ranintothedoor
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Posts posted by ranintothedoor
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Sweeney Todd.
Opening Theme specifically, but also a show based on the musical/movie would be fantastic!
mmmmmm
By the way, Anderson just released the sequal to "Phantom of the Opera" called "Love Never Dies". SCV should totally use it for an anniversary show. Maybe have the same drill formation as the end of their 1989 show to start it out? 25th anniversary in 2014!!!!!
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I agree that there is a place for both mentalities, the community minded and the competitive circuit.
The art of drum corps, like any art, has different aspects. One aspect is an esoteric, always improving, always changing, always striving and pushing side that fits well into the competitive mold. Like any art, there has to be a place/setting to breathe and grow.
Another and equally important aspect of art/drum corps is its application to improve the quality of life of society and individuals. Local community corps who reach out to kids use the artform to reach out and change kids lives.
DCI and DCA fill one aspect of the activity more than the other, and SDCA and local benefactor-funded organizations facilitate the other aspect more. It's really not a questions of "vs." but a question of how different organizations fill the needs of their constituents and further the purposes of the artform. All are valuable to the artform of drum corps.
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That all depends....is she hot?
lol!
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I think it would be a terrible idea for DCI to become involved on a national level. There are already existing local indoor circuits all over the country that can do a better job (and already do). Anything DCI would do on a national level would be lip-service. If individual corps want to get involved in their home areas, great.
DCI and DCA are busy enough administering their own circuits, and championing other causes. What, exactly would you have them do in this case?
Well, here are a couple ideas:
- On the DCI website, host a development section dedicated to helping people/organizations start their own corps and indoor groups in low socio-economic status areas.
- Host an online forum and resource center for new startup corps to get help or direction. Have an interactive map of the US where others can see what other cities and organizations are doing.
- Invite local corps near DCI shows to come and perform in exhibition and announce after a performance what the corps is all about and encourage the locals to support said corps.
- Organize joint stand-still performances with DCI corps and inner city corps. Cool opportunity for those kids!
You're right that DCI shouldn't take on a huge project like this. They could, however, encourage and help those who may not otherwise have the resources. What would that cost?
lol...
You know, I think DCP could do what I describe, now that I think about it! May be more appropriate, too.
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IMO school music programs have taken the place of local drum corps.
Well then... next year, I think I'll make all my kids learn brass, percussion, and guard only, by God!
Just kidding.
That's a great point! -
Using indoor drumlines, color guards, and dance teams are a great way to get started on the noble ventures being discussed in this thread. The best part is that there's already an existing structure for performance and competition in the form of the dozens of local competitive indoor circuits found nationwide.
There's absolutely no reason to start with some "national association" (not a shot at Terri, she was being facetious). In our local indoor circuit, there are a couple of units that are doing exactly what people are talking about here, both on the percussion and guard/dance sides of things, and they are able to do it in a fiscally responsible way. Once fantastic example is the Imperial Dynasty organization in Wilmington, DE (http://imperialdynasty.org/).
DCI and the existing World Class corps aren't grassroots community organizations, at least not anymore. And that's ok. Frankly, if you folks are serious about using drum corps as a way to help "get kids off the streets", DCI and DCA should be the furthest thing from your minds, as should competition. Start at the ground up and build the organization the right way. Worry about the national and competitive sides later.
Do you think it would be inappropriate for DCI or DCA to become involved in an initiative like this? Are they so far gone from traditional drum corps roots that there wouldn't be any value or advantage for them to support this kind of venture?
Just wondering what you think, because I agree that organizations should be built from the ground up to have real, lasting meaning in that community. However, wouldn't it be cool to have that PLUS a large, well organized entity that offers support, opportunities and resources when you needed it?
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That's the thing though: a lot of us get that initial "yeah, this is important! Let's do it!" feeling, but then something gets in our way. What would it take to create a skeleton organizational model that people could put into place in various communities? I'm thinking things like bylaws, nonprofit status, etc.
In other words, instead of a lot of independent start ups, what about a "Big Brothers and Sisters" kind of approach? Create an over-arching organization - or work within an existing one? Hmmm.... my wheels are turning... (but where will I find the time... ugh!)
I think this is where DCI could help get something started. There's the brand already associated with excellence, and if DCI is serious about youth and the arts and building community ties (one reason for the move to Indy, if I'm not mistaken), this would be a great opportunity for them to show some leadership and win back some fans.
A couple people could get with DCI and "create an over-arching organization" like TerriTroop was talking about. Then anyone with passion would have a support system to turn to when things started getting tough during the process!!!!
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Shouldn't we be discussing something more important? Like why drum corps isn't marching band? or bananas?
Bananas. definitely more important.
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off-topic...but great username seat partner. i almost forgot about that little incident
thanks! i sure didn't forget.......
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why should they care if you can't pay the money when they can just take the next person who can?
drum corps provides a service to the marchers. Can't buy the service at market price? Someone else will.
Yeah, I agree with this, but it doesn't make it right.
It's just frustrating to think that corps in the old days were able to take you off the street, put a horn in your hand, and expected you to work hard enough to perform with the rest of the group... for free! The service that the corps provides then and now is to build self-discipline, respect, the opportunity to do something great for an audience... but when funding sources change, priorities and how money is generated has to change too.
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We have an alum of the Argonne Rebels we're working with who has ties to the school band community; he came from the urban core to march when he was young and wants to help other kids from the city get a similar experience. We're working with him to get a drumline camp of sorts running this summer. Just last week, he contacted me about working with an all-star drumline project for a performance at a drill team show in April. His brother-in-law is spearheading the effort and we can enlarge the number of slots for that effort by providing drums and an additional instructor. The kids involved with this all come from urban areas.
We're looking to organize some drumline shows for next winter, to give winter lines someplace to perform and compete with each other. We're looking at trying to expand with contacts made with school programs to build a summer brass program of some sort, if not just get kids to play with the corps when we march parades and such. We'll be inviting lines from the entire metro, urban and suburban schools alike.
Eventually, we may be able to get a regular competing circuit established in the metro and recruit brass players and guard members to wrap up with the drumlines--then we have corps. If we can get three or four small corps solidly supported, I'd be so very, very happy. I expect a corps or two in the urban areas as part of that (one in KCK and one in KCMO, then another one or two in the 'burbs). Provided we can find volunteers to staff them, of course--I can't run all of the rehearsals by myself!
At this point, we'll be working primarily with kids in school marching programs, so we have to work around the schedules for those. We have battery equipment for one large line or a couple of small lines, so the kids don't need to provide drums for that.
We're talking with the Parks & Rec department in one of the 'burbs about teaching classes using its facilities, so we may get novices showing up there. (This effort is waiting on me returning to work so I know when I can schedule classes.) If that works well, I'm going to try to do the same in the urban core, whether through P&R or through a local arts organization.
A lot of this depends on finding other folks interested in teaching and running programs. Jeff and I can only do so much, and even joining forces with Greg and his BIL only gives us so much capacity. We will certainly need to find more people willing to work with the kids. I think that's the single largest challenge confronting us--finding enough interested people willing to put in the time and effort to help.
This is really cool!
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If you can hook up with a local non-profit that already offers youth activities, and convince them that there's a really great youth activity that has proven the test of time (drum corps), they might consider it as an avenue to reach more youngsters.
Besides, isn't this kinda how drum corps really started anyway? Maybe this was inevitable.
We have an established business side of things (DCI) that is obviously looking to expand its horizons with rule changes and the like. Maybe going back to basics and the inner cities with the help and organizing power of DCI can really refocus the activity on the kids instead of the shows! Start offering more opportunities for the kids who really need it. Joint performances like The Cadets and the Washington, DC Healthcorps Reformers... (sorry! had to...)
I like this thread!
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Make it a part of the final score!!!
This!
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I am excited for the announcer somewhere that doesn't think about this issue until he/she's announcing the corps......
"Ladies and Gentlemen, now entering the field, and performing their two-...
...20...
...this year's production..."!
epic failure?
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I'd always like to see new blood at the top. Keeps things interesting.
Crown '10?
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Sucker for Cadets 2000... I like to think that the best show would be the first show I'd show to a newbie. That show, though not the cleanest, was the best put-together show of the #1s, and the percussion/brass feature was amazing.
Followed closely by Spartacus!
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Just curious... are all the horns/percussion they use on loan from other corps/manufacturers or does the alumni association own all the equipment?
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I like the idea of maintaining the identity of "drum and bugle corps". It differentiates the activity from "marching band" in that it is an elite marching unit with direct ties to traditional and historic "real" drum and bugle corps.
Besides, I like the learning opportunity that the name presents, personally. It's important to teach what guarding colors really means to the colorguard kids in my band, even if we don't do it anymore. It's a respect thing.
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mmmm... I think Phrygian Gates (sp?) would be wonderful on the field... lots of front ensemble stuff. Might be hard for the arranger to put together, but who doesn't love a challenge?
Drum Corps Elevator Pitch
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
i also went "waaaaiiiiit a minute..."