This Technique Guide helps you to develop a foundation for excellent movement on the field and visual clarity for the performers in their execution of their work. The benefit of the following techniques give you, the instructional team, and students the ability to be intentional with their movements with a system of clear angles, positions, and placement instructions that can be used again and again as your develop the visual package of your show.

Managing the Body in Your Space

One of the things that every program has to deal with is getting all of the members to move together cohesively and consistently. Your veteran members may have figured out how to “make it work”, and your rookie members can be overwhelmed with everything else that they have to learn in order to be successful. Setting up a system like what we have below is a way for the instructors and performers to be more comfortable and clearer with instructions about body movement and spatial awareness.

The 5 Points of Alignment

**Remember to Stay Relaxed**

The key to establishing quality posture is the foundation of quality marching programs is understanding how to align the body properly.
Once in your foot position, start from the bottom up to make sure the following checkpoints are sitting above each other:
**Ankles, Knees, Hips, Shoulders, and Ears**
Aligning this all within Block 5 of each of the 3 Layers allows for clear, tangible discussion of posture, and gives checkpoints to improve it.

Marching Foot Positions

***Finding 1st Position***

- Start with your feet together in parallel (toes and heels touching, as if you are wearing skis and they are parallel to each other)
- Bend your knees as far as you can without your heels leaving the floor
- Slide your toes apart, allowing your hips to open and the insides of your thighs to face forward.

This is your ‘first position.’ Many marchers fail to realize that this position is created by the rotation in the hip joint, not the knees, and therefore experience discomfort and sometimes injury. It is also important to note that there will be inconsistencies in the angles of our feet based on the different abilities of our bodies. Individuals will be told to make adjustments as necessary. Aim for approximately the size of their fist to be placed between the arches of their feet with about an inch of room on each side.

Marking Time

Marking Time should imitate the same level of energy in the feet that you use when you are marching. The energy should be focused not on lifting the foot, but on driving it into the ground. The front of the foot should never leave the ground, and the heel of the foot strikes the ground on each beat. In order to have the appropriate drive of the foot into the ground, the heel should come to the ankle bone of the opposite leg. Posture does not change, and weight should not ever fully rest on one leg or the other.

***Finding 2nd Position***

- Return back to 1st Position with your heels together and toes spaced apart.
- Slide your heels shoulder-width apart. Your heels will align at the center of Block 5 even though they are spaced apart.
- Rotate the hips to allow your feet to keep the same 45 degree angle created in 1st position.

Many marchers fail to realize that this position is created by the rotation in the hip joint, not the knees, and therefore experience discomfort and sometimes injury. It is also important to note that there will be inconsistencies in the angles of our feet based on the different abilities of our bodies.

***Finding 3rd Position***

- Return back to 1st Position with your heels together and toes spaced apart.
- Slide your foot so that the heel is in the middle of the opposite foot (instep).
- Be mindful about keeping the back straight in alignment with the front foot.
(Think about your 5 Points of Alignment)

This position can be used interchangeable between formations and have different effects depending on which foot is hitting the dot at the end of the move.
- Left on dot: soft impact into the formation, nice for ballads
- Right on dot: hard impact into the formation, great for big impacts

***Finding 4th Position***

- Return back to 1st Position with your heels together and toes spaced apart.
- Take a comfortable step forward. A good way to find this is to think shoulder width apart, but forward. Make sure the heels remain in ski line (beside each other and not directly in front each other.
- With the feet engaged into the ground, keep the back straight in alignment with the front foot.

Many marchers fail to realize that this position is created by the rotation in the hip joint, not the knees, and therefore experience discomfort and sometimes injury. It is also important to note that there will be inconsistencies in the angles of our feet based on the different abilities of our bodies.

***Finding 5th Position***

- Return back to 1st Position with your heels together and toes spaced apart.
- Slide your foot so that the heel meets the top of the opposite. Keep the angle of the moving foot so that the toe is in line with the opposite heel.
- Take note that the heel of the back foot is Center 5, This is where your dot will be.

Many marchers fail to realize that this position is created by the rotation in the hip joint, not the knees, and therefore experience discomfort and sometimes injury. It is also important to note that there will be inconsistencies in the angles of our feet based on the different abilities of our bodies.

Visual Development Packet 2023