making it new

[dugg]

"day by day make it new/yet again make it new!"

-ezra pound-

with the 2009 winter guard season now a memory and a with a new decade upon us i urge designers to follow the philosophy of making it new.a great period is just beginning.i call for a new spirit and my charge to this generation is to try to see the activity as you would like it versus the way it is.dare to create an open millieu of unfettered expression and anything goes convictions.make it fresh new,avant garde and alive seek out aesthetic complexity and generate the exciting meaningful and original.

Edited April 27, 2009 by dugg

[Jeremy Denzer]

I agree... please challenge us the spectators with something new and truly creative.

WGI changed drastically in it's first 20 years. In the second 20 years....not so much has changed.

[wtxcg]

I agree... please challenge us the spectators with something new and truly creative.

WGI changed drastically in it's first 20 years. In the second 20 years....not so much has changed.

I would amend that to read "Competitive color guard changed drastically in it's first 20 years (~1960 - 1980). The second 20 years, now approaching thirty, not much has changed." What I feel is very few attempt to exist outside of what is considered rubricationally safe.

[Jeremy Denzer]

I would disagree a little. If you look at a guard from 1980 and a guard from 1990 they look drastically different. If you look at a guard from 1990 and a guard from 2000 they look moderately different. if you look at a guard from 2000 and a guard from 2009 they look almost identical.

[colorguardboy86]

I would disagree a little. If you look at a guard from 1980 and a guard from 1990 they look drastically different. If you look at a guard from 1990 and a guard from 2000 they look moderately different. if you look at a guard from 2000 and a guard from 2009 they look almost identical.

As someone who has started doing colorguard after 2000, I disagree with this. I think it's all about perception: To those of us who weren't around in the 80s or 90s, the differences between 1990 and 2000 are as vastly different as the differences from 1990 and 1980. I just think that having gone through those years you just don't notice as much. I would put the decade from 2000 to 2009 in the "moderately different" category, but I bet 10 years from now, people newer to the activity will see it differently.

[Mr. Know it all]

I agree: "New" should be elected the new black for the decade of the '10s.

It seems that so many shows these days - while beautifully designed and performed - are starting to rely on a fairly small bag of tricks to make their visual/emotional statements.

And in a big picture way, it also seems as if The Activity (capital 'A') doesn't place as much value on the element of "surprise" as it used to. Not sure if that's just me reading something that isn't there into the situation or if that's something that's really happening.

Again, not to detract from the qualities of any show or performance out there, but how many shows did we see this year wherein the entire emotional layer of the program was a singular, unwavering, super-serious, heartbroken, mournful or quasi-religious note note that never invited the audience to share in the innate JOY of this activity....???

And how many more times are we going to see a program that ends with an "ensemble flag feature" staged in three horizontal lines up at the front of the performance space...??? It's an effective move, sure. (That's why so many shows end that way...!!!) But we all know darn well that there's about 250 ways you can make that same powerful, ensemble statement at the end of a program.

Once more, I'm not trying to 'dis' any designer, performer or program out there. Those are just easy-to-recognize examples of what I mean by shows pulling key elements from the same, small bag of tricks.

And when so many shows start looking alike and - more importantly - FEELING alike, then it's probably time to shake things up a bit and remind ourselves why we were drawn to this activity in the first place.

As the title of this thread suggests, MAKE IT NEW...!!!

For me, what hooked me on this activity is the kaleidoscopic expression of musical passion - ANY type of music. And yes, there are LOTS of additional layers that feed into the success of that expression. But that's what I see as the foundation of a great program.

Through the use of color, shape and movement, 10-20-30 members of a performance ensemble both show us and lead us through their interpretation of "_________________________" (fill in the blank).

So many fabulous inspiring shows have been created and performed over the years, so many unique moments that have lived well beyond their final performance. Anyone else remember when The Skylarks made flags 'pop' out of a genie bottle...???

And much of the reason that shows/moments like that have enjoyed the longevity that they've had is because they were, in some way, showing us something 'new.'

So, for 2010, let's go out there and get you 'new' on...!!!

[Mr. Know it all]

If you look at a guard from 1980 and a guard from 1990 they look drastically different. If you look at a guard from 1990 and a guard from 2000 they look moderately different. if you look at a guard from 2000 and a guard from 2009 they look almost identical.

Ditto, Jeremy.

Of course, there is something to be said about individual perspective. And those of us who've "seen it all," - well, we definitely have a unique point of view, to say the least.

But in any situation, an active recollection of the past is necessary in order to continue to move forward successfully into the future. Otherwise, you follow the same paths, do the same things, sometimes make the same mistakes and, ultimately, you stagnate - regardless of the endeavor or activity with which you're dealing.

Remembering "what used to be" is an excellent device in helping you realize "what CAN be."

Edited April 27, 2009 by Mr. Know it all

[Jeremy Denzer]

I think a good example of this was a friend of mine that I marched with in the mid nineties. I recently took her to a show. She had not been to any winterguard performances since 1999. Her first reaction was disappointment. She felt like she had not missed a single year because it was so similar to when she left the activity.

[Mr. Know it all]

I can't remember the origin of the quote, but it's certainly relevant to this discussion:

"There are two ways in which one can be an artist: either you can create a beautiful work of art OR you can create an environment in which artists thrive."

Well said, no...???

Perhaps there's something that can be done to better structure the "environment" in which this activity is created so that the "artists" doing the creating are, indeed, able to "thrive" and realize some new varieties of success.

[Mr. Know it all]

Now, I know that this scenario NEVER would be realized. It's just a fun example of one way in which the activity could be made "new."

Consider:

What if every guard in a IW were required to use some variation on the same basic piece of music for their program...??? Wouldn't that put in interesting spin, so to speak, on the shows that we'd see during the season...???

So, let's say that the "required" musical selection for 2010 were to be "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurhythmics.

Ok...???

Think about what we might see:

- SCV could use the original Top 40 cut.

- NEI could use the Eartha Kitt acapella version. In French.

- Braddock could use the DJ George Acosta 'Barbie Dream House, South Beach Unlimited' re-mix

- Blessed Sac could use the Werid Al all-accordion salute to "Sweet Dreams"

The list of possibilities goes on and on and on and on.

Again, I know that this would never happen. But I just think it would be totally cool to unleash all of the creative energy behind those IW guards on that same piece of music and watch what bubbles to the surface it gets customized and stylized for two dozen IW programs.

We'd definitely see some "new" things in competition, I'm sure...!!!