RiseUP79

This Sunday! 9am-4pm at Westerville Central High School. Please use Door #13 to enter. There is a $40.00 non-refundable audition fee that can be paid by cash or check. For questions/more information please e-mail sfurn4@aol.com.

Juxtaposition Winterguard auditions will be held Sunday, Sept. 25 from 9am-4pm at Westerville Central High School: 7118 Mount Royal Ave. Westerville, OH.

Amen.

Yes...from an Ohio resident: please spell it correctly if you are going to start a topic. ;-)

I must admit though...I often find myself clapping when no one else is. I clapped numerous times in finals when I found things to be 'effective' to me...and heard very very few others clapping. Opus 10 and Corona (along with some others) had a lot of those moments for me (and yes, full disclosure: I marched Crown/Corona, so I am somewhat partial to what Michael 'does'). But...another great point to discuss: are things only effective when the audience responds? I did not clap once during Onyx, but that didn't mean I didn't think things were 'effective'. Do I think it created the 'effect' that I enjoy or appreciate, no, but I am one person and realize there will be things that I may dislike and others will think are genius (I am still of the opinion they should have been nailed in the downstairs captions, but I agree there were things they excelled at in GE and Ens). We all respond in different ways to different things.

Hehe...I really respect your points about Onyx...and everytime I hear someone who obviously takes the time to make educated statements, my views may...JUST may sway a bit. I try to take a look at things with a different perspective when someone intelligent gives me something other than just 'you're crazy'. Love your comments overall...great discussion. :-)

Discussion that...YOU deem decent? Well...thanks for 'setting the tone' for the rest of us. God forbid people list their 'favorites'.

I personally think we shouldn't really use the term 'setting new standards' in our activity...as standards implies rules or set ways of doing things...and I do not condone artistic rules being placed on any of our teams...they should have the freedom to do whatever they wish. Maybe I should change the title of my thread. BUT...it is on the world class sheets. :-(

If I had mentioned 'crowd favorites', I would have said: Corona, Braddock, SCV, Avon, etc. etc. Doesn't reflect my original list at all. And yes, I was sitting in the audience, and they went crazy for these teams.

Sigh. I personally believe (that's why I said "my opinion") the groups I listed has a significant impact on the activity...they (in one way or another)...IN MY OPINION set some new standards. Do we really have to start arguing about people's opinions in EVERY single thread? It's an artistic activity. I listed Black Watch...they certainly weren't "my fave"...they were a team I thought took winterguard in a unique direction. Opus 10...much like Carmel spun and danced at a level I do not see often (and with a stylistic choice that is not used all the time)...therefore I feel they 'set the bar very high'. I could explain each of my choices...and 'crowd favorites' had nothing to do with those choices. If so, I would have said 'Zydeco'...who I also loved.

Since I was not directly involved with any colorguards in World Class Finals (SW and IW), I would like to discuss who I (and the audience) felt had the greatest impact on and affected the audience (and colorguard) in 2011. Opinions and discussion (ANY AND ALL) welcome! Again, these are my personal opinions. My picks: West Johnston: I have never seen an audience more 'involved' in a show...(and excited about for that matter). Kudos for "setting new standards" in an entertaining way. Seminole: Just plain neat and unique...and created a very interesting atmosphere with the set, music, and performers. Trumbull: One of the most talented group of high school students I have seen at a winterguard competition. Holy technique, fearlessness, and commitment! Carmel: Great, great, great, and near perfect with an amazing message and tear-jerking finals run. Black Watch: New, different, and great at colorguard. Over-the-top pageantry in an accessible and likable form. Opus 10: Nearly perfect...the subtlety, nuance, and difficulty performed in such a crisp and amazingly well-achieved manner. My favorite of the World Class Finals night. SCV: For bringing the audience to a state of peace, passion, and jubilation (clapping and dancing)...proving without a doubt they were the 'ones' that night. It was what I personally needed to make all 'right' again with colorguard. There were definitely others...but I would personally like to hear from other fans...

I personally and politely disagree. While I don't typically 'love' the Blue Devils' productions, I can hardly ever argue that they aren't great at the activity/art they competing in; drum corps (marching, spinning, and playing). I think (along with many others I have spoken with) think this situation is different.

If people want a forum with only positive comments, compliments, and a place where only 'good' discussion is allowed, I suggest they start a new forum. That's not how any activity gets better, evolves, or grows. Opinions, conversation (with all viewpoints) and personal conviction should be permitted AND encouraged in any artistic activity that is adjudicated.

Your rhetoric is getting so old... Since you obviously didn't take the time to read my comments, I will post again. What are YOU adding to the productive conversation? My contribution to this productive discussion... As I have stated before, my concerns do not deal with the show itself. Onyx, along with all other colorguards at WGI have the creative freedom to produce whatever they wish. There are things I appreciate about the show; how the designers manipulate space, the ability of the strength of the performers regarding improvisation (and this is NOT easy). References to matters of art; such as clear plastic symbolizing transparency (or non-transparency) and the decisions artists make concerning those. The end of the show...the work referencing the bluebird by Charles Bukowski; a very powerful poem with a strong subject matter. My concerns are and always have been how this show relates to our current adjudication system. The sheets, broken down in a basic kind of way are "what", and "how". What is being displayed (the composition or content) and "how" it is being displayed. In the upstairs captions, GE and Ensemble, I think Onyx is actually quite strong...and deserves a lot of credit for how the show is constructed. Downstairs, in the Individual Analysis captions, I personally blame the judges for giving way too much credit. Our activity is still (like it or not) adjudicated as colorguard. Colorguard, much like drum corps, is and always has been, in large part, about cleanliness, clarity, and how well unison efforts are performed by all performers in view. It's the nature of what we do...and comes from the history and evolution of colorguard/drum corps. I'm going to give you three examples of moments in Onyx's show that I think display significant weakness in the movement and equipment captions. NO, I do not sit and study this video (these are the moments that 'bugged' me when I saw the show)...and YES, every group, even the world champions have these problems every year. But, if/when I sit and watch Onyx, these moments occur many many times; it's just that many folks can't (or choose not) to see because of the chaotic nature of the show, therefore, I feel the cleanliness and achievement of choreographed parts (what EVERYONE is adjudicated on) were mostly disregarded. I am looking at the show from the perspective of an instructor/tech and from an adjudication point of view: 1.) At the :30 point on the prelims performance on fan network...if you watch the first ensemble movement statement, timing is extremely poor, positions of bodies are all different from performer to performer; some arms are together, some are apart, some upper bodies are upright, some are leaning forward in a lunge position. Some performers actually have their feet turned in, while some are turned out. I personally don't feel most would consider this movement part difficult at all...its pretty basic actually (in my opinion), and there are a few counts between each 'move', so it is easy to sample how different many people look on the floor in each position; and this IS supposed to be a unison part. 2.) Sample the technique of the performer running across the '50' at 1:13 when he does what appears to be a sauté; a very basic dance move utilized by every colorguard at WGI. The judges know moves such as sautés, and reference and comment about the execution and technique of these on their 'tapes'. I would consider this VERY poorly achieved; the muscular control of this performer looks very weak; and every time I watched the show, he looked like he did not have control of his body on the efforts he was performing. These can be found all throughout the show with many of the performers...and the adjudicators factually react negatively towards performers that look like this in all other shows. If you do not understand what I am saying, find the recorded comments of any movement judge from any winterguard competition, and listen to it. 3.) From an equipment point of view, if you watch the flag entrance at 1:18, these performers enter in a 'canon'...but if you look closely, they are not performing the part (which is the same, just at different times) the same at all. Hands are in different positions on the pole, different planes are being explored, and then, when we reach an ensemble statement, the same issues apply AND there are significant timing issues...it's not clean. Also check out the position of the leg on the catch of the 45 toss...different on each and every performer. BUT, the untrained eye would have a hard time noting this because they are all facing different directions with a alot of 'chaos' occurring around the choreographed part. Again...this can be found constantly throughout the show. To reiterate, I do not have an issue with Onyx's choices...I have an issue that they are receiving a very high level of credit for things that our sheets are based on (particularly the Ind. Analysis captions). To me, this is an adjudication issue for the judging community; which is why I have been very outspoken about how I feel this affects the activity. My personal problem with Mike Lentz deals with how rude he was when I brought up these concerns...off topic. I know some of on this forum will not understand this because they do not know (or take the time to study) our sheets or adjudication system, but think of it in marching band or drum corps terms...we still judge performer's postures, marching technique, cleanliness of playing, etc. I wonder: how might folks react if a top 12 drum corps came out with performers facing different directions, playing different parts, marching different tempos, and mostly all with different technique for an entire show? It would certainly be an interesting experiment...one I am not opposed to seeing...and seeing how it affects a drum corps audience.

:-) Now we're discussing! Some interesting points! Although, I personally consider 6th place in IW nothing to shake your head at...it takes many groups years and years to break in that top tier in IW. '09...Onyx...loved that show. One of my favorites of the year. I think they were definitely headed in a unique, interesting, emotionally intriguing direction in 08 and 09 (and getting quite good at being 'them') and then seemed to "switch it up" in '10. 2010 Onyx certainly was one of three guards I think deserved to win (in my opinion). I thought it was very unique and they were good at 'it'.