contraguard05

Stop passing the buck to the member organizations whenever something goes down. WGI released a statement in September stating that Diamante cannot participate in WGI events until certain actions are taken. I would not be surprised to hear that those actions involve Mario Ramirez being removed from the organization.

Expertly written statement that checks all the correct boxes. That said, Shelba is one of the best there is and if they actually do everything she recommends, they will be one of the safest places to march next year.

A more interesting conversation might be where does DCI go if Indianapolis stops being such a hospitable environment?

One of the challenges will be holding championships in a part of the country where school has not resumed yet. Some districts in Texas start the first week of August, with band camp the preceding 3 weeks. Another concern would be proximity to the DCI HQ. I imagine being able to visit Lucas Oil every couple of weeks is part of what makes it an attractive venue. DCI would have to be willing to either forgo that convenience or move or set up a regional office.

I would also like more Olafur Arnalds on the field.

There's no shortage of contemporary material that could deliver that same kind of fire. Whenever they did music from Ainadamar, I was REALLY hoping they would do the opening of Act 1:

Anyone remember the movie Sunshine? Some of the music was big in the winter guard scene. I think Adagio in D Minor could be interesting on the field.

I appreciated that someone put Tangerine Dream on the field, I didn't really expect it.

I believe Orwellian Wiress was referencing the often heated discourse around the Scouts as they were deciding to become co-ed. I'm an alum. A former student is on staff. Another former student was among the first women on the field last year. I'm not insulted, and they are still the Scouts to me.

The Mad Max show had a lot of cool ideas, but it was hampered by pacing and a color palate that would have been better on a winter guard/winter drumline tarp. The heart show had a moment where the blue flags were swapped behind the prop to red and I don't know if they got recognition for that on an intellectual level.

https://www.arizonaacademy.org/staff/2022-lead-staff/ Sure looks like it.

I'm of the mindset that someone who demonstrates a disregard for the well being of the members will continue to do so, regardless of their role within the organization. My concern with him being in a greater position of power is that he may hire like-minded individuals and fail to hold them accountable if members raise concerns.

The same Academy that has a percussion guy who was put on leave from his university gig? I'm sensing a trend here.

Takes away plausible deniability.

While I don't wish for people to lose jobs (unless they are a danger to students), it can be fun to speculate what kinds of shows will result from mixing X percussion person, Y brass person, and Z guard person. I liken it to all of the shuffling of players/coaches in pro sports.

I hate that I agree with you.

Look at that. Another "retirement". https://cadets.org/retirement-denise-bonfiglio?fbclid=IwAR3xjWGvbM-vdiCC2yuHcOLvFcaommjLTFxWNncn3hU4FaP5g0kKjsCdJf4

I thought those were alternates?

How many people have we seen "pursue other opportunities" or "retire"? Looks a lot better than kicked out, turned a blind eye, or got caught doing something wrong.

Amazing how easy it is to overlook concerns when they have a successful scholastic program you can recruit from.

This is giving me flashbacks to the shuttering of the winter guard and a "retirement"...

I just taught the Gilded Age to my 11th graders. Seems like a bleak era to make a show about, but I live for bleak shows. I'll have to check it out!

Isn't that one of the core tenets of why we want people in this activity? To make them better people? How can that be achieved with such rot in the leadership?