​Thank you to those members who attended our Town Hall Meeting on June 11th, 2020. As we mentioned, the recording is now available for anyone to view. The slides used in the meeting are also provided below. 

I really want to emphasize our focus on safety. We are prepared to not do any shows if there is still a substantial threat to the population. The nature of our shows requires close proximity to each other, and as much as creating these productions and fights is important to us, the health of our members is more important. 

Keep in mind that as the pandemic continues, our precautions and safety measures will shift accordingly. Any major changes to the plan presented will be outlined prior to any in person activities resuming.
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Please watch our video or read through our powerpoint slides. As always, you can reach out to us with any questions at [email protected].

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The term en garde is French in origin and means, as you might guess, “on your guard” or “get ready because vigorous attempts at stabbing are about to occur.” 

In the sport of fencing, the phrase en garde is called by the director of a match as a signal for the fencers to assume the prescribed position for the beginning of the match. At LANCE Training or during our shows, you’re much more likely to hear one fight partner saying en garde directly to another as a verbal cue that they are ready for the fight to begin, like a quarterback shouting “hut” at the start of a play in football as opposed to the umpire calling “batter up” during a baseball game. It’s more informal, more peer-to-peer, but no less necessary between fight partners. 

​When it comes to characterization, LANCE performers treat the phrase en garde almost as performative dialogue rather than as an official term. It is a kind of trope-ish shorthand that can signal to the audience a few things about a character all at once: 

• They’ve had some formal instruction in combat
• They are a principled person, a person with honor, a person who values fairness
• They are dignified, possibly aristocratic. 

To put it in today’s terms, en garde is like virtue signaling. After all, it takes a certain kind of character to say “En garde!” at the beginning of a fight. We all know the type. We’ve seen that character repeated over and over in the books, movies, and TV shows we’ve consumed all our lives. When you’ve only got a 30-minute show to tell your story, you’ll understandably want to use all the tropes you can to help the audience understand the plot and its characters. En garde is one of those useful, trope-y phrases on top of its other purpose as communication between fight partners. 

One last use of the phrase en garde is as a state of being. You’ll often hear LANCE Trainers telling students to “get en garde”, meaning that they want the student to assume a ready stance. Granted there are lots of guards a person can take at the beginning of a fight. En garde is simply choosing one of these stances and doing it. 

And that’s en garde in a nutshell! Which word should we do next in our Fightcabulary series? Let us know in the comments below!

This is LANCE Orlando's inaugural year performing at the Lady of the Lakes Renaissance Festival! We're excited to be on the chessboard and share the wonderful world of stage combat with festival goers!

You can read about the theme of the Festival and our plans for our show below!

LADY OF THE LAKES RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
November 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 10th
Our Show Times:
Friday - 10:15am & 1:00pm
Sat / Sun 10:45am & 1:30pm
at the Chessboard

12835 County Landfill Rd. Tavares, FL 32778

Three Weapon Styles
This summer's schedule is split into 3 blocks. One for each of our branches of Weapon Styles and the workshops stemming from them respectively. We are aware of many events and holidays throughout the season, so we are also planning some flexibility around that. Each block has a “Flex Weekend” which can be used to catch up or review any classes/workshops for the block, or in the event of no expected attendance due to the holidays, it can be used as a buffer as to not disrupt the flow of the other blocks.
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Summer Expo
Summer training will have a lot of fantastic effort and energy invested by our amazing members and fighters. With that said, we will be honoring and showcasing that effort with an exhibition at the end of the Training Season. We will be holding the exhibition in front of a ticketed audience, at a time and location to be determined. Participation will be requested, but not required. More details will be announced and explained at a later date.

The 2019 Summer Schedule

New to LANCE?
Join us May 11 & 12! Before you can run, you have to crawl-- and likewise before you can wield any weapon, you must be trained in unarmed. The good news is after only two weeks, some practice, and the okay from our trainers, you can then join us for basic sword or staff this June. Huzzah! 

There are no fees associated with any of our training sessions, we're a non profit and rely entirely on donation! When you come to join us for your first Unarmed training, wear comfortable work out clothing, bring sunscreen & water, and if you have a favorite pair of gardening, work, or leather gloves, those too! Though gloves can be provided if needed. 

The LANCE Training Chair is AJ Harrett and he is excited to level you up to the combat prowess witnessed in battles at Renaissance Faires. 

Unarmed
This is the foundation of our fighting style at LANCE Orlando. All members who wish to learn Stage Combat begin with this class before moving on to other Weapon Styles. We use a style similar to what is commonly seen in Western European and American styles of entertainment.

Sword
After passing Basic Unarmed, one of your options is to move on to Basic Sword. We use a style similar to what is commonly seen in Western European and American styles of entertainment. We only use weapons made and approved for Stage Combat. Forges that have made weapons that we use include Creations (Formerly known as Starfire Swords), Sterling Armory, and Baltimore Knife and Sword.

Staff
After passing Basic Unarmed, another one of your options is to move on to Basic Staff. We use a style similar to what is commonly seen in Western European and American styles of entertainment. Most of our staves are made from 1 ½”- 2” pine dowels, stained and sealed.

Directions
290 Holden Ave, Edgewood, FL 32839
We meet at Cypress Grove Park, near the part where Judy Ct takes a 90 degree bend. 
When you enter Cypress Grove Park, follow Judy Ct. till you see the second parking lot on your right. We'll be closest to the end of the parking lot, then if you walk toward the cottage house across from the lake and pier, you'll see a bunch of nerds with swords out in the grass-- that's us! 
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LANCE is a Non Profit, and an open, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all fitness levels and individuals. We all have one thing in common-- we are passionate about providing the highest quality live action experiences and stage combat performances to educate and entertain while striving to promote an active, creative community in the Southeastern United States.

The Training Chair is in charge of creating, amending, and implementing the training curriculum for the Troupe. This includes the training of not just general members, but other trainers as well - both combat and character trainers.  The Training Chair also works with the Quartermaster to acquire the weapons and practical items necessary for training. 

The Training Chair is responsible for:

• Creating and maintaining training curricula for LANCE
• Working with the Safety Chair and Quartermaster to ensure that training events are both safe and properly supplied
• Selecting new trainers, training them, and matching them with classes
• Designing the training schedule
• Keeping up with LANCE members’ progress in their training
• Assisting the fight directors for events in training specific performers for their roles
• Booking and upkeep of training locations

Currently our Training Committee Chair is AJ Harrett, who has been in the position since being appointed during July of 2016 and having been re-elected the following year.  

If you know an active member in LANCE who has interest in running for Training Committee Chair, we invite you to nominate them.  All nominations are welcomed, including nominations of Officers currently serving, and must be accepted by the nominee at the March Elections in order for them to be eligible for election.  We ask that you do not nominate yourself, but if you would like to be nominated for any of the positions, have a friend nominate you or speak with any of the current Board Officers.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! You have now been introduced to all of the Committee Chair positions. Remember, elections are coming up on March 24th. Please get your nominations in sooner rather than later! We can't wait to see everyone there!

The Quartermaster is in charge of inventory and maintenance of LANCE property. They organize and maintain upkeep and storage of weapons, costumes, props, and other equipment used in training and performances, whether borrowed or owned by LANCE.  Proper storage is hugely important, not only to keep our property safe and organized, but also to ensure that the Florida heat and humidity doesn't rust our weapons or mold our fabrics. In short, if it is a physical item then the Quartermaster and their committee members are responsible for it.  

Specific duties of the Quartermaster include:

• Keeping detailed inventories of all of LANCE’s physical assets
• Ensuring that troupe weapons are present at training, rehearsals, and shows
• Working with the Safety Chair and Training Chair in maintaining the integrity of all weapons used by the Troupe for the safety of LANCE members
• Repairing damaged weapons or equipment
• Tracking when assets are borrowed, lent, or rented out
• Organizing a yearly equipment assessment to clean and examine all LANCE equipment and weapons
• Making sure that adequate storage is provided and maintained for LANCE assets
• Ordering weapons and other necessary items for LANCE

Our current Quartermaster is AJ Harrett, who was elected to the position last year.  AJ and his committee members ensure that everything is in its proper place. 

If you know an active member in LANCE who has interest in running for Quartermaster, we invite you to nominate them.  All nominations are welcomed, including nominations of Officers currently serving, and must be accepted by the nominee at the March Elections in order for them to be eligible for election.  We ask that you do not nominate yourself, but if you would like to be nominated for any of the positions, have a friend nominate you or speak with any of the current Board Officers.

​The Member Relations Chair (formerly known as Activities) is responsible for recruiting and retaining members as well as motivating members to contribute to LANCE’s organizational mission and goals related to promoting an active, creative community. The Member Relations Chair is in charge of promoting a positive image for the company to our current members by creating content for the “members only” Facebook page and much more! As with all Committee Chair positions the Member Relations Chair is required to attend monthly Board of Governor meetings, as well as oversee their respective committee and act as liaison between their committee and the Board of Governors.
 
The Member Relations Chair also:  

• Initiates internal communications, including developing newsletter content, email blasts, event announcements, awareness of member status, etc.
• Works on initiatives to recruit new members with the Publicity Chair
• Creates and maintains the active member community on Facebook by being or appointing Admin of the LANCE Members Page
• Updates and maintains the Member Histories
• Handles the execution and filing of new member paperwork with the assistance of the Secretary
• Coordinates social activities for the general membership; including outings, guilde workshops, parties, etc.
• Avertises events and training to the membership
• Develops member outreach strategies to encourage greater member participation in trainings and activities
• Organizes and maintains member recognition programs such as birthday/anniversary promotions
• Manages execution of bi-annual membership meetings 
• Serves as primary point of contact for member relations and provides assistance as needed to service member requests

Currently our Member Relation Chair is Heather Walker; who states this position is “unique” to the board of governors in that it solely focuses on the members. Being the Member Relations Chair means working with the Board of Governors to determine cost effective member outing ideas and workshops, finding ways to internally market these events, working with the Documentarian ensuring event reports for the outings are properly completed, and reaching out to the community for new outing ideas! Heather feels that it is important for the Member Relations Chair to be prepared for events to not always go as planned. Her favorite part is “when an event comes together and you see everyone having fun and making new friendships, or when you come to training the next day or next weekend and those people are hanging out and you think to yourself ‘I was apart of that!’”

If you know an active member in LANCE who has interest in running for Member Relations, we invite you to nominate them.  All nominations are welcomed, including nominations of Officers currently serving, and must be accepted by the nominee in order for them to be eligible for election.  We ask that you do not nominate yourself, but if you would like to be nominated for any of the positions, have a friend nominate you or speak with any of the current Board Officers.

The Safety Chair is responsible for the general safety and well-being of LANCE members at training and events. The Safety Chair will oversee the Safety Committee; while also acting as the liaison between them and the Board of Governors. 

The Safety Chair also:

• Creates and maintains safety standards for the troupe in collaboration with the Training Chair
• Works with the Quartermaster and Training Chair in maintaining the integrity of all weapons used by the troupe
• Is in charge of the upkeep of all safety equipment and materials
• Checks the safety of performance and training spaces
• Is responsible for ensuring all safety equipment is present at LANCE practices, including but not limited to First Aid Kit(s), water, and safety paperwork
• Ensures Accident Reports are filled out and properly filed
• Works closely with the Quartermaster and Training Chair regarding certain responsibilities (i.e. safety of training spaces, equipment responsibilities, etc.)

Currently, the Safety Chair position is vacant. Be aware that the Safety Chair must also be a Trainer or Apprentice Trainer. Remember if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about any of the committees so far, just email us or ask any of your Board of Governors! 

​Four out of seven Chair positions down, only 3 more to learn about! Have you found a position you’re interested in? Talk to your friends in LANCE and let them know! Again we ask that you please not nominate yourself.

​We are excited to see all of our active members in March for Elections!