As the winter sports at Oviedo High School begin, teams like weightlifting and basketball undertake another season of practice and competitions, all in pursuit of improving in their chosen sport. However, unbeknownst to most of the student body, a new sport has emerged in our very own Commons building.

Students help move tables to the side and roll out the huge tarp, ensuring it lies flat on the hard ground. They put their instruments together and with the help of directors who write drills, music and even intense choreography, they can proudly put on a show to make lasting memories.

Returning for its second year, Indoor Winds is a program that allows students to continue marching on even after the football season ends; but rather than have them perform on a turf-coated field, the students can take on their melodic marches inside. “Think of it as an indoor marching band– just without percussion and guard,” Zac Chowning, Director of Bands and Guard, said. “It gives the performers more of a chance to be more theatrical and to give a message about the show through body language, facial expression, and choreo.”

Typically, marching band shows follow a certain theme that goes into their marching; the style of music, certain rhythms and melodies, choreography, props, and overall performance all combine to create the show. This is especially true with Indoor Winds. 

 “It’s great for training, especially those that really like marching band, ones that may be freshman or may be struggling. It gives us that chance to dig even deeper and give them the help they need,” Chowning said.

WGI (Winter Guard International), showcases “sport of the arts,” including indoor color guard, precision, and winds. WGI has provided a space for those who want to combine competitive sports with expression through music and movement.

“Some of us had seen WGI and seen it growing, and we thought it was a cool opportunity… Marching band is difficult to do here because it’s so much hotter than the rest of the country,” Brian Kraft, drill and music writer for marching band shows, as well as an FFCC judge, said. “Part of it was to escape the brutal weather, and our school has had a lot of success in the community with Infinity [percussion] and with how successful our color guard is in the WGI arena, so we thought we should get the winds involved with it too.”

The Oviedo Indoor Wind’s 2025 show theme is based on the movie Dune (2021), with students taking on the choreographic roles of the main characters, Paul Atreides and Chani. The performance is fittingly titled Dune’s Awakening: Path of the Chosen One.

Paul Atredies’ character in Dune’s Awakening is to be played by someone with flexibility, both mentally and physically. They need a creative mind that allows them to truly capture this complex character whilst performing. Kraft reached out to Heather Holmes, a senior clarinet player, for this role.

“Indoor Winds is special to me because I love performing so much; I get to express myself, and I love all the movement and character work, I think it’s fun to just- pretend to be another character,” Holmes said. 

Holmes has put on the act of many characters before, and is not new to the responsibility; they were essentially an actor in last year’s winds show, A Call To Arms, and the 2024 Oviedo Marching Lions show, On The Ropes.

“The main reason that we use Heather for these characters is because she has a Color Guard background, so she has more experience doing character and dance work than anybody else. It’s really a matter of experience,” Kraft said.

Holmes expressed their love for this form of artistic expression and having the ability to proudly put on a show to a crowd with confidence. Developing a show takes time and great work over the course of several months, but once it’s time to present the show, a performer can feel confident that they are prepared.

“I’ve always had a passion for performing, I want to continue performing after this because I love putting on a show,” Holmes said. “I love working hard for it and going to competitions so we can say, ‘Look at our show, look at what we worked on.’ That’s what’s special to me about it; showing off what we worked on and what we dedicated the past months to.” 

Dune’s Awakening does not include just one main character. Chani, the Fremen warrior, needs to be played by someone just as imaginative and gifted as Heather Holmes. Kaleb Bazelais, a sophomore flute player, was reached out personally by Kraft to play this role, as they were seen to be a perfect fit to represent this character. 

“When we had our first practice, I was called to the side by Mr. Kraft… he eventually asked me if I would be fine with a main character role and I said yes,” Bazelais said. “I really do love the more artsy side of it, all the choreography and stuff like that… and I like how the audience is more into the performance, instead of just being a halftime show at a football game.”

These characters will be the ones that create the storyline for the audience. A casual viewer might not be able to grasp the concept or understand the story from the music alone, so these characters use expressive physical language and acting to make it more clear to those watching. There are also plans to incorporate props to better tell the story, including a huge sandworm and glitter to represent spice that will be scattered on the tarp.

“We will have a new character [Chani] introduced in the second movement as well, we’re still trying to solidify the story line. At some point, Heather is going to be brought into the tribe, and Kaleb acts as a representative of the tribe, and we’ll have some movement before everyone joins in,” Kraft explained.

This year, the performers travel to Dayton, Ohio, to compete against other winds groups. This program is rare for high schools to offer, so there are not many groups within the state to compete with.

“At the moment I think there are 7 other groups [in Florida], and this is why we want to go to world championships because there are way more than that [around the country],” Chowning said. “It’s a slow building program; Indoor Winds is fairly new, but it’s starting to catch some ground.”

This program now being available at Oviedo is such a big deal because of this, especially since even without any prior experience, anyone can join. Paige Healy, a senior, heard about Indoor Winds through their friends and decided to join.

“I was at a band Christmas party and I told [my friends] I wished I had joined band prior. They told me about how they have Indoor Winds… After a lot of convincing, they are what got me to do it,” Healy said. “I have never played an instrument before this.. It’s been a slow process, because I don’t have a [band] class, my friend tries to help me a lot with learning. It’s slow but there’s progress.” 

Other students joining this year have not marched prior, and some have not even played a wind instrument, just like Healy. The program is truly inviting to new members, giving them a space to express themselves through this physical art form even without experience. 

“I think the practices are fun. It’s really nice… having a community. The techs and Chowning are in charge, but they won’t ever talk down to you. When we do good, they let us know, they will never talk us down.” Healy explained. “It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can go in there with no experience and they are going to help you out. Don’t be deterred from doing it because you don’t know how.”

In its second year, Indoor Winds has proved itself for a spot in the Winter Sports bracket of extracurriculars at Oviedo. Unique from any other, but still engaging physically and mentally and especially rewarding, the Indoor Winds program is a symphony of success and will continue to be as the season continues.