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Getting to the next level


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If you were the director of a drum corps, how do you get that group to the next level?

Take for example BK this year. They are currently, solidly, in the 6-7 spot in the standings and we can be fairly confident in assuming they will not be the champion this year. What would a group like them need to do to get to the top? What do they need to change to compete on the same level as BD, Crown, Cadets and so forth? What could they do for 2016 that would make them a contender for the title?

You totally don't have to answer as if you were the Blue Knights, they were just a corps that came to mind. Another example could be the Colts. How do they get back to finals and remain a consistent finalist? Or a new corps like Academy...what do they need to do to get to finals for the first time?

As we all know, those of us who comment on DCP have better ideas and are better show designers than many corps have on staff, so I am confident we can find an answer to this philosophical question in the group (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek :tounge2:).

Sorry if I went too deep...but I was curious what other thought on the subject and many apologies if this has already been discussed somewhere else.

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Show design.

Great, but, what about their show design is keeping a corps placed where they are and not moving them up the ladder?

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I'd say show design is a big part of it, but a bigger part, I think, is the quality of the corps members.

From what I've heard, BK placed more emphasis on quality performers the past couple of years and that...along with their new direction in show design...is what has helped them move up. They are just doing it all better the past couple of years than they have in the past.

As far as what they can do to advance to, say, the top five...it's got to be more of the same. Getting to 8th last year helped them attract better performers. If they reach 6th this year, they'll attract even more, better, performers next year. That'll let the staff be even more selective in deciding who they offer contracts to.

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I once heard/read that Crown 'taught' their way to the top (vs. 'designed' their way). I think there is something to be said for consistent teaching/staffing from year to year. That consistency attracts talent.

Edited by luv4corps
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I'd say show design is a big part of it, but a bigger part, I think, is the quality of the corps members.

. . . . Getting to 8th last year helped them attract better performers. If they reach 6th this year, they'll attract even more, better, performers next year. That'll let the staff be even more selective in deciding who they offer contracts to.

. . .which raises a question that fascinates me: Is being ever-more selective a necessary ingredient of success? Does success require ever-greater exclusivity? And if it does, what does that mean for the nature of the activity?

I do not mean to pick on BK. They're just the example at hand. But think about it: In November maybe they have a lot more potential members signing up for camp. In January and February, BK begins handing out a record number of rejections. A lot more kids want in, only the best are offered contracts, and a greater number of kids than ever walk away with cut letters.

This is success? When the corps director sits down for his annual review the BoD executive committee, is it a good thing if the director is able to say "our acceptance rate has dropped to X percent" (or, the inverse: "Our rejection rate increased to X percent")? Does the BoD look at the Harvard-like acceptance rate, smile, and say "great job"?

At some point, the bar to entry becomes so high that it bears little relationship to the stated mission of the parent arts organization -- namely, to serve as an arts outreach to youth. When you're the Ivy League, you're not in the business of outreach. You're in the business of exclusivity.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, or that it's even avoidable. If kids want to audition for you, there's nothing you can do to stop them, and the rules say 150 members is the max. And it's possible that a kid dying to join BK might never have thought of participating in drum corps at all, and even when cut, she's got the bug enough to join some other corps, benefiting the activity as a whole. This isn't a "problem" that needs a solution, especially a solution that enforces artificially lowered standards. But I do find the dynamic touches on the existential. The better you get, the more talent you attract, the more exclusive you become, and the less you are a youth arts outreach and the more you are an elite ensemble drawing upon a national talent pool to form a corps that bears little relationship to your community roots.

Maybe a kid who joins BK might have otherwise joined Bluecoats, so BK's gain is Bloo's loss, and the overall DCI talent picture is wash. But I'm looking at it from the vantage of the individual corps: When you're so good that you say "no" 10x as often as you say "yes," that is a success measure that a board will have to come to terms with.

Or you start a B corps.

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This is success? When the corps director sits down for his annual review the BoD executive committee, is it a good thing if the director is able to say "our acceptance rate has dropped to X percent" (or, the inverse: "Our rejection rate increased to X percent")? Does the BoD look at the Harvard-like acceptance rate, smile, and say "great job"?

At some point, the bar to entry becomes so high that it bears little relationship to the stated mission of the parent arts organization -- namely, to serve as an arts outreach to youth. When you're the Ivy League, you're not in the business of outreach. You're in the business of exclusivity.

You know, I never really thought about that, but you bring up an excellent point. So could, in theory, a corps goal be NOT to win so they remain the youth outreach organization they always were, or is that a ridiculous thought?

EDIT...nevermind...I just realized what you meant by a B corps...I feel dumb.

Edited by mantooth
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I once heard/read that Crown "taught" their way to the top (vs. 'designed' their way). I think there is something to be said for consistent teaching/staffing from year to year. That consistency attracts talent.

Ok, so, does Crown have a specific development program? I would imagine they are an organization that lots of kids want to be a part of, how can you get to the top and stay there just by teaching or cultivating talent. I would imagine that the MMs who do get in to Crown are generally closer to age-out than not so you would only be able to really develop the talent for maybe 2 years.

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i think breaking into the top five requires being the Best at Something.

crown Top Brassed their way into becoming contenders, Coats used a very prominent 'integration of modern technique (see: synth, electronics). BD owned Show Design and swagger and visual proficiency. Cadets have their Drumline and Pure Volume.

that '6-9th' tier...solidly in Finals, not contending....means a corps is doing everything or most things well. but jumping up requires a Calling Card, either being the Notable Best or Arguably the Best at a particular element.

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