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Blue Coats DCI Champions '16: Paradigm Shift?


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The Bluecoats won their first DCI title this year. But with their show, did they change the face of drum corps as we know it? A real paradigm shift?

In 1981, The Cavaliers introduced a DM playing a trap set which eventually led to the "percussion pit" that we see today.

The last time a real activity-changing shift came in 1983 with the Garfield Cadets. Ever since then, the overall concept of drill design has undergone a massive change, all pointing toward that show as "the" game changer.

I don't recall another shift in the activity overall--and I'm not including the incorporation of amplified instrumentation or B-flat bugles or "narration." I'm talking about a seismic genre shift in the activity.

Will other corps incorporate what the Bluecoats did in 2016?

Edited by 81Freelancers
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The Blue Coats won their first DCI title this year. But with their show, did they change the face of drum corps as we know it? A real paradigm shift?

In 1981, The Cavaliers introduced a DM playing a trap set which eventually led to the "percussion pit" that we see today.

The last time a real activity-changing shift came in 1983 with the Garfield Cadets. Ever since then, the overall concept of drill design has undergone a massive change, all pointing toward that show as "the" game changer.

I don't recall another shift in the activity overall--and I'm not including the incorporation of amplified instrumentation or B-flat bugles or "narration." I'm talking about a seismic genre shift in the activity.

Will other corps incorporate what the Blue Coats did in 2016?

It's Bluecoats NOT Blue Coats...carry on...LOL

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The Bluecoats won their first DCI title this year. But with their show, did they change the face of drum corps as we know it? A real paradigm shift?

In 1981, The Cavaliers introduced a DM playing a trap set which eventually led to the "percussion pit" that we see today.

The last time a real activity-changing shift came in 1983 with the Garfield Cadets. Ever since then, the overall concept of drill design has undergone a massive change, all pointing toward that show as "the" game changer.

I don't recall another shift in the activity overall--and I'm not including the incorporation of amplified instrumentation or B-flat bugles or "narration." I'm talking about a seismic genre shift in the activity.

Will other corps incorporate what the Bluecoats did in 2016?

Blue Devils and their use of props changed the ways teams do things. Since they did the show with the chairs more teams have used props and re-staged the way they do.

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Blue Devils and their use of props changed the ways teams do things. Since they did the show with the chairs more teams have used props and re-staged the way they do.

Les Chatelaines used chairs 35 years ago. Nothing new there. BD did refine the use of props quite a bit, but props have been a part of the activity for quite awhile.

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The Bluecoats won their first DCI title this year. But with their show, did they change the face of drum corps as we know it? A real paradigm shift?

No.

In 1981, The Cavaliers introduced a DM playing a trap set which eventually led to the "percussion pit" that we see today.

Pretty much everyone was parking their tympani up front by then. That was the forerunner of the pit.

The last time a real activity-changing shift came in 1983 with the Garfield Cadets. Ever since then, the overall concept of drill design has undergone a massive change, all pointing toward that show as "the" game changer.

I don't recall another shift in the activity overall--and I'm not including the incorporation of amplified instrumentation or B-flat bugles or "narration." I'm talking about a seismic genre shift in the activity.

Well, if 1983 was the last paradigm shift, then we definitely will not have one in 2017.

Will other corps incorporate what the Bluecoats did in 2016?

Expecting everyone to play a Latin jazz show in 2017? No.

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

Will everyone discard their headgear, uniform jackets and chest-high waistlines in favor of a snugger costumes with belted pants? No.

We had this same kind of thread a year or two ago, where everyone was going to do shows just like Blue Devils. That did not happen either.

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I really liked the costume - and no headgear -

removing the helmet really opens up the performer and allows them to connect with the audience -

going to a dance costume makes sense with the visual demand and dance that is becoming the norm --

I hope more corps follow their lead in terms of uniform --

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Blue Devils and their use of props changed the ways teams do things. Since they did the show with the chairs more teams have used props and re-staged the way they do.

If anything, I think blue Devils changed the way the activity approaches guard staging and performance. They were really the first group to say both the guard and the marching members are equals in show design. Props had a lot to do with that, but they were used as a part of the overall idea

Edited by MikeRapp
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I'm not sure I see history the same way as the original poster.

For one thing, Garfield Cadets show in 1983 was excellent, but George Zingali's drill that year built upon what he did in 1982 and what he did with 27th in 1979-1980. Some would even argue that SCV's drill in 1980, a 7th place finish had an impact on Cadets' design.

The development of the pit came from a rule change regarding allowing some percussion instruments to be stationary rather than carried on and off the field.

Regarding Bluecoats, did we really see all that sudden a change? I saw 2016 as something Bluecoats have been doing since 2013. The musical book of 2013 was similar to the arrangements of previous years but the use of the bleachers on the field and the constant movement led to "Tilt" in 2014 and "kinetic Noise" in 2015. While 2016 had a different look with the uniforms, I saw the show as more similar than different to recent years. Even with regards to the uniform, it may have been more necessity than adopting a so called "WGI" style uniform. There is no way the uniforms of 2015 could slide down the ramps. The head gear would have fallen off and the coats would have been a hazard. The uniform design (yes every musician Eorevthe same thing and every guard member eorevthe same thing so they were uniforms, not costumes) may not have been intended to be innovative as to make the show clean.

Edited by Tim K
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