footform
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Posts posted by footform
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The assumption that just watching the show enough would avoid collisions is not likely. Every judge will see every show for a first time, and every change made by the corps starts the cycle over.
As a fairly long-time instructor, I (and most of my peers) have been clocked more than a few times, and we know what's coming [well, most of the time]. The job, for judges as well, is to get different perspectives on different runs, and it is almost impossible not to become tunnel-visioned at some point. You try to avoid it, but it happens, you take your lumps, apologize if there is an opportunity, and move on.
I swear, sometimes, I think they deserve to get knocked over. They should have watched the show enough to know where to be and where not to be. It makes me angry when they are in the way and almost cause a member to fall. Case in point, if you watch the Cadets finals 2000 video at the end of "chaos" after the gates, there was a mellophone player who almost tripped and fell because as he was backing up, he backed into the drum judge. Luckily it wasn't that noticeable, but just imagine if they guy had fallen. -
Des Plaines Vanguard sabres danced to Bill Bailey in 1968.
Multiple guard also danced fully integrated into the show in 1972 and 1973 with West Side Story
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Of last year:
1 southwest WI teacher (visual staff)
1 south central WI occasional visual - not school employee (visual staff)
1 northeast IL music teacher (visual staff)
that would be all, including percussion, that I can think of
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I considered at length not posting, but here goes.
I was a visual instructor for Pio from 2002 through 2008. I had two of my girls march Pio and two teach marching (one ex-Pio, one ex-PR) and for a couple of years all five members of my family were on tour with the corps. For most of those years, I was organizing the winter visual program and on the Advisory Board (not the Board of Directors) and part of the initial design group.
The AB has not met in over two years. While show design has moved away from the always Irish (and more particularly American Irish) as determined by RB, that remains a serious constraint. I like doing Irish, but there is a lot more Irish we could be doing (see tons of previous discussions), but it does not fit a particular view of the genre. Staff is generally quite good, but seriously constrained by limitations from three directions -- corps management, DCI (yes, always first on does have a real impact on rehearsal time), and member inexperience (combination of real good kids minus how many are new in May divided by about a third at any given camp multiplied by a willingness to teach any member to play and march so they can have the experience minus small numbers to start with which makes the vets all the more critical ... a lot of factors involved).
What can be done:
Change the limitations placed on the design and teaching staff by letting them do their jobs and not disparaging their efforts to make improvements.
Recruit like crazy. Little to nothing is being done. Previous posts say this well.
Listen to staff (all kinds) and members. When they say something is hurting recruiting and retention, do something about it.
Consider what is best for the corps members before just going with what has either "always been done" or is most comfortable for management.
While I will not be back for another season with Pioneer, I want them to succeed. The members work tremendously hard. The willingness to learn a new instrument, to learn a new position in the drill, to avoid saying "not my job," is a hallmark of the members. The staff pushes hard, teaches well, and makes themselves available as mentors as well as instructors. The volunteers are great. They deserve the corps to be organizationally "better every day!"
Terry Burton (footform)
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My understanding is that Capital Sound intends to make good on their commitments.
So what about the corps that some members went to this year being told that the fees they paid to CS would be paid to those corps to cover fees, etc? I know some of these corps are not expecting any money from CS and will be eating the cost. Which is fine, because at least some CS members were able to find other homes for the summer....but just brings back the financial status in question again. -
and how the spread stays stable for the top group and grows wider for the group below Glassmen; some get better and some don't? and don't tell me the top corps are getting that much better as time goes on than the lower group is getting
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To add a little to Bobby's post, Roman once said that the specifics of the religion were not the critical part, but the opportunity to take some time every week to stop and reflect peacefully was the object. Pioneer members come in all religious and non-religious types, so the attempt to find a place that is a) close to the housing, b) large enough to take a sudden influx of 150+ at a service, and c) is not intolerant of other's spiritual beliefs is not easy. There are churches (or at least pastors) on the "let's not do that one again" list (which does not officially exist so don't ask who they are), but you don't know what you may hit on the road -- kind of like restaurants, showers, etc. Spiritual growth, tolerance, learning something about a part of the community you are visiting -- not bad for becoming a better person.
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I agree with the OP. As a visual person and visual staff member, it is a distraction to have sloppy dress displayed within the visual space observed by the audience. It is possible to be reasonably well dressed while on tour (I have managed to do so for a couple of years, since 1974). Perfection is not essential, but believe it or not (and I think most staffs tell the corps that they are "onstage" all the time), it does affect how many audience members view the corps. IMO, few are going to be bothered by the on- and near-field staff looking neat, and some will find it refreshing, so why not ask it of the "major league?" Personally, I consider dressing well to be a sign of respect for both the audience and the corps members.
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Goosebumps (in order for me):
Kingsmen 1972 (so good I got in the car after seeing them for the first time in Milwaukee and drove to CYO in Boston just to see them again)
Phantom 2003 (repeatedly)
Des Plaines Vanguard 1973 (Mars off the line and West Side Story)
General Butler Vagabonds 2000 (Carmen - because I keep hearing a voice from the stands at finals "Holy ****, they're just going to leave her laying out there!")
Des Plaines in the late 60s (siren mellos off the line)
Madison Scouts (Slaughter - that was a hornline)
Shivers:
every time a kid (or better yet, the whole corps) finds that perfect blend of emotion and precision, which happens as often in rehearsal as in a show (and is no less sweet for that)
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I volunteer (teaching marching at Pioneer) and support members and teaching techs financially and as a mentor. I learned "back in the day (shout out to Dom)" that you have to give back to the activity to get the real value from the experience. The "pay" I get is so much more than Roman could ever give me in dollars.
I don't have to like DCI or where it is going (and I don't like a lot of it) to consider drum corps one of the most valuable experiences a kid can have. My contribution and my commitment is to making that kid a better person for having marched. Whatever the top is doing, the kids, the teachers, the support staffs, etc. are still doing what we have always done -- working darn hard to be (in every corps) Better Every Day -- and THAT'S worth supporting.
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Des Plaines Vanguard marched 72 (picture count, so correct me if I'm off) in 1972. As one of the "big" corps, DPV probably outnumbered somebody that year. The Bleu Raiders call might be right.
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With Pepper Wooters, who teched Pioneer's excellent cymbal line, teching Scouts this year, they should be something to watch and hear.
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Try thinking of it not so much as lifting the toe, but as pushing through with the heel (credit to Brian Hildreth for the analogy). I have found the key is not actually in the toe lift as much as in the total foot angle.
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Pio in the news -- and cymbal lines coming back -- finally catching back up with Pio, where they never left :)
Trooping as always (and being gracious about it when we can't).
Off-season ends today!
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Go in with an open mind -- then let your heart decide.
Where did you feel right (most comfortable, treated well, members you could stand all summer, staff you could stand all summer, etc.) is probably the most important thing regardless of corps, style, rank, or specialty.
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Oldest: 1973 Des Plaines Vanguard
Newest: 2007 Pioneer Staff
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I'm never quite sure what a "legacy fan" is, but I prefer the legal definition of "a gift."
fan of: PR 2003; SCV 2002; lower division I corps; IIs and IIIs (most of them)
not fan of: flaws in execution -- I am a visual/drill/M&M instructor after all; narration that pulls me out of the show (Cadets 2007; Boston color show: good shows, well marched, great playing, emotionally unsatisfying because they didn't let my imagination fill in the blanks). My personal theory of good design is that you always need to leave room for the audience to participate emotionally. An old exam question from my theatre teaching days: What do you need to do theatre? Actor/performer, audience, a space [where they interact].
There are great old shows, great middle-aged shows, great new shows, and I hope great shows to come. Not all will be great (life works like that -- bummer). Those that bring me (along with a couple hundred or thousand of my temporarily closest friends) into their creative process for 10ish minutes will be the ones I enjoy.
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When (or if) to walk away is a very personal thing. I marched the early 70s, taught a couple years, then went away. I touched base very occasionally until taking my oldest to a show in Pittsburgh. Her excitement re-kindled mine, but I still wasn't sure drum corps was "enough the same" to warrant more than parental interest. A conversation with the BOD president while at a YEA audition camp got me thinking about what we did and why, and how the old corps's innovations within the framework of the rules (whoever made them up -- AL, VFW, DCI) had opened the door for what has come after. Could we really reject all innovations just because we did it differently? I think not. I also think there are few on this forum who really reject ALL changes that have taken place since marching (or first watching) in insert date here. That group of folks is mostly not going to be bothering to put in the effort to log in to DCP. What we have is caring individuals, some more polite than others, but all passionate about the subject. For example, I don't reject narration, per se, but I do reject the idea that so-so narration replaces show design that engages the imagination. Relax, not Cadets specific -- my theatre trained sensibilities were more bothered by Boston a couple years back when the description of how/what I was supposed to be feeling diminished my opportunity to just feel it -- although I didn't enjoy being repeatedly ripped away from enjoying the music and marching.
I decided to look for what were the core items I cared about in corps and looked for those as I took the 15-16 year old to audition and liked what I saw generally, but also saw a need for bringing/keeping some of the values in what we do. Anyway -- see sig for travels since 99 -- I am still teaching corps, supporting members, and being dad to everyone.
And every year I re-evaluate...should I walk away. Frankly, I like teaching corps more than I like watching much of it. There's probably some weird disconnect there, but it works for me. If I stopped doing corps, I probably would go to see an occasional show in Madison. Drive to Indy or farther with attendant expense -- not for me, but maybe okay for you.
For the OP, it may be time to walk, it may be time to re-consider how you are involved. Whatever you decide, please keep track of the activity and come on back when/if it feels right.
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What corps in 2007 could most afford to, or be least harmed by, a 13th place finish?
Pioneer
Seriously though, while the prize money division is affected, what really matters is whether the corps management is willing to work within their means. That obviously means some sacrifices in anything that does not degrade the members' experience or threaten their health and well-being.
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Pioneer usually has multiples in the 14-15 range. Youngest in last few years was a soprano starting at 12, next was my youngest daughter starting at 13 in the pit, pit captain at 14 (she wants to be a family/marriage counselor -- running the dysfunctional family that a pit can be should stand her well).
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Did it for Phantom a couple years ago -- called it the SUTA box -- for Snacks You Take Along
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True, Shawn, until the 90s, the corps played a relatively random selection like most others. The Irish hook came about initially as a multi-year theme that matched the corps background, was entertaining, and was successful on the field.
In some ways like Bluecoats' "big band', Phantom's "classical" (especially the Russian year), Blue Devils' "jazz", etc. it is somewhat tricky to decide when to step away and how far from what has been a successful motif. One result for Pioneer has been a tendency to call it "Irish" or "green" or so forth when the show music is not necessarily that (Oliver, Holsinger, Holst in recent years).
Thanks all for the kind comments. The hard work of students and teachers is reflected in being consistently in having one of the most improved scores from start to finish each season -- while going to church most Sundays and getting to visit some of our nation's finest sites.
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I don't know the official DCI policy on rain out score announcements (maybe like baseball, not an official game until...). The field performance corps did get sheets [Pioneer continues to improve], but we have not been judged for standstills in the past, so probably nothing available for those corps.
Cedarburg has plenty of space out of earshot of the stadium, so I don't have many kind feelings about those warming up too close to the field. DCI could perhaps have done more to stop it, but we're really dependent on corps exercising common sense and good sportsmanship (like not using a long ranger in the tennis courts adjacent to the field -- sorry, but DUH!). Usually, it is too late for the show crew to stop it by the time it becomes evident. In this case, all three of the corps that went on complained, so it was a known problem that went unresolved.
Perhaps a bit self-serving, but props to Pioneer members who didn't let the brass warm-up and Dr. Beat overlay create a massive tear.
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Those I noted did die while on tour (in the case of Delta Brigade, Phantom Legion had made their housing available to DB the week before as DB couldn't afford any, staff doing double duty may have been a cause of the accident). Far more simply couldn't finish the season or were lost between seasons.
Yes, MadScout96, I was indeed being serious. One lesson I try to pass on to the kids is to perform every run as if it may be your last opportunity -- not in a morbid way, but so that when your drum corps time is over (may it be aging out), you can leave knowing you did your best.
Harry Heidelmark
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
My friends,
We lost a good friend to the activity today. M J Harry Heidelmark passed away. You may not have known him, but you almost certainly saw him at shows and/or driving truck over many years. You absolutely were thrilled by his photographs of us all at our best, our worst, our forever moments. So long Harry.
Terry Burton