Front Ensemble Choreography

[FTNK]

A post in the Emergence of the Front Ensemble thread made me think...we all know there is a lot of movement and intentional "emoting" in today's pits (Indeed, it "blew up" on social media and normal media this summer), is this something that is taught? Is there a pit choreographer

[CorpsRelic]

A post in the Emergence of the Front Ensemble thread made me think...we all know there is a lot of movement and intentional "emoting" in today's pits (Indeed, it "blew up" on social media and normal media this summer), is this something that is taught? Is there a pit choreographer

Yes, The Boston Crusader's "possessed" keyboard artist certainly caused a media frenzy, and deservidedly so this summer. Can't say I've heard of a "pit choreographer," but I'd say the "Design Team" plays a role in it. For the past three years THE ACADEMY's front ensemble has certainly elevated the creative expression of its performers that has not only garnered entusiastic response but scored good GE points in the process. This years "Xylo-bones" skeleton characters featured in its "Drum Corpse Bride" program is a prime example of this in action.

[Phan_of_Drumming]

Not exactly. Front ensemble movement is generally treated like any other aspect of the musical or visual performance - the students bring a certain level of performance to the table, and the instructors then gauge how best to go about unifying the look and feel of the whole ensemble. And yes, sometimes that involves instructors telling the kids to "emote more," but to call it intentional emoting - or just to flat out call it fake, or acted out - is somewhat misinformed. In my experience with front ensembles, the emoting done by the front ensemble is supposed to be honest and sincere. The kids aren't being told to look happy here and then look sad there; rather, the group is told to emote how the music actually makes them feel in that moment, and move accordingly to communicate that information - and here's the important part - not just to the audience, but to each other.

Not unlike how a conductor of a concert ensemble will beat time fluidly to indicate a legato articulation, or harshly to indicate a staccato articulation, the front ensemble is taught to move in a way that reflects their interpretation of the music. And the kids will usually sit down between rehearsals to discuss what the music makes them feel - and what shades of emotions they want to convey in each section. That's important because the supposedly "over the top" pulsing that you see is meant - just like a conductor's motions - to be about more than just keeping time, but about having emotional and interpretive dialogue during the act of performance. So while that emoting is in part for the audience, it is largely done for the rest of the ensemble, to keep them in the mindset of the performance and to keep the performers honestly feeling that aspect of the music (meaning - you move in a way that makes you look excited [because you are excited] so that the person next to you stays excited, and they do the same thing back, so you reinforce each other's emotional anchor to the music and actually feel excited.)

So the mindset isn't "Oh well I have to move as if I'm excited here so that the audience thinks it's exciting," but rather "I'm excited, so I'm going to move as though I'm excited, and I'm going to look across the ensemble and see Johnny looking excited, too, and that's going to pump me up so that I stay excited." This is huge for the front ensemble's performance, because it's an enormously difficult and draining thing to put yourself in the mindset of being legitimately excited about music that you've played thousands of times in the last week. It's incredibly challenging to honestly feel heartbroken about the ballad that you broke down into 47 different chunks at the morning rehearsal block. The emoting you get from the people around you helps you overcome that challenge and put yourself into an emotional state that fits with the music, so you're actually excited when the music is exciting, and actually sad when the music is sad - it's an enormously taxing process (both physically and emotionally) if it's done correctly.

Is it sometimes over the top? For sure. But I think that: A. Over the top emoting generally comes from a disingenuous approach to the emotional dialogue (in other words - nobody actually feels excited but they think they have to look that way anyway and it comes across as fake), and B. It's easier to ask somebody who isn't used to emoting while they play to emote more than to ask somebody who likes to emote while they play to tone it down, especially given that the emoting needs to be effective across the space of dozens of yards in order to reach the whole ensemble and the judges. And each group is different, too; if you look at the Blue Devils pit, they usually emote a TON, whereas in the SCV pit everyone seems to be perfectly in sync (in terms of tempo and emotional communication) without so much as glancing at one another.

On the whole, if you're up close and can see individual facial expressions in the front ensemble, less mature groups may come across as forced or insincere. But that's not a product of being taught by instructors to be over the top. That's about the kids not being comfortable with slipping in and out of intense emotional states for the span of a short performance. The more mature groups make this look natural - how many times have you looked at the Blue Devils front ensemble, for example, and thought that they were insincere or over the top? Chances are never. They make it look completely natural. And even the groups that struggle with this look completely fine from the press box level. The next time you're high up to look at the drill, check out the front ensemble and see how it adds to the performance in a completely organic way to see them moving as a unit.

The only aspect where a lot of this stuff is pre-planned and taught are things like setting mallets at a playing position, bringing mallets up/down to the keyboard, and choking cymbals. Those things are usually "choreographed" by the members themselves as a way of keeping time. It's the front ensemble's way of "dutting" before entrances and the like, because if they actually dutted they would be heard since they're on the front sideline. But those gestures are treated as wholly separate from the more general "emoting" that you're talking about here.

That's just my $.02 as a front ensemble guy. I know it's really strange for someone outside of pit world to see the kids doing what they're doing - and there are certainly many instances of downright irresponsible instruction on this topic (see - Boston synth player being allowed by staff to make a spectacle of herself) - but the groups that do it right are coming from a place of genuine emotional dialogue within the ensemble, not just pandering to the audience or the judges.

[garfield]

It occurs to me that FE "emoting" is not unlike a snare drummer playing fake accents, or the whole line "splitting" a pattern - they are all examples of visual and not musical components of the performance.

A few posters here hold the view that, if what a drum line is playing is not audible from the sidelines or box, it should not be included in the efficacy of judging the line. In effect, visual difficulty in playing technique is irrelevant and should not be part of the judging criteria.

I wonder if the same viewpoint is held regarding FE emoting? After all, does the "acting" change the audible component of their performance?

Edited August 29, 2016 by garfield

[emc2]

This years Front ensemble goes to Boston as well as it should for the past 5 or 6 years. The interesting thing is that they got no points out of it. Points went to the top 5 corps. O well.

[xandandl]

It occurs to me that FE "emoting" is not unlike a snare drummer playing fake accents, or the whole line "splitting" a pattern - they are all examples of visual and not musical components of the performance.

A few posters here hold the view that, if what a drum line is not audible from the sidelines or box, it should not be included in the efficacy of judging the line. In effect, visual difficulty in playing technique is irrelevant and should not be judged.

I wonder if the same viewpoint is held regarding FE emoting? After all, does the "acting" change the audible component of their performance?

And, to what amount might the emoting of the FE or the emotional dynamics of the battery add or detract from the overall effect and perceptions on the GE, VA, VP, and General Audience Appreciation sheets?

The example of The Academy this season is but one great example. The Cavaliers with their onfield high jumping mallet performers is another.Crown's Peoples' Ensembles have also contributed as in Rach Star. Sometimes however, the emoting and machismo is over the top and may detract visually and/or musically. Dutting from the backfield ("verbally" and "visually (head bobs) have been known to kill a few good ballads before the corps transitions into allegro come una tempesta

Edited August 29, 2016 by xandandl

[ibexpercussion]

In effect, visual difficulty in playing technique is irrelevant and should not be part of the judging criteria.

What exactly do you mean by this statement? Are you saying that visual demand not be factored in as part of the difficulty of the musical book?

[garfield]

And, to what amount might the emoting of the FE or the emotional dynamics of the battery add or detract from the overall effect and perceptions on the GE, VA, VP, and General Audience Appreciation sheets?

The example of The Academy this season is but one great example. The Cavaliers with their onfield high jumping mallet performers is another.Crown's Peoples' Ensembles have also contributed as in Rach Star. Sometimes however, the emoting and machismo is over the top and may detract visually and/or musically. Dutting from the backfield ("verbally" and "visually (head bobs) have been known to kill a few good ballads before the corps transitions into allegro come una tempesta

What exactly do you mean by this statement? Are you saying that visual demand not be factored in as part of the difficulty of the musical book?

I would challenge anyone to demonstrate that, for example, when Cadets' snare line in The Power of Ten came down the 40 playing an open roll at stick-vertical, they got ANY GE, VA, VP, or GAA credit for it. Technically, it was an open, double-stroke roll - beautifully played, mind you, but a run-of -the-mill roll anyway. Watch the moment from the hi-cam and the technical difficulty is lost almost completely. Watch from the camera on the sidelines and the effect is noticeable but mostly only if you're a drummer or appreciate the technical side of playing. The field judge (Prosperie) however, made a direct comment about it into the mic, he was so impressed with it. THESE are the things that non-drummers don't appreciate about the craft that will be washed out, done-away with, and forgotten in DCI (as the best drummers head to WGI to play them). And there are, IMO, dozens of examples of this technical difficulty in almost every show that make playing relatively simple things very difficult but that are not directly involved in the act of the stick bead hitting the head.

A seemingly growing chorus of posters here, and other members of the activity, seem to think that field judges are not necessary because visual demand not directly relatable from the sidelines or the box is irrelevant and should not be considered important in deciding how the percussion is judged. I'm saying that, under the same presumption, "pulsing" or "bobbing" or "emoting" from the FE should not be judged either. (But I would make the case that the technical talent required to play my examples in the battery are not the same technical requirements associated with "pulsing" or "emoting" in the pit.)

Edited August 29, 2016 by garfield

[xandandl]

I would challenge anyone to demonstrate that, for example, when Cadets' snare line in The Power of Ten came down the 40 playing an open roll at stick-vertical, they got ANY GE, VA, VP, or GAA credit for it. Technically, it was an open, double-stroke roll - beautifully played, mind you, but a run-of -the-mill roll anyway. Watch the moment from the hi-cam and the technical difficulty is lost almost completely. Watch from the camera on the sidelines and the effect is noticeable but mostly only if you're a drummer or appreciate the technical side of playing. The field judge (Prosperie) however, made a direct comment about it into the mic, he was so impressed with it. THESE are the things that non-drummers don't appreciate about the craft that will be washed out, done-away with, and forgotten in DCI (as the best drummers head to WGI to play them), and there are, IMO, dozens of examples of this technical difficulty in almost every show that make playing relatively simple things very difficult but that are not directly involved in the act of the stick bead hitting the head.

A seeming growing chorus of posters here, and other members of the activity, seem to think that field judges are not necessary because visual demand not directly relatable from the sidelines or the box is irrelevant and should not be considered important in deciding how the percussion is judged. I'm saying that, under the same presumption, "pulsing" or "bobbing" or "emoting" from the FE should not be judged either. (But I would make the case that the technical talent required to play my examples in the battery are not the same technical requirements associated with "pulsing" or "emoting" in the pit.)

I am not going to argue what is on the percussion sheets for that's far beyond my pay grade and galaxy.

However, I would argue that on both the visual and musical GE sheets the full participation of the performer does influence the judge's (and audience's) perception of the show beyond the notes on the charts and how well they are played or interwoven. Your comments do stand on the volcano long debated but somewhat dormant this season of whether something simpler (in technique or achievement) should get more or less credit than something more complex and hopefully also performed at a better level.

You brought the battery to this discussion which the poster had restricted to the effect of the front ensemble. Yes, some judges overlook emoting FE's completely. Others, realizing that they are to judge all 150 members of the ensemble (visual) or at least the musicians, do not. If I understand the current DCI approved philosophy, judges for either sheet might comment and consider the influence of the other. I think in current DCI performances, that influence is major.

Edited August 29, 2016 by xandandl

[Cappybara]

And, to what amount might the emoting of the FE or the emotional dynamics of the battery add or detract from the overall effect and perceptions on the GE, VA, VP, and General Audience Appreciation sheets?

The example of The Academy this season is but one great example. The Cavaliers with their onfield high jumping mallet performers is another.Crown's Peoples' Ensembles have also contributed as in Rach Star. Sometimes however, the emoting and machismo is over the top and may detract visually and/or musically. Dutting from the backfield ("verbally" and "visually (head bobs) have been known to kill a few good ballads before the corps transitions into allegro come una tempesta

The coolest "duts" of all time were in BD 2012

Edited August 29, 2016 by Cappybara