GUARDLING

Well injuries are part of many physical endeavors, sports, dance ' skaters, hell im sure competitive chess players have back to hand and wrist issues. What's important is if injuries are expected in an activity one has to be prepared and limit as much as possible. Most of all take care of the situation. Even ask the marchers of the early days of drum corps how their knees are whom that high leg lift pounding into the ground, YIKES! The good ole days, as good as they were are tainted with very questionable things but of course we should have learned better by now, and of course some haven't as well as some newer staff maybe never learned. It all goes back to LEADERSHIP at the top.

I would fly across country to teach in Calif. I know all schools aren't the same, but I guess I was always lucky to be with the VERY generous ones..lol You are right but not just about the similarities to the dance industry, there are many correlations that can be made to sports (group or individual) which would include bad teachers, abuse or all kinds, no matter the safeguards. I do admire some of the legacy instructors that were absolute tyrants in the past who learned to change and realize times have changed, members have changed, what's acceptable has changed, LAWS have also changed. Of course there are still those who haven't...............................sadly So sorry for your past experience for me I am proud many of my students I have had have been great staff people for others as well as successful designers. I am sure they took a little from me ( hopefully ..lol ) but then made their style their own.

I have hired and FIRED many staff over the years , young and old. I don't like to say one is better than the other. Results are important for sure BUT the way to results are just as important. For me I watch carefully how someone teaches, why they take the approach they do, and does it fit in with the culture desired, do they command respect, as well as give it, do they project and follow through with reassuring a member through style of teaching that they are on the students side no matter how hard they are on them. This isn't easy for young or old BUT the younger staff member also has the challenge of being close in age and easily can blur the lines of student and teacher. I can't even tell you the countless times I have had to come down hard on some very talented staff to STOP playing with the members and that I hired a staff person to do a job I didn't hire another member. Of course I would get a response like" I can do what I want on my time" and that is true BUT then my response is well I can hire who I want and can do what I want on my time. Make a choice!🙂 Is the fair? maybe , maybe not BUT many of the issues we see today and those fine lines not to cross In my experience, even in the multi forms of abuse you have expressed in the past I found over the years it comes up more often than any other scenario with leadership roles , member to member ( all of age ) young staff to member. I believe it takes a strong leader to watch just not in results which is very important BUT how results were achieved.

HMMMMM Now DUDE! what does that tell you......lol...JK Happy Holidays Jeff

The ones with good intentions, passion for drum corps etc etc is the very reason so many went under in the 70s. So many great people BITD did that very thing, max out credit cards, mortgage their homes, personal loans, just to survive and most didn't anyway. One needs way more than good intentions especially now when the resources of the good ole days do not exist today.,

As someone who was very involved in the audition process, there are MANY who go through the audition process without any thought of making certain corps BUT do it for the actual experience. Now if they happen to make it, all the better. I've actually seen some who do make it who never even dreamed of making it nor went for that reason who were then faced with " Now what do I do"..lol

NM🙂

I can agree 1000% with crossing lines that shouldn't be. This isn't even 10 or 20 or 30 years ago when SOME of these things were considered acceptable ( not talking about abuse, that was NEVER acceptable) Now with that said, I usually don't weigh in on a lot of people's personal beliefs but do want to say there has been over the past many who believe students should be involved in many things. A few examples are show design, music, rules etc etc. I think you know what I mean. Well IMO I do believe there are lines not to be crossed and one cannot pick and choose how a line can be crossed. I believe when you blur lines on either side is when guards come down and opens a door for whatever behavior. This can mean many things you just mentioned (your high lights) Again I 1000% agree. There is an abundance of young and new talent, younger by the day BUT there's a time and place when one is a student and one a teacher Blur those lines IMO and a door swings open. This is by no means a put down to a student, quite the opposite but I have been doing this for decades in this activity and the line crossers and not just the adult or staff. YES the staff should know better and if they don't then a good director should know when to step in and draw even a thicker line for BOTH parties. Students also need to know of that line and how NOT to cross it. As a director, designer, staff, judge (the many roles I have had) I have often had to threaten staff of being fired to NOT play with the members and that I hired a staff person not another member and if they wanted to be a member either just march ( WGI WC , no age limit ) or find another job elsewhere. Sorry for the long response but felt maybe I should weigh in a bit, especially because I have had to deal with this very thing many many times over the years.🙂

I believe you can be tough as nails and prove your method works BUT have to be good enough that your students KNOW you are 100% on their side, you have their back, support them win or lose.

Dear friend and devoted to his passion. RIP Louie

alot more !

Why? Scouts are male as well as female. Just because some of us are used to something doesn't mean they need to change or not. Personally, I donl't care what Scouts look like or play (although I have loved the " Iconic and legendary past" ) JUST DO IT WELL!. We can also say retire the Madison part..are their members from Madison? is Boston members actually from Boston. One can nitpick that also if one wanted to. I say corps should be anything THEY want to be JUST DO IT WELL as " Boston has "

RIP Jimmy

For sure

Just like every supermarket, big box store or even a successful small mom and pop business. I took a master class in a specific small business, and it taught exactly how to do that, even with a pathway in carpeting and showed in demonstration how people didn't stray from the pathway much. The pathway purposely set to bring the customer past everything you wanted them to see. Was quite interesting to see it in action, and how it worked without people realizing it.

for sure difficult...just a different difficult..Anything done well can look easy to many. BUT far from it

Agree with most of what you say till. ( highlighted ) I have designed both, taught both for a veryyyyyyy long time and to make sense and a purpose of something that may look random is so difficult and to literally go to every performer and plan every pathway, relation of one member to another, communication, etc etc etc. is way harder than looking at a line curve circle and clean in mass. Harder to get a unison looking clean? Maybe not harder or easier maybe just different from one another. Different doesn't have to mean better or not as good either. Different is just different. I think with some , when this scatter stuff first appeared it was a hot mess and many just said just get to the next set with little planning BUT that's not the same today, Not at all. JMO

true but i didnt see limitations at all this year.. ( as you say a good designing but also to bring them up to a high quality not just for the sake of doing it )I loved it and was so impressed by so many of them

Oh sorry , wasnt talking about LOS just that some arenas have had volunteers to fundraise. Of course, should be trained and in the past when I had members do this they had to be trained and were not left alone so that the customer had a competent person helping them. Sometimes they would also sell event t shirts etc etc.

why confused?..lol

I have had winter programs work at arenas and their pay went to the org. and /or their dues. It was a way to fundraise for themselves and they actually always had a great time,,,so they said anyway,

I have to shout out to ALL brass and percussion for outstanding growth in the movement area. I expect great movement skills from the guard but in the past as much as I was glad the rest of the corps attempted some movement and sculpting it was cringe worthy at times and often the same corps to corps. WOW, this year I was drawn to some pretty great musical and unique body skills from the brass and percussion. Congrats to you all , it was great, entertaining as well as skillfully done. Bravo !

YES 👍

"IF random movement is done well and looks easy you can bet ALOT of time and effort was put into every step and pathway for every person and wasn't easy at all !

I dont comment alot on personal likes or dislikes BUT this is one of the finest Cadet guards in a very very long time. And IMO some of the best writing they have had...... Congrats