The new season of Project Runway recently started and the first designer eliminated left the show because of bad hair.  I’m not talking of the woman’s personal hairstyle, which if I remember was quite questionable (some sort of dredlocky thing), but her great sin was the way she “styled” her model.  She had created a darling little dress but then she put her model in a giant mohawk.  This was the kiss of death for this poor girl, and though I do think some hideous boots were also involved, it was ultimately a bad hair choice that sent her home.

This got me to thinking about the way we style the hair of our color guard members.  Hair choices on the field (as in all theater) usually have to do with creating a “look” or style that matches the concept and theme of the show.  Some choices are easy, as a show of music from the 60’s would likely call for some rather large 60’s hair.  I also have a personal belief that college color guards should have big hair, worn down.  I’m not sure why, but it seems to go with the college mood, and crowds eat it up.  (I also have a thing for hair extensions for certain shows…don’t know why but they seem to have attitude, and the ability to throw them around…)

But for most bands under most circumstances, what the guard needs is to look clean.  Bands are striving for uniformity in performance and look, and many of the top guards in the top marching bands go for a clean look.  And that usually means “hair up.”

It’s sort of the female version of the “high and tight.”  Hair pulled back in a tight bun gives the performer a clean look and aids in the uniformity of movement and the perception of cleanliness.  (I don’t mean hygiene here but a clean show….well executed with no mistakes and uniformity.)

One of the masters of both good hair and color guard is Lauren Metts.  One of the southeast’s top dance instructors and choreographers, her work was legendary at Irmo High School with the dance team / color guard called “the Highsteppers.”  Lauren once told me that pulling the hair up and slicking it back always made her girls appear to perform better and score better.  In fact, she said that she could have the girls do the exact same show but just pull their hair up and back, and people would make comments like “They just look better tonight” and “The guard is really clean and performing extra well today.”  And it was just the hair.

So if you’re making decisions about the look of the hair, always remember that hair pulled up and back, maybe slicked back, but definitely “high and tight” can help to make their performance appear more clean and impressive.  And sometimes it’s a detail like this that makes all the difference!