How do you want your guard?

[TrishDish1002]

then don't go to shows...stay home and watch the home movies of the old days....

Hey now! Just as you've gotten YOUR opinion in, so can they.

Oh, and just so you know, Trish:

:::whispers:::

they're right.

thought i made this clear originally...no one is right or wrong...if you prefer old style, watch old style...if you prefer current trends, go to shows

[SBrancheau]

Hey Trish:

So we old fogeys have to stay home, eh? Pardon me while I go change my Depends...

Sheesh.

[LegalEagle50]

considering that so many people try to tell current guard members that what they do is fluff, a waste, horrible, not color guard anymore . . . . it's amazing that all of you would want to spend money on something you hate so much

[jojo]

I am an old fogey (started marching in 1970). I'm also a new fogey (if there is such a thing) becuz I'm still performing. I am TIRED of the old vs new controversy ... tastes great/less filling ... there is no right answer because both are demanding as ####. I wish the fact that we're all guard people would come first and supercede our era differences. I'm hard-pressed to understand why the focus is on the differences between the eras anyway when there are far more similarities than differences between the two

[LegalEagle50]

i don't know. but all the old vs. new or us vs. them debates bother me too. as well as the insults. i've been watching some people repeatedly talk down to me or be condensending because i disagree with their point of view.

how sad. :(

[jojo]

i don't know. but all the old vs. new or us vs. them debates bother me too. as well as the insults. i've been watching some people repeatedly talk down to me or be condensending because i disagree with their point of view.

how sad. :(

Agreed!

Opinions, by their very nature, can't be wrong or right. I love it when people have opinions and wanna debate ... I just hate it when they try to speak for me or shove their opinions down my throat ... know what I mean?

[LancerFi]

I'm doing just what people are now discussing. This is my last year of my own 5 year test. I've walked away before, came back, gave it 5 years, only this time, along with guard, the amps and voice have put me over the top. I'm not saying it's not great, it's just not entertaining for me.

It was the guard thing back in 93, and I ended up only marching in 94 and not buying any tickets.

I won't bore you with who I now sponsor and from what corps, I should give back, it was my life for a long time.

I may still even sponsor, but I will not be buying tickets to any show, and there should be plenty of people to take my place, of this I am sure.

I will not be spending the kind of money it takes to travel to Philly, Allentown, Orlando, Denver, or any where else to see something I no longer enjoy and to listen to music that I don't like (3/4 of it)!

There was a time I would spend any amount to see a guard or drum corps show. I answered the poll how much would you spend to see a finals performance, there was a time where I would have spent over $250, that was the highest the poll went. It was once worth if to me, but in my opinion, I can put my money to better use at this point. :(

[byline]

then don't go to shows...stay home and watch the home movies of the old days....

Hey now! Just as you've gotten YOUR opinion in, so can they.

Oh, and just so you know, Trish:

:::whispers:::

they're right.

thought i made this clear originally...no one is right or wrong...if you prefer old style, watch old style...if you prefer current trends, go to shows

It has nothing to do with "old" vs. "new" style. It's execution.

For the most part, I would have no problem with "new style" if it were executed cleanly. The cleanliness of execution is what gives performance its impact. It's what creates those "Wow!" moments. Without it, a lot of what's happening on the field is in soft focus . . . a blur. Put it in sharp focus--meaning, execute it cleanly, make a solid catch without the excess body/hand movement I'm seeing on catches (unchoreographed; people are just moving around to catch their equipment), wobbly catches, shuffling of feet, twitching and fidgeting while equipment is in the air, etc.--and as far as I'm concerned, you'll have a happy fan in me regardless of whichever style the guard is performing.

Sloppy execution has nothing to do with style. If you watch the Bolshoi Ballet and see how well-trained they are in technique, it matters not which style they're performing. They do it all well. If you watched Mikhail Baryshnikov in his prime, he could do a number of styles (tap, modern, ballet, etc.) incredibly well. That's because his first priority was mastering the technique of whatever style he chose to perform.

If that were the emphasis in color guard today (again, regardless of style), you wouldn't see the kinds of complaints many are voicing in this thread. As several folks have noted, difficulty isn't the determining factor in how well something is executed. After all, 27th Lancers and Cavaliers--to name only two guards--did a wide variety of catches in all sorts of positions, and with all sorts of body work integrated in, and they performed those catches cleanly. That's not a stylistic difference; it reflects their insistence on clean execution. Shouldn't that be a top priority in any kind of performance, regardless of style or era?

Edited May 21, 2003 by byline

[SBrancheau]

nodsnodsnodsnodsnodsnodsnods

:;'

[TrishDish1002]

I'm doing just what people are now discussing. This is my last year of my own 5 year test. I've walked away before, came back, gave it 5 years, only this time, along with guard, the amps and voice have put me over the top. I'm not saying it's not great, it's just not entertaining for me.

It was the guard thing back in 93, and I ended up only marching in 94 and not buying any tickets.

I won't bore you with who I now sponsor and from what corps, I should give back, it was my life for a long time.

I may still even sponsor, but I will not be buying tickets to any show, and there should be plenty of people to take my place, of this I am sure.

I will not be spending the kind of money it takes to travel to Philly, Allentown, Orlando, Denver, or any where else to see something I no longer enjoy and to listen to music that I don't like (3/4 of it)!

There was a time I would spend any amount to see a guard or drum corps show. I answered the poll how much would you spend to see a finals performance, there was a time where I would have spent over $250, that was the highest the poll went. It was once worth if to me, but in my opinion, I can put my money to better use at this point. :(

True 27th Lancers rifle line did high leg-lifts, lie on their backs and kick out their leg at the end of Niner Two, but come on...apples and oranges kids!