Impressive Turnout For Arkansas Thunder First Rehearsal

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On November 6th, 2010, over 65 individuals attended a historic first rehearsal for Arkansas Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps is an all-age unit that will compete in Drum Corps Associates, and is open to anyone ages 14 and up.

The corps began operations in June of 2010 and has been in preparation for this event for 6 months. The day started with a 90-minute informational meeting, leading up to the announcement of the 2011 musical show and its selections. In the early afternoon, the different captions split up and worked on fundamentals and exercizes, and concluded the day with a ?show and tell? session from the brass, percussion and color guard.

 

The theme of the show reflects the steps involved in a new group coming together from differing origins and struggling to forge a singular identity. ?Year One: From Chaos To Unity? travels through the different phases of this development through music, percussion and choreography. Musical selections will be announced in 2011.

The corps plans to perform at both Drum Corps International and Drum Corps Associates shows in the mid-south region. Definitive locations will be announced in Spring 2011, after the corps is evaluated this April by both DCA and DCI officials for approval and acceptance into DCA Central and DCI Central.

Most of the corps’ creative staff is in place and are as follows:
Patrick Laxson, Executive Director and Program Coordinator
Shane Fudge, Brass Caption Head and Program Coordinator
Bradley DeBow, Brass Caption Head and Brass Arranger
Jay Chipman, Percussion Caption Head and Percussion Arranger
Peter Maggio, Percussion Caption Head and Percussion Arranger
Trey Antonetti, Color Guard Caption Head and Corps Choreographer
Brittania Panuska, Visual Instructor
Stacy Williams, Visual Instructor
Veronica Lanier, Visual Technician and Drum Major
Randall Standridge, Visual Designer

Arkansas Thunder is still in need of a Front Ensemble Technician / Arranger. Anyone living within a day’s drive of Hot Springs, Arkansas with an interest in this volunteer position is asked to send a resume to Patrick Laxson at execdirector [at] arkansasthunder [dot] org.

Some members of the corps will make their first public appearance on December 6th in the Hot Springs Christmas Parade, sponsored by the Oaklawn Rotary Club.

The corps’ next rehearsal will be held on Saturday, December 11th at 1pm, at Cutter Morning Star High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas. At this rehearsal the corps will start rehearsing its 2011 show music.
For more information on joining the corps, find them on Facebook, or visit their website at www.arkansasthunder.org.

Posted by on Monday, November 15th, 2010. Filed under DCA News.