We are finally back for our last spotlight of the season (sad, I know)! I thought we’d finish off these spotlights with a group from A Class–a class that doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves! Today’s spotlight is…

Drumroll please…

THE MAGNOLIA PROJECT (IA)!

Full transparency–it took me a while to find a video of this guard (and most A class guards, in general), but I’m SO glad I did. I love A class because the sheets are PERFECT for helping you understand the foundation good design, general effect, and more! The Magnolia Project is at the top of their class for a reason–they not only execute well, they start to take it to the next level.

The Design. You can tell their design team knew what they were doing when they started working on this show. From the silks, the costumes, the way the floor moves and more, they connect the theme of the show extremely well. The devil is in the details. There’s a reason they chose those transparent opening silks over standard screen printed ones. They introduced sabre as the first weapon instead of rifle. They floor isn’t fully revealed until much later. All of these design choices contributed to the show. It’s beautiful, soft, and emotional for everyone involved, especially the audience.

The Transitions. Ah, transitions. The often overlooked silent hero of shows. Listen, you can have the best talent and choreography in the world, but if your students can’t enter the exit the floor seamlessly, it’s going to look messy and distract from the program. Transitions are often one of the most overlooked parts of a show by staff and students alike, but it can take your show to the next level. Seriously. The Magnolia Project does an INCREDIBLE job of make entrances and exits a part of the show. They are done with intention, so much so that if you’re not looking for them, you barely register that change is happening. THAT’S magic.

The opening of the second floor at 1:45. Usually when I write about parts of a show that stand out, I try to point out things that are easily applicable to all shows so we can learn from them. However, this specific transition was so perfect and magical that I couldn’t help but point it out. You DO NOT see it coming and is by far the most graceful I have ever seen anyone open a floor. Flawless.

The soundtrack. Its really hard (especially with slower shows) and edit your track so there’s an energetic shift as you move throughout the show. Although the tempo didn’t pick up, they did a really good job of creating these shifts by playing with the vocal layering and harmonies–especially evident building up into the flag feature. And if the track was already like that with minimal editing involved, they did an even better job expressing that through the choreography and purposeful movement across the floor.

There’s so many more things that I loved about this show! What did you notice? Comment below. ✨ And to those of you going, Happy (almost) Debbie week! Have fun and good skill 💕🏳️

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