Latrobe's Finest

Thanks. We are really looking forward to Finals being in Annapolis next year. We're hoping we can use that as a recruiting tool. We're building something special here and I think folks are starting to pay attention. Now, will MD and VA folks make the short trip to Manassas or will they continue to drive to NJ and NY for drum corps? We'll see.

Head up the PA Turnpike towards Pittsburgh; you'll see a few!

Oh, I'll be there!

Germantown, MD LOVED the Scouts tonight! On a side note, I think some corps need to reevaluate how tight the pants are on their male marchers...

Yeah, at minimum, we'll have two OC corps advancing to semis.

So, who do we hear talking at the live stream? Is the mic in the pressbox?

You have to be a paying FN subscriber for that right?

Exactly. Plus if your group wears dark pants, a lot of the individual differences will be masked.

I agree. That's why I teach what I call a "straight-er leg" style. Striving for a straight look, without the rigidness of a traditional straight leg style. Frankly, with the time we have to teach visual in HS, we would never achieve the unified straight leg style that a corps like the Cadets might teach.

No, but I'm the visual instructor for a HS band in the Baltimore area. I've been teaching a variation of the prep-step technique that I used in drum corps, but I've always been curious if other corps used similar techniques. To another comment: I am not a fan of the bent knee style (like it's used by the Cavaliers et. al) because it's too hard to clean at the HS level.

Good stuff-thanks for the responses.

At the two shows I've attended, I haven't been in a good position to look at feet. Do any corps use a "prep step" technique? What I mean is, instead of using a pivot technique where the performer does a sharp pivot at direction changes, are any corps having students take a half step in the new direction? Related to that, do any corps close movements with the toe? So, on count 8 of an 8 count move, the right foot would stab toe-first and the left foot would close on one. Thanks.

I saw them twice this week: Goosebump city in the ballad

That's a win right there. At the end of the day the score doesn't matter, it's the experience, the learning, and the people that matter!

Someone earlier asked about attendance...the place was packed! This show always gets great attendance. It's 2 hours from folks (like me) in Maryland and less than that if you're already in Northern VA. I applaud the DCI Nova folks for again having plenty of butts in the seats. Interesting note though, that at the intermission, very few people came to the souvie section. It wasn't until after the encore that people really came to buy stuff. I also want to publicly thank Dick Thompson and the entire Fauquier Band Boosters for inviting our DM to play the National Anthem and allowing us to recruit at the show. Thanks for your support! We also want to say "hi" to the Blue Knights. Our director met the mother of one of your contra players on a plane a few weeks ago and the young man stopped by our booth and introduced himself.

Great show tonight! Full stands and some excellent performances. I personally thought PR should have had a bigger lead of Bluecoats, but wow, both corps were fantastic. Academy really impressed me. They had a very aggressive opener. I feel like the Crossmen had a great attitude on the field. I really enjoyed their opener. PC was fun to watch. Congrats to my Pioneer for breaking 70. Such a lovely show and they really performed it well.

I've decided last-minute to trek over to the Charleston, WV show tomorrow. Does anyone have housing info for that show? I'm specifically looking for Pioneer's housing arrangements. Thanks I answered my own question: http://www.regiment.org/dats/thanks.cfm

I made a little map of the DCA member corps from the dcacorps.org website. When you think about expansion, look at the cluster of corps in different areas and the newer corps all by themselves. Obviously, we'd all like to see more active drum corps across the country. http://www.zeemaps.com/253444

We have 5 shows before prelims, could have been 6 if the other Tampa show wasn't cancelled. I think this is the most regular season shows we've ever had. We're really happy that we were able to get into the Reading show in addition to having our home show. As much as we like heading south (Atlanta x2, TB), those are long weekends.

Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm currently in Maryland where it's only about 85 and little humidity because we had big storms come through the other day.

Our rookies who have never performed at a DCA South show are going to get a wake-up call when they feel the humidity! That's the toughest part of those South shows. Even when I was in DCI, our day at Sprit's home show was the toughest (for me) because of the humidity and heat.

Shenandoah Sound leaves today for the Wonderful World of Disney! The corps will perform tomorrow in the Magic Kingdom before heading to Land O' Lakes on Saturday for TBT's home show. Everyone is very excited for the chance to perform and play at Disney. The members of the corps will have parts of three days this week to explore all Disney has to offer. Thanks to everyone who has helped us make this journey possible. If you would like to join the ranks of loyal supporters of Virginia's only corps, please visit ShenandoahSound.org and click on "support us." I personally can't make it to Disney tomorrow because I'm running a summer camp this week, but I am looking forward to flying down Saturday and performing in Florida for the first time with a drum corps! @SoundDrumCorps

Really? I thought Div III had a max of 60 members and Div II had a max of 90.

Looks like we posted almost identical posts at the same time! Great minds..

Per DCI.org: Prelims is every DCI corps "In a twist to the traditional format, 2011’s Prelims competition will feature a veritable “all-skate” of DCI corps. In addition to the performances of all 23 World Class groups, Open and International Class corps will also be invited to compete at this event. More than 40 corps are expected to go head-to-head in this all-day competition at Lucas Oil Stadium." Semis: "In a new format for 2011, the top 25 corps after the Prelims competition on Thursday (no matter World, Open or International Class distinction) will compete during this event. The top 12 of this grouping will earn spots in the Saturday evening Finals competition." I personally love the idea. Now that Open Class corps can be as large as World Class, I'm interested to see how they stack up. In the days of Div II/III, there were size limits, so II/III corps were at an automatic disadvantage. Back in the day, the top 5 II/III corps made Div I QFs and they often beat Div I corps. Pioneer, Mandarins, Les Etoilos, SCVC, etc. often beat Div I corps at QF.