JayM Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Who and/or what organization(s) brought about change in regards to the importance of marching technique and posture? And when or over what period of time? Watching some 80s drum corps recently, I was struck at the relative lack of marching style demonstrated by most corps. Feet were generally in time, but toe-height was not emphasized at all, and the technique was more of a trudge than anything. In addition, horn players had a tendency to lean back a little, seemingly dependent upon the size of the instrument they wielded. I'm not trying to put down 80s drum corps or start another then/now/soon war; we have enough of those as it is. I'd just love to hear about the driving forces that led to the creation/evolution of the nuanced visual technique programs we find in corps today. Humor me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosevelt Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Who and/or what organization(s) brought about change in regards to the importance of marching technique and posture? And when or over what period of time?Watching some 80s drum corps recently, I was struck at the relative lack of marching style demonstrated by most corps. Feet were generally in time, but toe-height was not emphasized at all, and the technique was more of a trudge than anything. In addition, horn players had a tendency to lean back a little, seemingly dependent upon the size of the instrument they wielded. I'm not trying to put down 80s drum corps or start another then/now/soon war; we have enough of those as it is. I'd just love to hear about the driving forces that led to the creation/evolution of the nuanced visual technique programs we find in corps today. Humor me? I think Star in the early 90's got the ball rolling and then The Blue Devils after that (when the visual staff from star picked up and moved to BD). From 94 till about 2004 (with 03 & 04 being the height of the excellence in marching technique) very few corps could touch BD in marching technique IMO. In 98 the Cadets were incredible and in 2002 the Cavaliers had it going on, but I think that BD since the mid 90's has been the corps to model when it comes to marching technique. Just my opinion though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Who and/or what organization(s) brought about change in regards to the importance of marching technique and posture? And when or over what period of time?Watching some 80s drum corps recently, I was struck at the relative lack of marching style demonstrated by most corps. Feet were generally in time, but toe-height was not emphasized at all, and the technique was more of a trudge than anything. In addition, horn players had a tendency to lean back a little, seemingly dependent upon the size of the instrument they wielded. I'm not trying to put down 80s drum corps or start another then/now/soon war; we have enough of those as it is. I'd just love to hear about the driving forces that led to the creation/evolution of the nuanced visual technique programs we find in corps today. Humor me? Cadets in the late 80s...more defined leg technique. Star in the 90s....bd in 94 (todd ryan). Cadets 98 was clean, but bad upper bodies still. It wasnt till the past decade that anyone seemed to really care about upper bodies.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosevelt Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Cadets in the late 80s...more defined leg technique. Star in the 90s....bd in 94 (todd ryan). Cadets 98 was clean, but bad upper bodies still. It wasnt till the past decade that anyone seemed to really care about upper bodies.... Vanguard had good upper bodies in the late 90's. Their visual staff believed that you could fool a lot of people as long as your upper bodies were strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Vanguard had good upper bodies in the late 90's. Their visual staff believed that you could fool a lot of people as long as your upper bodies were strong. True...they always looked ###### with those guantlets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosevelt Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 True...they always looked ###### with those guantlets Yeah look at 98 SCV. Lower bodies and feet timing was a disaster, but their upper bodies were incredible. I think you are right about Cadets getting it started in the late 80's, they started to define a technique that nearly everyone would end up using (straight leg). However, they didn't really define it to the point that star and BD did. They still dont in my opinion. To me it looks like they just told the members to get their legs straighter instead of talking about hip flexibility, ankle flexibility and leg shape. This is why they look(ed) so tense when they move. There are very few years when the cadets marching technique is really locking in and uniform across the ensemble, but when they do it is pretty stellar. 2005 was pretty freakin impressive from them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euponitone Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yeah look at 98 SCV. Lower bodies and feet timing was a disaster, but their upper bodies were incredible.I think you are right about Cadets getting it started in the late 80's, they started to define a technique that nearly everyone would end up using (straight leg). However, they didn't really define it to the point that star and BD did. They still dont in my opinion. To me it looks like they just told the members to get their legs straighter instead of talking about hip flexibility, ankle flexibility and leg shape. This is why they look(ed) so tense when they move. There are very few years when the cadets marching technique is really locking in and uniform across the ensemble, but when they do it is pretty stellar. 2005 was pretty freakin impressive from them though. I agree with you to a point about that. Cadets marching either looks perfect, or not very good at all. As far as just getting the legs straight, we may be known for it, but its not the only focus. There were a few years in the mid 90's where they took it too far, but things are more relaxed now. The only way to actually play well and march like that is by keeping your hips loose and using the ankles, especially on the backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troopers1 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 (edited) Who and/or what organization(s) brought about change in regards to the importance of marching technique and posture? And when or over what period of time?Watching some 80s drum corps recently, I was struck at the relative lack of marching style demonstrated by most corps. Feet were generally in time, but toe-height was not emphasized at all, and the technique was more of a trudge than anything. In addition, horn players had a tendency to lean back a little, seemingly dependent upon the size of the instrument they wielded. I'm not trying to put down 80s drum corps or start another then/now/soon war; we have enough of those as it is. I'd just love to hear about the driving forces that led to the creation/evolution of the nuanced visual technique programs we find in corps today. Humor me? This is a little perplexing, because Cavaliers and Scouts in particular focused on toe height during the late '80's. And I would say Vanguard, Cavies and Scouts of that day had very stylized marching techniques. There was a lot of "style" out there during that era. It is true, however, that it was different than what we have today. I like both, so hopefully no one turns this into another "death of drum corps" thread. Edited February 6, 2009 by troopers1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosevelt Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I agree with you to a point about that. Cadets marching either looks perfect, or not very good at all. As far as just getting the legs straight, we may be known for it, but its not the only focus. There were a few years in the mid 90's where they took it too far, but things are more relaxed now. The only way to actually play well and march like that is by keeping your hips loose and using the ankles, especially on the backup. Yeah, but if you look at the hips and ankles of the blue devils and the hips and ankles of the cadets you will see one if typically a lot more flexible yet they maintain the same leg shape (straight). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 No one had toes higher than Madison in the late 80's. Some of those guys looked like they had their toes tied to their knees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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