floatingsingles

I guess it hasn't been formally announced, but Kristy Templin shared Sal's announcement saying that she can't wait to work with him. I would assume that Joe and most if not all of her staff will stay.

Even if you're not planning on marching this year, I would still recommend going to an audition or two! It can be a great experience to get the feel of the drum corps, and to learn their marching technique especially if that's where you think you might have trouble. If you get a contract, make sure you're clear up front so no one remembers you next year as the kid who "quit." I would say go to Cadets or Bluecoats this year since you're in driving distance so you can take a look at the "top level" experience and see how it goes. If you are definitely looking at Blue Stars and have friends there, jump in on that too. It's always a good idea to know what to expect and have a whole year to be as prepared as possible.

I don't think Sal Salas was necessarily tied to the rest of the guard staff, mostly the overall visual picture. I would be surprised if they lost their caption heads or choreographers because of Sal's departure. I guess it depends if SCV's new "artistic director" comes with their own color guard staff.

Speculation, but if GH is keeping Kristy Templin and Joe Heininger on board for the guard at Cadets, I could see Sal moving there. We'll see soon!

That makes sense. I do recall there being no refunds and watching people leave from move-ins and thinking "man, what a waste!" after I worked so hard to come up with the money each year. Something else I was thinking about: when an alternate for one corps finds out there's a hole in another comparable corps and want to leave, are there refunds for this? I've seen it happen a few times especially with younger members. We got a 14 year old alternate one year after she was basically told there was no way she was getting into their show. I guess the directors and the member work something out?

My parents had to sign also when I was under 18. As someone said above, it wasn't really a contract to not go anywhere else. It was the liability, commitment to pay the dues, and photo licensing etc. I'm not sure exactly what clauses are in them (I probably didn't read at the time either), but at the corps I marched and the one I taught, we had people sign contracts in December and quit and at times march somewhere else as late as May or June.

Most corps don't allow members to participate in I&E. There are a few groups in finals that always take time out to attend or let people sign, but most groups are busy that day rehearsing. I don't think this is a Cadet phenomenon. It's the fact that it's the day before prelims and no one wants to give up members/time.

Baritone, Crown 2008. Can my wish also include the ability for this guard girl to be able to hold up a baritone?

Staging has a huuuge impact on scoring in the color guard caption. The performer is rarely responsible for a majority of the number that gets written down. I've taught a few groups in the bottom 15 of DCI and that's usually most of our comments. We can write appropriate work, clean it, have the kids hit their dots and perform it, but it doesn't matter if the drill is bad. I'm sure this changes as you get into higher scoring groups and they look at the differences between quality, book, etc, but in my experience over the past decade, those are the majority of the comments a judge will offer. I also think this is what can put BD ahead even though they get a sail or have hula hoops. As far as tossing goes, as long as it's musical and the performers are trained, then go for it! At the lower levels of WGI (mostly A) it's becoming "too much tossing" because that's what the sheets ask for - achievement of skills shown clearly. You have to hit them over the head with the fact that you can throw a 5 before you can move on to nuanced movements. In IW and what I've seen so far this summer, it's mostly appropriate. It's enjoyable. There are still groups that have a dance statement, that close a song with a powerful flag feature, with interesting drill when there are 3 equipment sections on the field interacting with the corps. All is not lost! Let Crown toss multiple 7s, let Cadets flourish and do fast features better than anyone else, let BD high kick and throw a perfect sabre ripple, and let Blue Stars have the absolutely hardest book of any group on the field. If we're talking demand being on the sheets, they would be top 5 every year.