Guardguy89 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 So I went and checked out Irondale SA (thanks PrfctTimeOfDay). They were awesome -I agree that that is the absolute best way to do a tribute show. Wish I could have seen it live as I'm sure there are some things we can't from the video. Kudos to whomever came up with this concept - and thanks for the Sonnor prop usage - loved it! Later, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagentryarts Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I want to give a BIG shout out to the ladies of Lyman! That prop usage was SPECTACULAR! Also, Sommerville, bravo. Could barely sit still during this show! As far as IW, let's start off with how nice it was to see 3 NJ colorguards represented! First Flight's flag feature was beautiful. Black Watch was amazing, did anyone else almost feel uncomfortable watching them? The performance was so in your face. The bubble was fantastic! Strange placement fall for them, felt they deserved that top 10, ESPECIALLY that rifle line! woah. Zydeco did not transfer well online but in person they were simply spellbounding, so glad to have witnessed it in person. One comment to throw out there, even if you've dropped a few spots at finals *coughSACcough* please be aware of what you are saying in public. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuardGuy2008 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 How bout a shout out to all the units who dropped a class this year and found the final success they were looking for. Woohoo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I want to give a BIG shout out to the ladies of Lyman! That prop usage was SPECTACULAR! Also, Sommerville, bravo. Could barely sit still during this show! As far as IW, let's start off with how nice it was to see 3 NJ colorguards represented! First Flight's flag feature was beautiful. Black Watch was amazing, did anyone else almost feel uncomfortable watching them? The performance was so in your face. The bubble was fantastic! Strange placement fall for them, felt they deserved that top 10, ESPECIALLY that rifle line! woah. Zydeco did not transfer well online but in person they were simply spellbounding, so glad to have witnessed it in person. One comment to throw out there, even if you've dropped a few spots at finals *coughSACcough* please be aware of what you are saying in public. agree about first flight to me seems like all placements in IW were correct....might have flipped one or two around mid way...maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagentryarts Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 agree about first flight to me seems like all placements in IW were correct....might have flipped one or two around mid way...maybe Agreed, definitely felt as though the judges were fair for what we saw these guards perform on Saturday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 WGI was good this year - maybe not my ultimate favorite year or anything, but nonetheless very good. Some standouts for me: Scholastic A - Somerville HS - WOW! Simply the champion. Those ladies performed a wonderful program and did it justice. Congrats on the gold medal and here's hoping to many more stunning productions from this group. Taravalla HS - the BEST (IMO) use of "This Bitter Earth" this season. Awesome tarp design and a great group of performers. Westerville Central HS - thank you for providing an upbeat, fun, and well put together/executed program!! Great flag work and design throughout. YAY! : ) Ind. A - Lexis - I thought you might win, but the bronze ain't too shabby! Great job and TONS of FUN!!! Scholastic Open - North Syracuse Central - hot darn! again, fun, well done, and super, super great. I love how simply the plot line was : ) Nothing but pure, straight up color guard just like it should be! Lake Central - powerful! The performers were just wonderful to watch and the program was superbly done. Lake Central guard remains one of my most favorite groups! Ayala - you definitely win the costume award (great job by Creative Costuming and Design!). Super cool show Rancho Cucamonga - I thought they wouldve ended up placing much higher. Outstanding body control throughout and some great phrasing and sharing throughout the program. Well done!! Ind. Open - Field of View = AWESOME! I want their opening flags! Pride of the Netherlands - sloppy finals run BUT a great show and gorgeous ladies. Interplay - LOVE THIS SHOW. Period. The opening statement with dance and the use of the mace was brilliantly done. Great flag work as well. O2 - GORGEOUS. That's really all I can say. Just stunning. Scholastic World - first off, this class left me kind of flag for most of the evening. The quality of design in this class seemed MUCH weaker (IMO!) than in years past and this was disappointing. HOWEVER some groups were great: Northview - thank you for bringing life and fun to world class. this was a GREAT show and well done. Arcadia - LOVE IT! Another outstanding Arcadia show. Gorgeous writing, costuming, flags.. it just worked! well done! : ) Trumbull - the finals run wasn't the best, but this show still wins my award for the best one in the class. The training in this group is amazing and I love watching them have a great time. Lawrence Central - what a way to use a prop!! WOW! The ladies wanted it in finals and they did a great job. great costume too! James Logan - LOVE THIS COLOR GUARD!!! They are just amazing. They seemed to be quite young this year, but nonetheless an amazing group of kids. The ending flag feature was great and I love watching these kids spin sabre. Way to go!! : ) Ind. World - UGH this class felt like it started off with some blah groups, but thankfully it picked up. First Flight - great show, great costumes. Fantasia - MUCH better in person; this show was better before they changed things around, The added flag was useless (the performer did a good job, but the idea of it was clearly not necessary). The staging was great and that costume was AWESOME. Braddock - WOW WOW WOW. Amazing show. I loved the different flags and the huge flag feature. super cool. Pride of Cincinnati - thought provoking, well trained, great staging. Great show. Aimachi - the best group they've had ever. Amazing. thunderous applause throughout that was totally well deserved. The batons were not the feature this year and instead added an element that was beautiful and stunning. Excellent rifle work and that flags were beyond gorgeous. Santa Clara Vanguard - this is amazing. the whole package was just incredible. I love the story line and how they brought it to life. Well done! Onyx - brilliant. Opus 10 (I saved the best for last) - by far my favorite show. The John Adams' piece Fearful Symmetries was used incredibly well and the whole package was remarkable. Kudos to staff and performers for a brilliant program yet again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Know it all Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 BEST SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT Blessed Sac's teeny-weeny flags and itty-bitty rifles How totally FUN were the 'Mini-Me' pieces of equipment used by the Munchkins as they marched around on their knees...??? And the Munchkin who was featured at the front of the Munchkin gang actually performed a legitimate toss with his pint-sized rifle. I could watch that sequence of Blessed Sac's show over and over and over. More...!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEGuardfan Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 To be honest, I stopped going to Dayton the last couple years because I realized so many shows were boring me to tears. But even limited to the Fan network, it appears this year was a definite improvement. Not as many dull violin/piano soundtracks, and fewer of the psychological shows that designers have seemed so fond of lately. It's like they're trying to impress others with their cleverness or 'deep thoughts' to the point where they seem to have forgotten there's an audience out there. No objection to thoughtful 'serious' shows, just the ones that are so obscure and out of touch that people have to pretend they really get it. I've started categorizing those shows as 'I'll forget them in a week', because that's what happens, no matter how high the talent of the performers. One other note--what is it with designers picking such obvious songs? I mean, I'd be running to the one I figured no one else would be using. I like Adele, but really...? No slam to any of the shows themselves, most of them I really liked (particularly Somerville's elegant and beautiful show; saw it at regionals). But I remember in past years the collective groan in the arena as yet another 'Wild Horses' began…..or 'Send in the Clowns' …ya know what I mean. I agree with all on the Lawrence Central props, well used & not overdone. When I think back to the elaborate backdrops and sets of years past, I'm glad that trend is over. I think the key to Aimachi is to watch it more than once….obviously easier on the Fan Network…to spend a viewing trying to ignore the batons. They do amazing tricks, but it can be a bit distracting. Loved Flanagan, Logan, Northview, SCV, Pride, both "Oz" shows, different and amazing, Blackwatch, Lexis, Field of View, Brigs, Patriots, Shen (another good use of props), S. Brunswick, Opus 10, Trumbull…too many good ones to mention, and it wasn't that way for me the last few seasons. Thanks to those who tried to bring some joy back into guard. I might actually consider going back in person if this keeps up. Speaking of Trumbull…I want to thank WGI for all the historic presentations and for the replay feature—I wish I'd known beforehand, I found the one between Sat finals quite by accident while watching a replay. I hope the kids enjoyed/appreciated them--I am old enough to have seen many of them in person. BTW, I'm also old enough to remember when 'pre-shows' were called 'walk-ons' and many guards used them back in the day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Know it all Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 BEST SHOWING BY A SINGLE STATE The State of Florida Ok, I just need to say right up front that math never has been my strong suit. So, my accounting might be flawed. (And I trust that someone will let me know if I've made any errors...!!!) But if my tabulations as correct, then I believe that Florida advanced more guards into their respective class Finals than any other state represented in Dayton this year. Here's my list of the Florida groups that performed in Finals: INDEPENDENT WORLD Braddock Ind. ............... 6th place SCHOLASTIC WORLD Flanagan ................... 1st place Seminole ................... 5th place West Broward ............... 9th place Timber Creek ............... 10th place Tarpon Springs ............. 13th place INDEPENDENT OPEN U. South Florida Pegasus ... 2nd place SCHOLASTIC OPEN Freedom .................... 1st place Nease ...................... 3rd place Cypress Bay ................ 7th place Cypress Creek .............. 13th place INDEPENDENT A U. of Central Florida ...... 5th place MEDEA ...................... 15th place SCHOLASTIC A Taravella .................. 4th place Lyman ...................... 6th place Apopka ..................... 8th place Robinson ................... 10th place TOTAL: 17 finalists, including 2 Gold Medalists OF NOTE: 8 of those finalists - nearly half of the total Florida units in Finals - placed in the top 5. (FYI: I included Braddock's 6th place finish in IW because minus their .1 penalty, their Finals performance tied Zydeco for 5th place.) Way to go Florida...!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurcwave Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Agree with TEAM FLORIDA this year ... one little mistake in the posting U South Florida is BULLS U Central Florida is Pegasus! BEST SHOWING BY A SINGLE STATE The State of Florida Ok, I just need to say right up front that math never has been my strong suit. So, my accounting might be flawed. (And I trust that someone will let me know if I've made any errors...!!!) But if my tabulations as correct, then I believe that Florida advanced more guards into their respective class Finals than any other state represented in Dayton this year. Here's my list of the Florida groups that performed in Finals: INDEPENDENT WORLD Braddock Ind. ............... 6th place SCHOLASTIC WORLD Flanagan ................... 1st place Seminole ................... 5th place West Broward ............... 9th place Timber Creek ............... 10th place Tarpon Springs ............. 13th place INDEPENDENT OPEN U. South Florida Pegasus ... 2nd place SCHOLASTIC OPEN Freedom .................... 1st place Nease ...................... 3rd place Cypress Bay ................ 7th place Cypress Creek .............. 13th place INDEPENDENT A U. of Central Florida ...... 5th place MEDEA ...................... 15th place SCHOLASTIC A Taravella .................. 4th place Lyman ...................... 6th place Apopka ..................... 8th place Robinson ................... 10th place TOTAL: 17 finalists, including 2 Gold Medalists OF NOTE: 8 of those finalists - nearly half of the total Florida units in Finals - placed in the top 5. (FYI: I included Braddock's 6th place finish in IW because minus their .1 penalty, their Finals performance tied Zydeco for 5th place.) Way to go Florida...!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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