zackiedude Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I think my favorite guards were Glassmen, SCV and Crown. I was up top, and I was able to see a lot of the design aspects. I think Glassmen was beautifully designed and really well achieved. Everything was appropriately written (and that doesn't mean easy!), and the creativity in the choreography was awesome. I thought each circus "section" had unique choreography to represent that section. SCV... wow, that guard brought that show to life! The three sections were each uniquely written and they can, in my opinion, move as well if not better than BD. They had an off night at finals, but you could tell the work they put in throughout the season by the nuance they added to the work. And Crown should be in a league of their own, honestly. They went from in-your-face to cute to beautiful to nuanced and everything was gorgeous from up top. This was the only corps to get huge applause for their guard and honestly some of what they did gave me goosebumps. Everyone I went to was from a guard background and we ALL had goosebumps at the end. Their weapons cleaned up a lot from the beginning of the season, when the flag line stole the show. My favorite part: the ballad sabre work. It was so beautifully controlled and stylistically gorgeous. I can't say enough to praise this guard. And those are my thoughts :). Judges will judge by their criteria, so I don't care about placements. I judge by mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardguy89 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 You know, I keep forgetting about Vanguard - but they had an amazing run in semi's - and have really developed a style that is unique to them. Later, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDavis82 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 In my opinion, all of the DCI Finalist Colorguards (from 1st to 8th place) were wonderful in their own way. I felt that some of the earlier colorguards did not bring their "A" game to finals on Saturday night - however the 9th - 12th place colorguards were not bad. Just some untimely visual errors and drops - and questionable choices on uniform and flag design - that the top groups didn't have. Here are some notes from my favorites of the evening: Phantom - great, great, committed colorguard. These kids wanted it badly - it was so clear! Talk about theatrical...wow. I just wish Spartacus would have had a deeper, more guttural man-scream. I suppose that's my only semi-complaint. Colors were muted, dirty, earthy - which is a good thing. Costumes were understated and even more impressive up close. Some detail was lost from far away. Flags offered impressive Adam Sage work (per the norm) and were clean as a whistle, however the rifle line seemed a bit non-existent at times. Perhaps I was too busy watching the drama from the corps proper and drum majors to even notice them??? Although I believe that some groups (i.e. Blue Stars, SCV and the Cadets) did a bit more vocabulary than Phantom at times - PRCG once again came through looking like a polished group of World Class performers. Not surprised to see the 4th place colorguard finish...however I truly believe this was a first place drum corps. No question. Blue Devils - hmmm. This is (as always) a wonderful drum corps and colorguard. Let's talk first about the male rifle line. I am not convinced they have ever been this strong before. Those guys were nailing high tosses like their lives depended on it. That is world class training! The sabre line...I was not so convinced. Impressive that the entire guard spun sabre? Yes! Good hands? Yes! The choreography was just not as stellar as I have seen in years past - and most importantly, I never felt that they did anything really absurd on their equipment. The PVC pipe work was entertaining...for the 1st 32 counts. It quickly grew a bit tiresome to me. The flag line was wonderful however, easily the cleanest a BD flag line has been in the past 5 years. I just wish they had pushed the envelope of absurdity a bit more. A perfect 10 in vocab IS pretty absurd though, so it looks as though Lee and Robert wanted to join in the fun. I would have had them a close 3rd behind Crown and Cavaliers. And before the bashing begins, please remember this is just my opinion, in a public forum! Cavaliers - these guys came to play on Saturday night!!! The movement was characterized, challenging, wonderfully conceived and executed. The rifle line was on fire, the flags were pee-pee clean (those ending purple flags??? WOW!!!), and the sabres were impeccable. Were they sometimes over-shadowed by the convincing Samurai characters and ridiculous Mike Gaines drill and hornline visual orgy ? Yes. A lot actually. However these guys were pushing to the very end and I feel they did their jobs - and then some. I did not see one weapon error. The decision to use the multi-colored banner-style flag on a long pole in the ballad created such a unique look visually as well...and I certainly chuckled at the Cavalier green-toned samurai flag battling it out with the Blue Devil blue-toned samurai flag. Great little joke there! Carolina Crown - hands down, no questions asked - this was the guard of the evening. (Again, IMHO!) Anyone that knows anything about choreography can see the demand that was placed on these kids. That opening flag turn-around toss??? FLAWLESS. I saw one minor rifle mistake in the beginning - however it was smoothly recovered and the performer sold the moment. These kids must have been born with rifles in their hands... they look as though they have been doing Michael Townsend's innovative choreography for years - not 3 months! Pure drum corps entertainment, not super high brow - but effective enough in design and demanding enough in vocabulary to award a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd. Although ending 3rd overall is no small feat, I feel (as do many, many others) that Crown was solidly the first place colorguard at the 2008 DCI World Championships! Congrats to these kids on pulling off one of the most difficult books I have ever seen on the drum corps field, effortlessly. Other top picks: SCV - love the trick dresses, love the spectacular modern movement, and loved the blonde rifle girl. She is a BEAST! Blue Stars - Michael Shapiro has done it again - and this time they actually achieved it all pretty well! This is going to turn into another Mid-West powerhouse colorguard if he stays on the design team and continues to filter in kids that can pull off his crazy (and entertaining) choreography! Great colors as well. Kudos to all the finalist colorguards, we the spectators know that you all work very hard in these summer months and applaud your efforts! Already looking forward to 2009! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musical_Spinner Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I think my favorite guards were Glassmen, SCV and Crown. I was up top, and I was able to see a lot of the design aspects. I think Glassmen was beautifully designed and really well achieved. Everything was appropriately written (and that doesn't mean easy!), and the creativity in the choreography was awesome. I thought each circus "section" had unique choreography to represent that section. SCV... wow, that guard brought that show to life! The three sections were each uniquely written and they can, in my opinion, move as well if not better than BD. They had an off night at finals, but you could tell the work they put in throughout the season by the nuance they added to the work. STRONGLY STRONGLY DISAGREE. -A dancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPINCYCLE Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 There's no denying that BD moves well...always has.Now that doesn't mean they are the best guard either. Its one element of the process. Just in my opinion, although I think this year they spin a lot better than they have, I don't think equipment has been a strong point at all. So how is the division line? You have to have a combination of all the elements Not strong on one level and not the other. Sometimes the Mid Road guard but the one who has good qualities in all the elements get the win, ( Or should) Then again (And just again my opinion but history will also prove it I think) that the winner isn't always the best guard either. Crazy and for sure an opinion based activity we all love ALTHOUGH the powers to be insist its all based on criteria. hmmmmm that's a debate in itself. Congrats BD But also loved Crown..... A lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the lone ranger Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 STRONGLY STRONGLY DISAGREE.-A dancer. oh dear lord.."-A dancer" then go to the ballet! if you want to watch dancing dont go to a drum corps show...dance has its place in the guard activity, but you cant see a darn thing from the upper deck when guards are dancing...who cares if the blue devils are the best "DANCIN" COLORGUARD? they certainly arent the best at the spinning. hands down... and when i go to a drum corps show thats what i wanna see. kick ### spinning. not prancing around. movement and dance have there place but moreso in winterguard! IMHO crown rocked my sox hands down the best guard. again IMHO!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zackiedude Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) STRONGLY STRONGLY DISAGREE.-A dancer. Well I can't argue with that, you're "a dancer" and my signature doesn't say I am, so you must know more... Oh, and the quote was that they "move as well if not better than BD." -A Mover (without any other identification or credentials) Edited August 14, 2008 by zackiedude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odessa Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Its a funny thing, the difference between "movement" and "dancing". Movement wise, I would have to agree that G-Men, Cavies, and Crown are all good "movers". What they do isn't 100% dance/ballet/modern/jazz based, but its movement that helps us understand the emotion of the moment. "Dancing" guards are guards that are rooted in the basics and terminology of dance. BD is a perfect example of this, and I doubt anyone will contest you. If you could walk into a rehearsal and scream, "give me 5 turns in a la second and end in an open 4th!" and then they do, then yes, that would be a dancing guard. For the longest time, I didn't know the difference between movement and dancing- and I'm a dancer! Not everyone can give you grand battements to the heavens, but that's the beauty of guard (still doesn't mean that you're not going to get yelled at for it, tho)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugg Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) thanks for that odessa,and to everyone else who took time to post their views.i just love a lively debate combined with intelligent informed minds! it was a great season for color guards and i'm thrilled to see that this topic has received around 137 replies and has been viewed over 5,200 times!thanks for everyones contributions and thanks to all the looky-loo's who checked up on things,read our rants,endured our sarcasm and passionate opinions during the course of the summer[you know who you are]! it's great to see the importance of a really great guard and how vital they are to success of a show[something we've known all along ].it's truely fantastic the way in which color guards can contribute to a program and how they help to create such a thrilling experience for us all. thanks to all the performers who gave their all to entertain and impress! Edited August 14, 2008 by dugg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musical_Spinner Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Well I can't argue with that, you're "a dancer" and my signature doesn't say I am, so you must know more... Oh, and the quote was that they "move as well if not better than BD." -A Mover (without any other identification or credentials) I've taken a class regarding identifying movement and where it comes from within the body. I still disagree. oh dear lord.."-A dancer"then go to the ballet! if you want to watch dancing dont go to a drum corps show...dance has its place in the guard activity, but you cant see a darn thing from the upper deck when guards are dancing...who cares if the blue devils are the best "DANCIN" COLORGUARD? I hate having this discussion over and over again and since you are so obviously new to my view of this where others are well seasoned I am not going to waste much of my time. But I will break it down. Movement is not dance. Most guards are trying to do ballet moves which are dance without proper training. It looks bad and is bad for your body. Thus the movement is bad. BD does movement based in ballet, real ballet, and modern. Its done the right way. It becomes dance. I got my start in dance from a trained pro dancer, not this watered down garbage. He also taught the guard I was in. I got lucky. (god I hate ballet, what is this the 1930s?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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