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Corps 19-25 Placeing Higher


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MisterA makes some very good observations here, imo.

My liking ( or disliking ) of shows has no relationship to placements. None. I have found myself on more than one occasion enjoying Corps shows that finished out of the TOP 16 that season, more than Corps that have medaled that season. For example, I loved the Mandarins show last season. Where they placed last summer had no bearing at all on that enjoyment level for me. Poster MikeD here has posted before that one of his favorite shows of all time is from a Blue Knights show that did not particularly score well either that season. However, if the question here revolves around what it takes for Corps to move up ( which is a " placement " question for us ), then what was said here above seems a bit more germane to that question posed for us, imo.

Edited by BRASSO
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all corps have the same concern and it starts before a note is even played. Its show design. The arrangements, drill, work, and all those other little bits and pieces need to be figured out solidly and need to be amazing. The corps who are 11-14 generally have the right idea, but lack the execution. They're often still figuring things out come June. Which is not when you want to be figuring things out.

Its already been stated earlier in this thread. Bill Cook knew the equation, the Blue Devils know the equation, the top 6 know the equation, and they spend a ton of money to make it happen.

While I like the OCs shows, I don't think they hold much water when compared to those above them in regards to complexity, but they also aren't performed as well. Whereas I think Mandarin's perform the heck out of their shows, they just aren't designed that well. Academy was a perfect example last year of a corps that could have made that jump. They performed the heck out of that show. But seeing Mary Poppins end up in the same place at the end of nearly every song lost impact as you went.

Don't forget that Crown was once under the YEA umbrella (with Crossmen, Cadets, and Sunrisers). All of those corps operated to support the corps at the top of the food chain. Hence why they all left eventually. While it may have helped them initially, i'm sure they'd not be where they are right now if they had continued to operate under that umbrella. (notice Cadets Winter Percussion was just put on hiatus, likely because it pulled resources from the flagship program)

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Though not in the 19-25th category, I thought we'd see The Academy break into the top 12, especially after 2011, but that has not happened. I think I expected the same of OC. I also thought 2012 would be a break out year for Pacific Crest and the corps would make improvements in placement. However as others have mentioned, keeping vets is difficult and there are some design issues involved. Mandarins could be a corps to watch. They have been making steady improvements and they seem to be getting stronger as an organization. I know many in Open Class feel Genesis is the corps to watch, with the expectation they will be the next Oregon Crusaders.

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Whereas I think Mandarin's perform the heck out of their shows, they just aren't designed that well.

Actually, I thought the Mandarins show was designed pretty well last season ( oh well ). We oftentimes hear that "The Corps shows in the 15th and below range " lack demand, complexity, layering, etc " and so forth. Well, in my opinion, of course these Corps shows tend to lack these things. The Corps at this level are chock full of junior High and High School aged newbies throughout their ranks. As such staffers would be crazy to design shows that are filled with elite level Corps demand, complexity, and the like. For the simple reason such sophisticated levels of design would be way over the heads of these young marchers ability to pull off and execute.

Also, these Corps are so full of young non college age marchers, that if they had move ins this week ( as Cadets are doing ), few could make it to the move in camps. When some of these Corps division elite competitors are out on the practice fields perfecting their highly demanding and complexity filled shows, most all of these lower rung Corps have most of their marchers simultaneously dissecting dead frogs with the smelly formaldyhyde in their H.S. frosh biology class for heavens sake, or learning to do long division in Math Class or some such. So give me a break, when we hear that these lower rung Corps shows lack sophisticated, high demand, show designs. Well, no ####. ( haha!) What else should we expect from them ?

Edited by BRASSO
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Actually, I thought the Mandarins show was designed pretty well last season (oh well).

Mandarins' show suffered for lack of difficulty, in my opinion. Too much playing while not moving, too much drill confined to the front third of the field. On the flip side, it was quite engaging.

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Though not in the 19-25th category, I thought we'd see The Academy break into the top 12, especially after 2011, but that has not happened. I think I expected the same of OC. I also thought 2012 would be a break out year for Pacific Crest and the corps would make improvements in placement. However as others have mentioned, keeping vets is difficult and there are some design issues involved. Mandarins could be a corps to watch. They have been making steady improvements and they seem to be getting stronger as an organization. I know many in Open Class feel Genesis is the corps to watch, with the expectation they will be the next Oregon Crusaders.

I thought the same thing about Pacific Crest in 2012. They placed 16th which was their highest ever and even more surprising was that they even placed higher than the Colts that year. I was looking forward to the 2013 show for PC hoping they would make 14th. However, every year since 2013 they have went lower. I look forward to all the Corps doing better this year!

Edited by contracurt
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Mandarins' show suffered for lack of difficulty, in my opinion. Too much playing while not moving, too much drill confined to the front third of the field. On the flip side, it was quite engaging.

It seems like their shows are perfectly designed for lower world class difficulty every year. There never really is that thing that looks like they plan to move to the next tier.

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