crazymoflo

I personally had no probem with Crown's uniforms. The performers were so beautiful that they would have made paper bags look good. In any case, the point of a uniform is not to match the theme of the show to a t. You don't see BD with the word "jazz" emblazoned across their bodies. On that note, Crown would have been overkill if they'd shown up in silver and gold to match their Bellissimo show. SCV had the prettiest colors, hands down. =)

I don't doubt that the crowd response in the 80's was huge - and in your opinion better than today's. That's not what I was arguing. That was my problem. You were implying that what I do has no merit with the crowd. In that case, I must have been hallucinating through the end of my flag feature last year. And through the standing ovation I saw at the end of my winter season this year. Admittedly, I'm new and young to this activity...but that's just the point. I'm part of the future of the activity, in the way that y'all are part of the history of it. I don't "prance out of step" anymore than you march in a straight line to a ballad. They're just stereotypes.

Smart tactic - when you don't have a good reply, attack blindly and hope you hit a sore spot. Unfortunately for you, what I wrote *was* relevant to the conversation...you made a faulty claim (concerning crowd response and "today's guards") and I corrected you. So consider the chip removed...

Hate to say it, but times change and today's guards DO induce excitement..."flailing hands" and all. Early colorguard and modern colorguard are two different monsters and both have their faults. I can explain why I don't like seeing slams and rifles with ribbons on the ends...but it would be pointless. I'd get flamed, we'd argue, and the rift between our age groups would widen. So I guess my point is: evolution is happening, get over it or get used to it.

It really depends on the show, and what the music calls for. Last year my corps ballad was all flag, while this year it's all dance. If I could vote *anything*, it would be: -Use what fits the music. This would leave options open. I've never been in a show with props and I don't really care for them, but considering the Vanguard show last year, props worked well. As far as "balancing" dance and equipment, I've never been too concerned with keeping track. Have y'all ever finished watching a show and said "GEEZ! Did you notice that they were only spinning for 78% of their show?" This past winter I was involved with Raiders, and most of our "movement" points came from what was happening *underneath* the equipment work. Combining the two is quite possibly the hardest thing to do...

I sat behind the equipment judge, so I apologize for my lack of drill comments. I also didn't write down scores so I posted the BACKWARD order that they placed...I'm sure the scores will be up soon. Good job to everyone. Scholastic A Clayton Valley - "Smitten" from the documentary *Scratch* Red Adidas suits, a turntable in the middle of the floor, lots of tumbling and hiphop, very linear drill, in need of expressive levels (the feel of the show never changed), but overall a very energetic performance. Beyer "A" - "Heavy" Crushed velvet blue uniforms with halter tops and slits up the legs. Extremely clean and calm performance, the girls all looked confident and...I guess the word is content. Independence - "Nights Like This" The parents and I thought this show was about Mardi Gras - correct me if I'm wrong. It opened with a boy in a mask being lifted up (cheerleader style) where he stretched his foot above his head and held. The boys were extremely flexible dancers, doing the splits, aerials, etc. The majority of the girls were fierce on sabre, kinda reminiscent of Logan since they were all asian =) I spent most of the show watching the tricks rather than the guard work, but I did notice the extremely clean flag feature. Ridgeview - "Maybe" and "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin One of the ever-popular *diva* shows. They all had long hair and black uniforms with white accents. Their expressive quality was very strong from where I was sitting - mostly the big SMILEY thang going on. There was a BEAUTIFUL recovery in the rifle backhand block, and they ended waving at the audience. Cuuute. Delano - "Aphrodite" The floor was an illusion - a big black circle with a white arrow inside - or was it a white circle with a black arrow? Hmm... =) Their uniforms were split black and white which made their dance work interesting, as if they were doing costume changes in midair. Flagwork was done on the perimeter of the circle, and they had a cool leaning visual thing like Michael Jackson in that one music video. Definite crowd pleaser, another GREAT recovery on rifle (I think). West - "Blackwater" Winner of the Coolest Set award from me, hehe. Their floor was water-blue and they had a kind of "dock" set on the back of the floor. They had "hobo" uniforms on and pretty green silkscreen flags. A little lacking in the facial expression department, but the show didn't really call for much. Gotta love the Doobie Bros. Foothill Unique Images - "Gameday" "If their instructor is a man, he is DEFINITELY not gay!" The floor was a slanted football field and end zone, complete with a backdrop crowd and goalposts. The guard wore football jerseys and even busted out the helmets for their dance feature. The remix in their opening was AWESOME and the "take a knee" flag feature was extremely clean. My favorite soloist was #93 =) Live Oak - "Riders On the Storm" One of the "pretty" shows of the night, the guard worked behind and around an orange screen where the work on the floor was basically "mirrored". It's not the same Live Oak that I remember, but still a good guard. Arcadia 1A - "Armondo India" (I think?) This guard kinda had the "onstage/offstage" presence problem. When they weren't near the center of the floor, they let up on the work - at one point, a line of flags just gave up as they ran behind a backdrop. The show felt a little...lost. However, I did enjoy their dance style and strong performance level. Modesto - "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" The drill design was interesting because it followed lines and arrows on the floor. Their uniforms were classic all-black, and they were very consistent movers. A confident and almost conceited show-face...the closer was a little anti-climactic for my taste. Arcadia - "Where Sheep May Safely Graze" Choir music, tables and benches like Pride of Cincinnati, very happy/blank expressions, EXTREMELY long sabres, tan colored *everything*, and a sweet all-rifle feature. Those kids can spin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Independent A Raiders - American Beauty I love these girls, especially the one I call "red shoes" because she wears red Capezios during rehearsal. Classic ballet unis, graceful dance technique, cool theme. The show begins and opens in the same set. Oak Grove Too - I don't know how to spell their show title... Pink and orange uniforms, bright green flags, cool flag duets, lots of hips in their dance work, and GREAT energy. Pacific Alliance - Elephant Love Medley Beautiful clean PINK flag opening, a very graceful colorguard with a show that fits them well. I prefer this show much more than Ojos Asi from last year. Grey and white uniforms, cool cross-through drill, and that awesome flag-inside-a-flag trick from the "I Can See Clearly Now" show a few years ago. In-Motion - "Beautiful" by India Arie "Hey who's in that Integra honking at us?" "That's In-Motion" "Oh really? Which ones?" "All of them." With a guard of only six people, these kids brought the house down once again. Same wine-colored floor, almost the same black half-top uniforms, same "tortured" look as last year, but better. These are some of the best dancers in Solano County ;o) Fairfield love.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scholastic Open Bullard Blue and black uniforms with a LOT of straps winding around their arms, silver backdrops. They looked a little uncomfortable through most of the show, but they had some really cool looking props - pipe sculptures. Bonita Vista The show seemed like it was written around the yellow lines on their grey floor. Very "similar" dancers in that their technique and movement style was consistent between each performer. Black uniforms, yellow accents. Diamond Bar - "Venus" from Josh Groban Opened in an arc in the back half of the floor, behind a statue of Venus de Milo. Pink uniforms with maroon sashes. Lots of flag roll tricks and one extremely cool flag exchange into the ground. A little bit awkward in movement, but they made up for it in performance. My favorite performer turned out to be captain. Fairfield - "Palladio" Beautiful but distracted, they made me nervous the whole show - and not just because I'm an alum. I didn't see enough confidence from the guard as a whole, and the drops were kinda excessive, but much better in Finals. Awesome drill design and nice new uniforms - they just need to realize that "it's gonna be good." Clovis Another of the classical piano pieces, they started the show doing dance along the upper left perimeter. Nice solos on sabre, good drill design (another Jay guard), good movers, great eye contact and connection with judges, and a clean (if not simple) flag feature. Oak Grove Another amazing set from the former Scholastic A champs of the CCGC. Black pleather uniforms with white cuffs and collars, huge metal backdrops with a white floor. The show was about a robot designer whose robots rebel and try to take over - but she regains control in the end. Awesome fight dance work, GREAT soundtrack, and the diva captain girl. Right on, ladies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Independent Open San Jose Raiders - music from the movie Pi Moving "chalkboard" props, intensely fierce music, angry performance quality, and a great show despite the rather obvious hole. I really like their dance style and equipment work, none of which is classic or normal by any means. Blue Devils One of the most confident guards of the night, they worked their love story show with music from Cyndi Lauper (and I think a mix from Mummer's Dance by Loreena McKennit). A very "tricky" guard, with a 6-person ensemble two turn under a sabre toss, a double flag feature, big fat tosses from George (the captain boy), and a beautiful dance solo on the front 40 by the Seeley girl. =) Amazing, amazing recoveries on sabre. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scholastic World Clovis West - "Virtual CW" I loved the concept of the show. Four huge pipe cubes were set up around the back, and each time a person stepped into one and put the goggles on, they did simulated equipment work *without equipment* that matched what was going on on the floor. Their uniforms and floor were very futuristic as was their original music. The finals performance felt a little distracted, but they pulled their flag feature off well either way. Beyer Dark blue/purple mock neck halter uniforms, white backdrops on a white floor. BEAUTIFUL dancers, they had an interesting concept in their opening. Each dancer would take a turn wandering across the floor, hands clasped behind her back, as she stared at the floor while the show went on around her. Peaceful and muted colored flags, a cool shrinking block to the back corner, aggressive music in the last half, and one of the most amazing (and FAST) flag features I've seen in awhile. Like someone else said, Mark Metzger must CREATE planes to spin on, because that pole was rotating in places I have *never* seen before.

Haha this literally happened yesterday... We have an improv section in our show that appears to be really random and careless, but it's normally done the same way at every show. Sometimes, however - people get carried away. As I do a split leap across the front, a couple does a sabre exchange behind me. The guard captain, John, releases a behind the back toss which is caught by Carolina, who is sitting on the ground. Yesterday she forgot to catch it. The sabre fell, John gave that confident look like "Yeah, I know we're good", and then his expression changed to a horrified "What the f*ck??" Carolina, beautiful and graceful, tried to recover as she put her hand out AFTER the sabre hit the floor. Later they demonstrated it for us in slow motion, several times, as we held our sides from laughing so hard.

I'll probably get killed for this but I'm only going to post it *here* soooo yeah... Raiders are doing a show based on the movie "Frida", starring Salma Hayak. =)