brigance is a part of Alhambra High School’s Color Guard and one of only two members from Alhambra to be a part of Concord High School’s Winter Guard.
Q: In the past you’ve said your mom wanted you to be a cheerleader. Why did you choose color guard and winter guard instead?
A: My mom just wanted me to follow in her footsteps. When I was 5 I started dance and that took up most of my time since I competed, so I never had time for cheer. Then by the time I went to high school I didn’t think I had enough skills to do cheer. But still, that’s not the reason why I chose guard. In 5th grade I found this net outside in my backyard. That’s where I learned what color guard was. My parents signed me up for baton twirling, since it was the closest thing to what I wanted to do. Then in 7th grade I found out at a football game that what I wanted to do was offered at Alhambra. Ever since then I’ve wanted to do it.
Q: What makes you like the color guard at Alhambra?
A: The thing that makes me like the color guard at Alhambra is the people I do it with. We started practices in the summer which I think helped us build more of a community before the year started. All the returnees (people who have done guard before) made going into high school way easier than it would have been if I didn’t have them.
Q: Do you have a favorite flag move and/or routine from Alhambra?
A: My favorite flag move is Mulan Throwaway, and my favorite routine is 4 Minutes.
Q: What makes you like Winter Guard at Concord High?
A: What makes me like the winter guard at Concord is meeting new people. Their guard and band were so welcoming when I first joined, and they still are. When I don’t understand something because we don’t do it at Alhambra, they take time out of their days to teach it to me. They really are am
azing.
Q: When being welcomed to winter guard were you introduced to any inside jokes? Are you able to share?
A: I wasn’t really formally introduced to any jokes where they gave us a spreadsheet or anything like that, but overtime I learned a couple and even been there when a few started. I can’t really remember any off the top of my head though.
Q: Do you prefer flag, rifle, dance, or sabres?
A: I prefer doing the flag. I don’t spin sabres, I don’t know many rifle tricks, and I just prefer flag over dance.
Q: Which do you find harder?
A: I find Winter Guard definitely harder than Color Guard. Alhambra just does flag work, but Concord does flag work, rifles work, sabres work, and dance. So before choreography for our comps started, I needed to learn weaponry, and also relearn old dance moves I’ve used previously when I danced for New You Dance Center.
Q: Is the Concord guard better than Alhambra?
A: I wouldn’t say they’re better, but I enjoy winter practices more than Color G
uard practices.
