faramirtook Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 (edited) So I've heard any corp experience is good experience, but how much will it really help? I'm trying out for Alliance this December. I hope to march with them for a year or two and then go DCI until I age out, then of course go back to Alliance ;) I'm sure you guys can give me some helpful info about this, so anything you can tell me please reply, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys_ Hankins Just be careful you don't end up like me! I wanted to cut my teeth in DCA and try out for DCI, but now I never want to march in another corps. Edited October 12, 2008 by faramirtook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scv guy Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 (edited) Just be careful you don't end up like me! I wanted to cut my teeth in DCA and try out for DCI, but now I never want to march in another corps. That could definitely happen brother. I wouldn't want Bougwa Drummer to miss out on the time of his life. You are young and the time is now. March DCI this year. Better to march a junior corps that is top 15, than march with a DCA Corps. It must be a lot more fun marching with kids your own age. Plus. IMHO, Sr. Corps should only march over 22 y.o. members. If younger, it should be a small amount of people. Why shouldn't all under 22s should march junior corps? I guess time and money commitment. But if it comes down to talent, you really should march a junior corps that matches your talent level best. If it were me, I'd march Troop, Bones, PC, hell, even Pioneer (sorry guys) over a top 5 DCA corps. What would you guys do? Edited October 13, 2008 by scv guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CellarDweller Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 If money and transport are big issues, then stay local. Do Alliance and start saving your dough for your DCI plunge. If you can afford it, why not just go for it now? All the audition camps start within the next 6 weeks. Get your chops and movement tech up to speed and go for it! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alliance_JM Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Lots of good info in here! We are honored to be a possible option for anyone interested in DCA! Speaking for Alliance, we see ourselves as an alternative to DCI for any young marchers who cannot commit their entire summer or afford the increasing dues payments. We also encourage our of-age members, before our season starts, to participate in DCI if they have the opportunity. There is nothing can fully replace that full-tour experience. One of our current members marched with Alliance in 2005 and 2006, marched with the Boston Crusaders in 2007, filled a trumpet hole with Alliance at the end of 2007, was a drum major for Alliance in 2008, and will age out with Boston this coming summer! And we couldn't be more proud! While we do have many college-aged members, our median age was barely 19 years old, so Mr. Hankins would definitely be marching with many his own age. We are very excited about moving toward 2009. Thanks for the encouraging words, and best of luck to all the DCA corps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbionNY Drum Line Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 That could definitely happen brother. I wouldn't want Bougwa Drummer to miss out on the time of his life.You are young and the time is now. March DCI this year. Better to march a junior corps that is top 15, than march with a DCA Corps. It must be a lot more fun marching with kids your own age. Plus. IMHO, Sr. Corps should only march over 22 y.o. members. If younger, it should be a small amount of people. Why shouldn't all under 22s should march junior corps? I guess time and money commitment. But if it comes down to talent, you really should march a junior corps that matches your talent level best. If it were me, I'd march Troop, Bones, PC, hell, even Pioneer (sorry guys) over a top 5 DCA corps. What would you guys do? I couldn't disagree more; if it weren't for younger kids then you wouldn't see probably half the north east corps you do see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDempsey Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 ABSOLUTELY...You will be dealing with staff members who work both DCI and DCA and will give you the opportunity to improve your abilities through hard work, dedication and proper instruction. Although I always am quick to yell VIVA LA DIFFERENCE, this is one instance where drum corps is drum corps. And yes, DCA member corps have members with DCI eligibility left leave to perform with their chosen DCI corps and this is encouraged. Often - not only do they come back all the better for their DCI experience - they come back and eventually become excellent staff members themselves. Tom Peashey (and for Jami - nice post about Teddy... I'm Christian and Mason Mascari's Grandfather) Fellow DC people..IF T Peashy sez it..U need to take it to the BANK!(regards my ol friend Tom) Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKatzmellophone Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 That could definitely happen brother. I wouldn't want Bougwa Drummer to miss out on the time of his life.You are young and the time is now. March DCI this year. Better to march a junior corps that is top 15, than march with a DCA Corps. It must be a lot more fun marching with kids your own age. Plus. IMHO, Sr. Corps should only march over 22 y.o. members. If younger, it should be a small amount of people. Why shouldn't all under 22s should march junior corps? I guess time and money commitment. But if it comes down to talent, you really should march a junior corps that matches your talent level best. If it were me, I'd march Troop, Bones, PC, hell, even Pioneer (sorry guys) over a top 5 DCA corps. What would you guys do? Some of the people who have responded have been in exactly that position. Most who have decided to do DCA at a young age did so because it was their first exposure to the activity, were brought in by family or a friend or they simply couldn't afford to march DCI. As some who have already responded proved there was no lack of fun in DCA. Chas (faramirtook) is still eligible for a few season of DCI if he so chooses to pursue that, but has made it clear he is very happy right where he is. Now in his 3rd season with the Cabs I can tell you he has more then enough talent and experience to make just about any corps he chooses. The time to move to DCI is when you have the money and feel your ready to take on a full summer commitment. While you may think there is no comparison between DCI and DCA, most young members who have done both will tell you the only comparison is the time commitment. If you haven't yet seen what DCA has to offer please by a current Championship DVD. IMHO DCA is the best platform for an up and coming member to cut their teeth in Drum Corps as many have and will attest. FYI - there are no more "SR" corps unless you are referring to "alumni" corps. And even in some cases you will find several young members there too. The moniker "Sr" was removed from DCA several years ago. It is now "All-Aged". The numbers of young members in DCA have increased suffuciently to the point that the average age in most of your top 5 corps are now in the teens and early twenties. The Caballeros 2008 corps average age was between 14 and 21 with a few of us old guys as a good anchor. I would imagine Bucs were in that same category. Current Cabs Alumnus have moved on to: Cadets Devils Cavies Phantom Regiment Santa Clara Boston Bluecoats Crossmen Carolina Crown Blue Stars Madison Scouts Jersey Surf I would imagine any one of the top DCA corps can support the same claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 (edited) I couldn't disagree more; if it weren't for younger kids then you wouldn't see probably half the north east corps you do see. No argument about that statement as it's been true for more than a few corps since at least the 1970s. Back then for every Sky and Cabs that were 21 and over only, there were corps like mine who reformed with 50%+ under age members. As for hanging with kids your own age a lot of corps have enough younger members that you should not feel out of place. And having been there, learning to work with people with different age and life experiences is a great learning experience. IMO, it's the best thing I ever learned in corps. A DCA corps might be the first time you worked with people outside of your age group. Not to mention being treated as an equal by the "grown up" set (what you do on the field counts as much as that guy with two kids marching next to you). Both Alumni type corps I have been involved in have DCI eligible members. Some of them have expressed interest in joining a DCI corps and have received 100% positive feedback from teh other members. s/ Guy who did "Senior" corps from age 16-22. Edited October 13, 2008 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 (edited) Most people aren't aware of this, but both West Point and Annapolis have prep schools for kids who are intelligent but slightly defficient in math and english. When they report to the academies after 10 months of training the upperclassmen are held responsible for a large part of their plebe orientation, and most of them claim that they can tell the difference from a "prepster" and a kid fresh out of high school in a heartbeat. It's the same way with Drum Corps. If you ran a DCI camp and had one kid who was a bando and never marched corps before, and then another who was trained by DCA you could probably tell them apart pretty quickly. From my observations over the years a lot of kids who started in DCA went on to DCI mostly because of the age-out restriction and later went back to where they came from. Edited October 14, 2008 by Piper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin4057 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Being in a DCI corps is like a right of passage. If you can, Do IT! You don't want to look back and cry, Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda. This experiance will be a memory of a lifetime. I'm so excited for you! But it is a much more active experiance than DCA. Unless of course you're in the pitt. LOL If you think DCA corps ,work you hard, you ain't seen nothin' yet. LOL Seriously, doing this thing we do, can be debillitating, in the long run. Just talk to your Alumni bretheren. Be good to your body, and learn from your elders experiance. Warm-up and eat well. Drum corps at DCI level is a sport. There are always consiquences. Never forget that. Everything that we do to ourselves, can and will come back and bight you in the butt when you get older. But, THIS experiance, is well worth any consiquences. None of us would trade our memories . We are all suffering, the results of our youth. But is was well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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