Blue Coats DCI Champions '16: Paradigm Shift?

[skevinp]

I've never seen anyone incorporate the z axis into the marching motion, and integrated with the music throughout the show, like this.

People climb up on things, do something on them and then go back down, but the transition up and down is seldom part of the art form. Here, they extended the marching upward and downward, ran up/stopped/ran down, slid down, etc. in a way that fit really well with the music.

It's like they tamed gravity.

[Liahona]

I've never seen anyone incorporate the z axis into the marching motion, and integrated with the music throughout the show, like this.

People climb up on things, do something on them and then go back down, but the transition up and down is seldom part of the art form. Here, they extended the marching upward and downward, ran up/stopped/ran down, slid down, etc. in a way that fit really well with the music.

It's like they tamed gravity.

Interesting..never thought about it that way...

[MikeRapp]

Interesting..never thought about it that way...

Thus the title, Down. Side. Up.

[DrumManTx]

Thus the title, Down. Side. Up.

:O

[Glenn426]

Its seems like it too early to tell as the Shift is judged by how many people follow their lead. If next year 2-4 Corps field themselves in Indoor like costumes then you can look back to Bluecoats 16 as the beginning of that change.

And I love it, I want designers to challenge the status quo, and look at solutions to questions that have long been there and say, "Who says I can't do it this way?"

[Rocketman]

no.

[cowtown]

And I love it, I want designers to challenge the status quo, and look at solutions to questions that have long been there and say, "Who says I can't do it this way?"

Cause you know, like the man, man…don’t trust anyone over 21

It was a pretty unique show, trying to cop it would be failure

The aspect that most corps could follow is using the hornline as a guard; for the visual.

It’s a long established trend that has resulted in some really cringe inducing frat-boy-bop dance breaks to Bieber tunes as ‘high-art’ so if we can kill those (die die die) and have a real commitment to horn players dancing poorly and only playing 4 minutes per show, then were on to something

[31rabbit]

if there's to be a 'paradigm shift' taken from 'Coats 16, I hope it's a return to shows in the upper echelon that are light on Concept. I've got no gripe with concept, I think story and theme frequently increase a show's impact. But that doesn't mean every show NEEDS one. Good music on a simple them (see: cavaliers 01, 02)can be killer and engaging. Coats 14 and 16 demonstrate that the crowd and judges will embrace a show that doesn't require any Explanation.

I'd say 07 was the last time before this year that a show won which really wasn't too reliant on what it was 'about,' so I'd dig a shift back into a competitive arena that saw more corps not seeing Theme/Narrative as something essential. I'd like to see some corps at the top with immersive concepts, and some shows with just great jams and execution with a basic framework tying it together, with both types being equally competitive.

[Bruckner8]

I said last May that Bloo's show would contain some game changers. Those are:

1) speaker setup

2) spread pit with earpiece monitors

3) advanced stage setup with mic usage

4) overall electronics integration to the point of creating sound/harmonic/melody canvas with three equal parts: brass, perc, electronics

5) uniform/no headgear

6) prop usage and design integration

7) use of trombones in so many different ways and all of them germane to the overall effect

I suspect all of those items will be copied by others in some way. The hardest is #4, and it's probably the most important going forward, as drum corps moves to an ever-expanding theater-like experience. All for the good, IMO.

[N.E. Brigand]

Will everyone use 8-foot slides in 2017? No.

In DCA this year, Fusion Core had two tall platforms they also used as slides in their show "Up". I only first saw their show at championships this past weekend; does anyone know if that was part of their concept from the beginning, or were they inspired by what Bluecoats did?