ESU Performance Ensemble Wins Regional Contest, on to World Championships

After taking the gold medal in its division at the South Brunswick, N.J. regional competition for indoor color guard in February, and placing 8th this year at the World Finals, the East Stroudsburg University performance ensemble known as “Q” will be heading to the Atlantic Coast Championship.

There they will be competing against scores of teams from across the country and as far away as Canada. Currently, Winter Guard International, which runs the world championships, has ranked Q eighth out of 69 teams in its division.

When most people think of color guards, they think of marching bands and indeed, several members of Q and its developmental team, Q2, are also in the university’s Warrior Marching Band. But Q’s performances – which begin after the fall marching band season — require members to have the grace and athleticism of ballet dancers and the coordination and precision of a drill team.

Members in artistic costumes spin flags, rifles and sabers and dance in routines set to inspiring music and narration in colorful, theatrical performances that last about five minutes. This year’s gold medal-winning routine is “The World is Not Conclusion.”

Q started as a team at Quakertown High School in Bucks County four years ago and kept the name Q when it moved to ESU last year.

“The goal was to bring a performance ensemble to the university that would enhance the marching band program to encourage students who are interested in performing to have something like this,” says Franko Robinson, Q’s director and lead designer. Robinson also works with the ESU Warriors Marching Band.

Though Q has seen remarkable success in its short history, members say that Robinson taught them that the team’s world ranking and the scores awarded by judges are less important than how they feel about each performance at the end of the day.

“Franko always says it doesn’t matter what those judges write on the piece of paper, it doesn’t matter what any other team is doing, our only competition is ourselves,” said Joey Talios, an ESU freshman and Q performer. “He says as long as the current performance is better than the one before it, then we were successful.”

Still, the team hopes to improve from its 13th place in last year’s world championships.

Robinson sees Q as a draw for prospective ESU students who are looking to join a performance ensemble in college. That’s one of the reasons Q also accepts members from the community. Four high school students, including three from Nazareth Area High School where Robinson choreographs for the marching band, are members of Q. Two of those high school seniors have applied to ESU.

At the South Brunswick regional competition where Q took the gold medal, there were more than 2,000 performers from high schools, colleges and other groups.

“We’re announced as East Stroudsburg University’s Q,” Robinson said. “So parents who are talking to their high school juniors and seniors about college hear that. There are fans of the organization who are reaching out to me, asking ‘What are the requirements to get into ESU? Can we get a campus visit?’ ”

Q and Robinson were big reasons why Talios chose ESU. As a Quakertown student, Talios worked with Robinson. Talios’ experiences with Q and the chance to perform at a high level in big venues have been life changing.

At the world championships in Dayton last year, Q received a standing ovation near the end of its performance in finals, and the applause in the cavernous University of Dayton arena were thunderous, according to Talios.

“It was so loud I couldn’t hear the music anymore,” he said.

Zachariah Jacobes, an ESU junior majoring in hotel, restaurant and tourism management, started working with Robinson as a student in color guard at Quakertown Area High School and is now captain of Q. He also performs in the color guard of the ESU Warriors Marching Band.

Jacobes called Robinson “an amazing instructor” and says that the team rule of sitting together at lunch at competitions and sticking together has helped build camaraderie and cohesiveness. “We’re all pretty close,” Jacobes said. “If we are supposed to be a team on the floor, we have to be a team off the floor.”

With all the travel involved, Q is not an inexpensive activity. To raise money, Q members have a home show planned at ESU on April 11 and a carnival with rides, games and food running at ESU June 16-20. The team also seeks corporate sponsorships.

Q has auditions on weekends in September and October and starts rehearsals the week before Thanksgiving. The first competition is at the end of January and the world championships are in April. The team practices 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Zimbar Gym on Saturdays, with breaks for meals.

Melissa Valentovic, an ESU junior majoring in communications studies with a minor in English, learned about Q as a feature baton twirler with the Warrior Marching Band. Last year, she joined Q2, the developmental team, which has won two firsts and a second in its last three competitions.

“There is no dividing line between the two teams,” said Valentovic, from Bloomfield, N.J. “I love how it’s a family, and I love that I get to represent my university while I’m doing it because I love ESU.”

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