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Body/Dance movement


Body Movement  

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  1. 1. Who makes the best use of body movement?

    • The Cadets
    • The Blue Devils
    • The Cavaliers
    • Carolina Crown
    • Phantom Regiment
    • Santa Clara Vanguard
    • Bluecoats
    • Boston Crusaders
    • Blue Knights
    • Madison Scouts
    • Blue Stars
    • Spirit Of Atlanta
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I think this year Crown had the most "natural" body movement, raving around on the field.

The demons fighting angels in the Cadets opener went nicely,

Bluecoats dancing was entertaining! :thumbup:

I guess I'm a fan of well executed body movements.

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Whatever corps Jude Boughton is teaching at. He teaches body/dance to non-dancers better than just about anyone. Rep wise, he sometimes bites off a little more than the groups can chew (I.E. 2003 Phantom Regiment), but the stuff he does is top notch. I also like that he educates instead of "rote" teaches body/dance. People in his corps that have learned movement with him are familiar with the nomenclature of what they are doing, so not only does he educate that group, but he opens the door for that education to flow into all the other groups affiliated with every member of every corps he's taught with.

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Whatever corps Jude Boughton is teaching at. He teaches body/dance to non-dancers better than just about anyone. Rep wise, he sometimes bites off a little more than the groups can chew (I.E. 2003 Phantom Regiment), but the stuff he does is top notch. I also like that he educates instead of "rote" teaches body/dance. People in his corps that have learned movement with him are familiar with the nomenclature of what they are doing, so not only does he educate that group, but he opens the door for that education to flow into all the other groups affiliated with every member of every corps he's taught with.

Jude is my school's colorguard director! He is very good at getting our band to have a much larger presence.

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Homerocity aside .... Dance is a big of Crown's identity and they do it very well *while playing exposed parts*.

I agree with what you are saying, but don't necessarily agree with this example (just this clip---because I love crown's body!). Lots of pacing and rushed body that doesn't really fit with what is going on in that clip. Plus, when groups do that, it kind of makes me feel like they are hiding the fact that they don't have the body control to do slow, isolated body.

---

BUT back to speaking in general terms, I do agree that Crown's body is AWESOMELY well done. They execute better than the other "light pants" groups. They understand that if you are going to be moving with those pants on, you better be able to do that movement way better than a group with black pants.

My best example of this would be the difference between BlueCoats Creep and Crown last year. Can you imagine if Crown did that body movement!? They would have been ticked right off the field. But, when you have dark pants, you hide a lot of things. Can't hide anything when people can clearly see, at any point, your entire leg all the way to the tips of your toes. Kudos to CrownGuard staff and Leon May (with a strong guard/wgi background) on putting those kids in a position to suceed!

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I agree with what you are saying, but don't necessarily agree with this example (just this clip---because I love crown's body!). Lots of pacing and rushed body that doesn't really fit with what is going on in that clip. Plus, when groups do that, it kind of makes me feel like they are hiding the fact that they don't have the body control to do slow, isolated body.

Ah -- I feel better that we're disagreeing. If you could have heard the mellophones playing while they are doing that movement, perhaps you'd change your mind. The isolation of the air stream while doing that sequence was improbably good. They move into and out of the ground with never a hint in the sound and while upright their lower body is doing all it can to strain the sound but there's nothing but solid gold coming out of the mellophones. The body control and core strength it takes to execute that while playing is just silly. It's not just about body and movement in isolation but as part of layered simultaneous responsibilities the performers are given through that segment.

Your comment "it doesn't really fit" -- to me at least -- is like telling a modern dancer how dare you express yourself in something other than a predictable way. Predictable is BORING (ask Mia Michaels :-) I hear an unspoken "appropriate"

under your paragraph and .. well...that's another thread we ought to have.

My best example of this would be the difference between BlueCoats Creep and Crown last year. Can you imagine if Crown did that body movement!? They would have been ticked right off the field. But, when you have dark pants, you hide a lot of things. Can't hide anything when people can clearly see, at any point, your entire leg all the way to the tips of your toes. Kudos to CrownGuard staff and Leon May (with a strong guard/wgi background) on putting those kids in a position to succeed!

I agree that the Crown Guard staff is amazing :colgate: but Jim Moore does the hornline choreography for Crown! He's pretty amazing too :-)

Edited by corpsband
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I realize (and respect) that some of the puritsts out there still consider body/dance movement controversial and don't care for it. However, it's a permanent part of drum corps now that will never go away.

If we have learned AYTHING at all about this activity, it is that there is nothing.... NOTHING....that is considered " permanent" or sacrosanct as a part of the Drum Corps activity so that it " will never go away ". So I don't accept your premise at all on this aspect of the activity other than that it is in vogue in the present time and era.

Edited by BRASSO
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Over the past few years, I would say Crown. While I have a tendency to think they overload it in their shows, they generally do it well and to good effect. I would say that 2011 is the exception to that. Just felt that a lot of the body work they did really didn't connect with the show. If I just listened to their show, I knew I was at a rock concert. If I just watched it, I'd think I was at a ballet. There were times it made sense, but overall I felt it was forced.

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I will have to admit that I miss the guards of old, and I've stated that in other posts, but I also realize that many of my favorite shows of all time have had many nontraditional color guards. The key factor is whether the color guard's dance moves fit the show. For my taste, Phantom, who ironically had one of the best traditional guards back in the day, has moves that fit the music and advances the story year after year. It probably helps that Phantom chooses classical music and most corps seem to use ballet moves which often fits classical music. Crown probably has the best "dancers" so to speak, but some years I have felt that the dance aspect, while very good and always well performed, didn't always fit the show itself, last year's "Rach Star" being a great and notable exception. Cavie's guard is the most physical and does things that most of us would probably think is humanly impossible, and since it often looks like it would hurt, I'm glad they're doing it and not me, but again, it can sometimes seem to be a separate show.

One commentator said that whether we like dance moves or not, they are a permanent part of drum corps. We thought the same about traditional guards, Key of G brass instruments, and drum lines that moved as one unit. Nothing, for good or for bad, is permanent in drum corps. While I do agree that body movement is here to stay, it can seem somewhat stale now that it's no longer new. If dance is meant to be used to tell a story, more corps need to use the full scope of dance. To me, many of the dance moves are "quasi-ballet" moves, but somehow feel out of place. Now I am not a dancer, but I do go to enough theater shows and operas and watch dancing on TV (Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, etc) to know there are all kinds of dance moves that could liven up shows, would be equal if not more difficult than moves used by many corps today and would be innovative. A bit of jazz, tap, ballroom, Broadway, or even hip-hop could show excellence, originality, and perhaps better enhance a story.

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