Origin

Was only able to catch Carmel in SW because of class. Definitely not their best performance in the first half of the show, but they brought it back. Nailed those sit roll tosses and everything at the very end! Still leading Tarpon decently comfortably. TWHS jumped up to being solidly in 3rd, yay!! I don’t know if it’s because Avon was weaker or the judges realized how good TWHS is.

Yeah that was the older performance I was referencing. Unfortunately, today’s was completely different. It wasn’t even necessarily the performance that was baffling. I’m more talking about how the show started and the frankly irresponsible situation that the performers were put in today. I don’t think an explanation would do it justice, it’s definitely a “you just had to be there” situation. They’re rebroadcasting prelims tomorrow though.

Hopefully they didn’t also learn their show in 3 hours earlier today

I went back and watched an older performance to see if their show was always like that, and today’s was completely different. I also think audio is very necessary to understand my reaction lol.

On a more positive note , Fusion was great!

It was very memorable in the absolute worst way possible. Definitely the worst marching arts performance I’ve ever seen. I feel bad for those performers.

I’m baffled by Northwest Independent. What did I just watch.

Absolutely love everything about Somerset Academy.

Great performance from Little Elm! The wind with the props is so effective.

Carmel with a 95.5 in prelims 😵 pretty big lead over Tarpon.

Avon is super clean, I’m just not feeling the show nearly as much.

Love love love Carmel. I specifically love how weapon-heavy the show is while still maintaining a laid-back casual coolness. Between TWHS, Tarpon, and Carmel, I don’t think there’s a clear leader. All were so good! I think TWHS had the fewest drops but that obviously doesn’t equate to a higher score. And of course Avon hasn’t gone yet.

I love Rosalía’s music so I’m automatically a huge fan of West Broward’s show!

Same can be said for Arcadia. Amazing performance and design. TWHS, Arcadia, and Kiski Area were my favorites in the first group, in that order.

I love Kiski Area’s set design. Top-notch performance too. They make sure we hear every catch!

TWHS just absolutely killed it in prelims.

I was so so so pleasantly surprised by Cleveland. I definitely misjudged them initially on the meh set design, so I wasn’t expecting that performance. They performed the crap out of that show. It was very nice to see the audience give them the correct amount of energy back. That last toss was absolutely wild! Tarpon was of course fantastic. Probably my favorite in SW this year, although Carmel is really growing on me.

Carmel was so good. The show is deceptively difficult with all that crazy partner work that they make look so easy.

TWHS is the first SW show I’ve seen this year that has really excited me. It’s definitely not the cleanest, but I loved it.

Surprised to see Carmel widen the gap over Avon with that performance. Both shows grew on me though, as well as Fishers (love their costumes).

I always really like Onyx, especially their staging and movement. It definitely reminded me of the 2019 show but more like it was a continuation of last year. Avon’s show actually felt a bit more ambitious to me compared to last year. More weapon work I think. I’m not the biggest fan of the popular music medley though. Carmel was great but I was waiting for the show to peak or conclude in a more satisfying way.

Great to see Coppell back! Some unfinished business there after missing finals last year. I didn’t know M&G Johnson was SW. I guess they self-promoted? Also SO excited to see what The Woodlands does!

Coppell needs to go. Cedar Ridge and Keller need to go back.

Congrats Carmel!!! Crazy that Southlake Carroll finished 7th here which is the same placement they got in area finals. A testament to their ability to clean and the depth of competition in Texas.

Carmel. Yum yum yum yum yum.