Inside the Arc – Color Pre or Take a Knee

[DCP Commentary]

There once was a time in Drum Corps when the color guard was the Gulag to which were sent all those who were unfit or unready to play horns or drums. The guard was officially known as “the auxiliary”, a term that had always conjured up (at least in my mind) something like an appendix, […]

View the full article

[xandandl]

very nice sense of history, Frank.

Of course while readers may associate you now with that West Coast mentality and the Devs and forget you are a St. Catherines, later Cadet alum/and former instructor, they may not realize that you were sent off to Xavier in NYC. (Xavier is a military like school run by the venerable Jesuits, now deemed by some as liberals but in ecclesiastical long-view history really quite orthodox and conservatives, yet novel in their approaches.) Franks hits all bases here.

Edited September 30, 2017 by xandandl

[jeffmolnar]

So good.

[Fran Haring]

As always... well said, Frank!!!!

[Fran Haring]

On 9/30/2017 at 3:29 PM, xandandl said:

very nice sense of history, Frank.

Of course while readers may associate you now with that West Coast mentality and the Devs and forget you are a St. Catherines, later Cadet alum/and former instructor, they may not realize that you were sent off to Xavier in NYC. (Xavier is a military like school run by the venerable Jesuits, now deemed by some as liberals but in ecclesiastical long-view history really quite orthodox and conservatives, yet novel in their approaches.) Franks hits all bases here.

He's also one of the folks who put the Long Island Sunrisers on the map in the 1960s, when he and a bunch of others (the Sasso brothers, Billy Cobham, Bill Hightower, among others) joined Sun when the Queensmen folded...for the 1963 season and beyond.

Without Frank and the rest of that crew, Sun might never have risen above the level of local-circuit corps.

But I digress.  LOL

[BRASSO]

 This article was a nice and interesting trip down memory lane when Honor Guards, American Flags, Canadian Flags, etc were part and parcel of Drum & Bugle Corps competitions. Color Guards for several decades were all Male it could be pointed out too, since we are discussing Color Guards beginnings, particularly as it relates to DCI early years.. In the 1960's , many Corps, especially Corps in New England, had Females in their Color Guards. The Cadets resisted tooth and nail the inclusion of Females into their Honor Guard sections, or a Female carrying the US Flag,  nor even allowing females into their Color Guard sections anywhere else for that matter. They wanted to maintain their  30 year long tradition of all Male Color Guards in their Corps. Others Corps around the Country did too. When the decision was made bhowever in the mid 60's for the Cadets to drop their All Male Color Guard, all hell broke loose in the Corps. One simple read of the Cadets history back then, and those close to the Cadets will confirm there was a LOT of resistance to this, and some alums/ donors walked away from supporting the Cadets, never to return, with quite a few of them. The outcry and rebellion would be similar to what we might hear today if the Cavaliers and/ or the Madison Scouts decided to open up their ranks of their Corps to females. But... once the Cadets went to the All Female Guard, over time, people that were new to Drum Corps accepted this " change ", and by the 70's, it was no longer an issue. By the early 80's, the Cadets won their 1st DCI Title, ironically by then, with an All Female Color Guard. In mid to late 70's, there were no more All Male Color Guards in DCI Drum Corps, except in the 2 remaining Corps of the Cavaliers/ Madison Scouts. The 70's likewise became an era where  most Corps began increasingly to have Co'ed Color Guards. Today, there are occasional exceptions ( Phantom Regiment for awhile ), but most Corps now have Coed Guards, and " Honor Guards" eliminated altogether as there really is no need to provide any " honor " to specific flags on the field that no longer exist in field competition. Today, there is no booing of any Flags useage, as there is no occasion to boo, nor cheer. The issue then is a complete non issue these days in DCI.  Anyway, that just adds a bit more to the article on  Color Guards. Honor Section in the Color Guards, the Cadets, and who was likely to march in the Color Guards, as the author does mention a bit  who was likely to march in the Color Guards regarding " talent ".   By the 70's, Corps/ fans would no longer be saying that Guards were an" afterthought".. or an " auxillary " in terms of talent... not if they ever saw the " talent " on display in Corps like the 27th Lancers, Anaheim Kingsmen,  SCV,  Boston, Troopers, North Star,  and several other... by then... All Female Color Guards. Fast forward to today, and the mostly Coed Color Guards of today are no longer an " auxillary ". Indeed, a very compelling case can be made that a Corps Guard section is THE most important section in their Corps, more important on the DCI judging sheets now than either the " Drums " section or the " Bugles " section in the " Corps ". Times DO change. And Color Guards are FAR more important in the scores./placements now than perhaps any time in history of the activity. imo

Edited October 2, 2017 by BRASSO

[GUARDLING]

31 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

 This article was a nice and interesting trip down memory lane when Honor Guards, American Flags, Canadian Flags, etc were part and parcel of Drum & Bugle Corps competitions. Color Guards for several decades were all Male it could be mentioned too, since we are discussing Color Guards beginnings, particularly as it relates to DCI early years.. In the 1960's , many Corps, especially Corps in New England, had Females in their Color Guards. The Cadets resisted tooth and nail the inclusion of Females into their Honor Guard sections, or a Female carrying the US Flag,  nor even allowing females into their Color Guard sections anywhere else for that matter. They wanted to maintain their  30 yearr long tradition of all Male Color Guards in their Corps. Others Corps around the Country did too. When the decision was made in the mid 60's for the Cadets to drop their All Male Color Guard, all hell broke loose in the Corps. One simple read of the Cadets history back then, and those close to the Cadets will confirm there was a LOT of resistance to this, and some alums/ donors walked away from supporting the Cadets, never to return, for quite a few of them. The outcry would be similar to what we might hear today if the Cavaliers and/ or the Madison Scouts decided to open up their ranks of their Corps to females. But... once the Cadets went to the All Female Guard, over time, people that were new to Drum Corps accepted this " change ", and by the 70's, it was no longer an issue. By the mid to late 70's, there were no more All Male Color Guards in DCI Drum Corps, except in the 2 remaining Corps of the Cavaliers/ Madison Scouts. The 70's likewise became an era where  most Corps began increasingly to have Co'ed Color Guards. Today, there are occasional exceptions ( Phantom Regiment for awhile ), but most Corps now have Coed Guards, and " Honor Guards" eliminated altogether as there really is no need to provide any " honor " to specific flags on the field that no longer exist in field competition. Today, there is no booing of any Flags useage, as there is no occasion to boo, nor cheer. The issue then is a complete non issue these days in DCI.  Anyway, that just adds a bit more to the article on  Color Guards. Honor Section in the Color Guards, the Cadets, and who was likely to march in the Color Guards, as the author does mention a bit  who was likely to march in the Color Guards regarding " talent ".  Finally by the 70's, Corps/ fans would no longer be saying that Guards were an" afterthought".. or an " auxillary " in terms of talent... not if they ever saw the " talent " on display in Corps like the 27th Lancers. Anaheim Kingsmen, SCV,  Boston, Troopers, North Star,  and several other... by then... All Female Color Guards. Fast forward to today, and the mostly Coed Color Guards of today are no longer an " auxillary ". Indeed, a compelling case can be made that a Corps Guard section is THE most important section in their Corps, more important on the sheets now than either the " Drums " section or the " Bugles " section in the " Corps ". Times DO change. And Color Guards are FAR more important in the scores./placements now than perhaps any time in history of the activity. imo

Cadets female guard was 1969and resisted by many but not all. Most females came from the little falls cadets

[BRASSO]

41 minutes ago, GUARDLING said:

Cadets female guard was 1969and resisted by many but not all. Most females came from the little falls cadets

  No change from All Male to All Female ( or Coed ) can ever take place if such change is resisted " by all ". So that just goes without saying that this was the case then too. How ironic, that one of the Corps that was among the last Junior Corps to drop the All Male Color Guard... ( with LOTS of resistance in Cadets circles to going Female at the time ) would later win their 1st DCI Title after abandoning their All Male Color Guard concept for an All Female Color Guard concept. Today, its the Coed Guards that win DCI Championships for Corps. Its been over a decade now since a Corps with a non Coed Color Guard has won a DCI Title. Personally, I don't see that changing any time soon either. DCI is just so much more competitive these days now,  than from a decade ago, that it seems a daunting dask indeed to try and win a DCI Title anymore with a non Coed make up of performer talent in the Corps, or in Corps sections, imo

Edited October 2, 2017 by BRASSO

[GUARDLING]

49 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

  No change from All Male to All Female ( or Coed ) can ever take place if such change is resisted " by all ". So that just goes without saying that this was the case then too. How ironic, that one of the Corps that was among the last Junior Corps to drop the All Male Color Guard... ( with LOTS of resistance in Cadets circles to going Female at the time ) would later win their 1st DCI Title after abandoning their All Male Color Guard concept for an All Female Color Guard concept. Today, its the Coed Guards that win DCI Championships for Corps. Its been over a decade now since a Corps with a non Coed Color Guard has won a DCI Title. Personally, I don't see that changing any time soon either. DCI is just so much more competitive these days now,  than from a decade ago, that it seems a daunting dask indeed to try and win a DCI Title anymore with a non Coed make up of performer talent in the Corps, or in Corps sections, imo

I think all male or all female or coed is one thing being better or the best,enough to win is another.

[ironlips]

 

" Times DO change. And Color Guards are FAR more important in the scores./placements now than perhaps any time in history of the activity. "

In my view, there is no question about that.

In fact, a solid case can be made that the guard has become the single most important visual element in any field production. Consider the success of corps whose principal visual designers are primarily guard specialists.