George Dixon

wow - lots of jumping to conclusions going on :) the short snip of brass, having zero "inside knowledge" sounds more like a brass exercise than a show snip; I mean it could be a show tune but not really enough to go on to make that determination was there an announcement somewhere that they are doing Barber?

Agree. It's early but both brass lines just sound like they are out for blood this season!

excellent!

our "first draft" - I think Hopkins says it best.

it's an attempt - as we all know it will change 1000x before it even hits the field, and then another 1000x lol I agree I liked the old ending. They are clearly working on ideas for transitions and bridges for the musical book. Dissonance added to the opener as well...

I think we are all pulling for NOT. Everything suggested si far is pointing to a less literal program from cadets. Hopkins went out of his way in the recently released donor insider video to describe the intention of the program to be enjoyable on a surface level for the fans in a stadium on a given night , with real surface level appeal. He then adds that on repeated viewings layered-nuances would reveal hidden meanings and substance. That doesn't sound like a program with narration and some forced-upon-us nauseating message and social justice meaning Now if we start hearing about a story teller or a stage I subsequent press releases watch out. But at this time I don't see it. I personally think Kristy has his ear and will veto that approach. Nothing in her guard indoor work suggest an NPR type lecture fest

agreed. Just be spectacular

hoping for some new audio from the brass only camp!

Absolutely. Besides new corps going on a championship run is good for the activity. Been rooting for bluecoats the past few seasons, awesome if they could snag one as Crown did.

no worries - but you said "no medal" which would have meant 4th in 2000 - hardly realistic. Maybe you meant no "gold medal" 2000 Cadets were stronger Friday night than Saturday. Cavaliers grew each night. It was one of those rare years where I feel a tie was justified. The corps were very evenly matched on Saturday night. You could have flipped a coin to break the tie - it was that close. don't sell yourself short on 2000 - an incredible drum corps that remains many people's favorite show ever

programming arc of the show was STUNNING, I missed the drill from the year prior, but 13 was extremely effective design

2000 Cadets were extremely clean. Drill demanding. And my thoughts are not "negative" - I like most aspects of 2015 Cadets. Thought they should have a medal (3rd). Doesn't mean there wasn't some significant room for improvement - visual design and guard in particular

so now we aren't allowed to comment constructively or even somewhat critically - I'm hardly a "harsh" critic. I guess DCP should be a "praise only" zone in your opinion sorry - I simply disagree and I've given up plenty of time for drum corps to be allowed to have an opinion as I imagine you have, and most folks posting on DCP and I wasn't being "unkind" in my response, not personal, not directing toward members - it was DESIGN The topic at hand is drill "trends" - and I believe we'll see less aggressive drill writing going forward, do you have thoughts on that?

Give me a break. They aren't little delicate flowers and the comments are about staff decisions. Not the members. And frankly the site was never intended for members during the off season.

I like critical thought.

his index finger.

agree totally - LOVED the silk ensemble work at the end of Crown's 2013 program opener (for example). Cadets were the poster child last year for toss after toss losing it's effectiveness. The weapons books (the rifle line was pretty darn good) were overpopulated

It's crazy how many Engineering majors the Cadets seem to march/produce. They must be the MIT of DCI

Eh. It was magic and trickery. You take away that guard and the fabric panels and there wasn't much left in terms of drill. Other than the guard they weren't very clean either. Obviously the mass audience loved it and the judging community deemed it very effective. The brass spent so much time in between the thirty markers and in front of the hash marks it was, perhaps, unprecedented - not a lot of ensemble demands but a lot of timing issues right up until the end. Really felt Bluecoats should have topped them and probably Cadets as well, just due to performance of the corps proper I'm in the camp the Cadets DRILL hurt them a lot last year. The staging of the guard was an issue, the boxes were an issue, the drill was pretty forgettable and didn't really highlight the "10" idea we were sold preseason. Often 10 became 15 and then it seemed after the ballad it was forgotten mostly other than the "TEN" in the finale. Also changing the ending and then the following week changing it again seemed to slow the corps momentum. Moving outhouses (13) then the big stage (14) then the 10 boxes (15) illustrated the lack of freshness in their visual approach. Other than 11 (Angels & Demons) I'd say 2005 opener/closer, 2007 drill, 2008 closer & the 75th show (which also had some drill issues) were the original moments. Not the visual freshness we are used to from Cadets. Also guard choreography has been very "HS gymnastics" the past several years. Thank god they have a new guard designer & choreographer rolling in. Plus the caption head to CLEAN. Flags were clean in 2014 - and only 2014 since 07 IMO

Eh. After the writing was on the wall score wise the corps stopped improving as rapidly. Performances started feeling less inspired. The feedback had an impact.

Lack of synchronized movement and mass effect. Many of the guards and even corps proper have eight different things going on at once and rarely just spin. I really enjoyed the ensemble work in crowns closer this past season. BD seems to rarely have one big idea going on, if they do it lasts about 16 beats. Also the idea of sabre. Great to see in Devils 94 program but in many cases pretty ineffective in stadiums. Indoors they are incredible.

Wasn't posting the rep as they will announce soon. Personally I love the ballad and the darkness of it, twisting the knife is a perfect description. The closer is so intense it will be really interesting to see and hear their treatment.

Inspired by. Exactly. So back to WGI relationship to DCI. I honestly believe a few too many indoor ideas, which work well indoors, are being overused and over credited outdoors. What works on a basketball court doesn't always play as well in a football stadium. I feel the wgi design sense is creeping a little too much into the dci design and judging community.

the essay was featured in the series as well as the 2007 Cadets program - great read if you haven't: https://thisibelieve.org/essay/16583/

agree on the show - perhaps the most impressive drill/brass/drumming I've seen - the corps was super clean and extremely intense the last week or so of 2007 folks were distracted by the overbearing narration - too bad. It was THE corps performance of 2007 -- especially on Friday night. Clearly the best performance, and when the judges didn't put them first that night, with that performance, I knew it was a done deal...