Looking to make a costume change
Lawrence Color Guard seeks to buy new uniforms
The Lawrence High School Color Guard team has been using the same plain white uniforms for the past five years. With a March 24 trip to Disney, team members want to stand out and represent the Golden Tornadoes with shiny new blue, gold and sequined uniforms.
Color Guard captain, junior Kristen Michael, said the squad performs with the school’s marching band and does coordinated routines which features twirling flags. She thinks her teams uniforms are a hurdle to looking good. “The uniforms we have now are tight and white which gets dirty easily,” Michael said.
Junior Ellen Liebenthal, another captain, said she joined Color Guard because of the team’s camaraderie. She went to Disney for the first time as a freshman. “I really love the performances the most,” she said. “It’s so exciting seeing children’s faces and my mom’s face seeing our team march down (Main Street in Magic Kingdom). It’s more enjoyable seeing other people’s faces when you’re performing for them.”
Liebenthal, like Michael, is worried the team’s uniforms will hold them back. “At Disney we want to look our best,” she said. “The uniforms we have now would not represent our school the way we want to.”
Mariarosa Morelli has coached the Color Guard for the past four years and was a former pro-baton champion in Italy. Morelli’s daughter, Alessandra, 19, a former Color Guard captain, said it makes her mother feel young again to be the coach. “I feel like every one of the girls on the team is my daughter,” Morelli said. “If I can give the kids opportunities, I’m happy.”
The new uniforms will be ordered from Algyteam.com and are blue and gold with sequins and an attached skirt. They cost $100 each and despite having just finished fundraising and paying for the Disney trip, the team is scrambling to come up with funds for the new uniforms.
Alessandra said the economy has hit many families hard and it is tough to pay for both. “It’s hard for many families to think about going on a trip when they’re thinking about how they’re going to pay their rent,” she said.
