On Sunday, April 7, the Somerville High School Winter Guard Boosters will host its annual Winter Guard
Show at Branchburg Central Middle School. Approximately 30 competing winter guard teams from
around the region will attend, with a concluding performance by the two-time world champion
Somerville High School Scholastic Open Winter Guard.
Their 2024 program “Breaking the Slipper” is directed by Rick Delancy, with assistant director Breanna
Ferenzi and staff members Kerri Newlander, Shari Kuzel, Marcus Henry, Frankie Ashton and Brian Rosa.
 
The competition begins at noon and lasts until about 6 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 seniors and
students (Branchburg Central Middle School and Somerville Middle School students are free with school
ID) and concessions will be sold. Spectators can attend any time during the show.
Winter guard — known as “the sport of the arts” — is a competitive indoor color guard activity in which
performers use flags, rifles, sabers and other equipment combined with dance to produce a
choreographed show. Teams are judged in various categories, including movement, technique, design
analysis, equipment and general effect. 
 
The Somerville High School Winter Guard is the 2012 Scholastic A and 2015 Scholastic Open Class Winter
Guard International (WGI) World Champions, a competition that takes place annually at the University
of Dayton in Ohio. Their award-winning performance attracted the attention of musician David Byrne,
who selected the team to be one of ten to collaborate with indie musicians to create a live music and
winter guard show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Toronto’s Air Canada Center, which was
featured in the 2017 documentary “Contemporary Color.”
 
The Somerville High School Winter Guard also participated in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
documentary “Marching to the Coolest Beat,” which focused on how this dance sport tradition binds
communities together and brings creativity and joy to performers and audiences, especially at the high
school level. 
 
The 18-member Scholastic World team includes captains Selina Verbanas, Kaylie Fabriczi and Karis
Kechula, with dance captain Katie Curtis. Team members are: Alexa Scheier, Ashi Bloom, Charlize
DeLaCruz, Ella Mercier, Emma Beckwith, Gabriel Naranjo, Gianna Giampino, Grayden Leitstein, Kaitlyn
Parker, Mallory Miessler, Rebecca Maizel, Sylvia Rose Davis, Vivian Cote and Zhori Morgan.
Somerville High School students and Somerville Middle School and Branchburg Middle School students
who love to perform and are interested in auditioning for the 2023–24 Color Guard and Winter Guard
team or finding out more information can email ville.winterguard@gmail.com. No experience is
required; all you need is a love of performance.