ashevillemurphy Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Classics: -opener-ballad-drums-closer -slow open / pit open to big hit -harder drill during drum feature / stand-still for technical passages -ballad bodyshaping / body movement Newer: -Pre-show electronic "mood" chatter -rock out sections using "walking" contra line . . .and so on. Tons more, of course. Let's be clear . . I didn't say there was anything wrong with show design these days that use the above, just that there are certain "check boxes" you can expect during a drum corps show. Hell, for the most part we look forward to some of them. Contrast that "rigidity" of the buttons you have to push for the numbers (for any corps, not just BD), and the dada stuff can only go so far. They've done well trying to make it as seemingly chaotic as they can with the background noise and the switch from piece to piece. no worries, good points ... but for those who say the performance should be different every night: it is ... the audience (for the most part) is new ... and that was as much a part of the movement as a performance ... reaction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwdad Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) I find it amazing when I read all of the purely intelligent comments, completely without any bias, on a show that has yet to be performed. Of course, titles and previews tell the entire story. See you at the show. Edited June 22, 2012 by ajwdad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schickmeister Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I find it amazing when I read all of the purely intelligent comments, completely without any bias, on a show that has yet to be performed. Of course, titles and previews tell the entire story. See you at the show. YouTube helps. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgerbob Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 There's only so much you can do improvised on the field. And that is very little. Maybe some small body choreo, improvised solos- can't do drill, can't do large horn sections, guard will just look dirty (same with improvised drum parts). Clean is what wins, even if it doesn't fit the theme. I think on the small scale of the show, it is dada- that is what matters more than the large scale of the season, as others have said, most people see the show only once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NR_Ohiobando Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 I find it amazing when I read all of the purely intelligent comments, completely without any bias, on a show that has yet to be performed. Of course, titles and previews tell the entire story. See you at the show. Actually I've seen it on youtube. I also agree that people should see shows before they make opinions on it. Using this logic, after viewing an artist's painting, poet's poem, an artist's photograph only once, you would have to not show it again - ever. If exhibited a second, third, fourth time, it would be exactly the same and no longer a representation of Dadaism. Just a thought also. Mitch Very cool thought. And what makes it so cool is what makes the "avant garde" or "dada" genres so hard to define. After inception, is the avante garde work still considered avant garde since it is no longer new/random? I had a very intelligent instructor I looked up to in college who insisted that every single artistic creation ever created should be considered post-modern, and honestly I kinda agree with him. All old music was once new. And also reflecting on this thought, we also have to think about how the audience goes into multiple viewings. Are they aware that the art form should be exactly the same as the way they first saw it? Or is it temporarily evolved due to time (drum corps shows will change throughout the season). Either way, I stand by my stance to interpret the Blue Devils' show as undeserving of high GE scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I find it amazing when I read all of the purely intelligent comments, completely without any bias, on a show that has yet to be performed. Of course, titles and previews tell the entire story. See you at the show. There have been clips, and videos on both YouTube and Mediabox, and they did have the Family Day performance last Saturday where they performed the full show. It looked good for that point, but I'm not sold yet on the uniforms or show concept. But it's June, we'll see what happens. Right now, it just seems dis-jointed to me, like they decided what they wanted to play without deciding how it would fit together. It just seems like sections shoved together without a coherent plan. But that could change by August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NR_Ohiobando Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) There's only so much you can do improvised on the field. And that is very little. Maybe some small body choreo, improvised solos- can't do drill, can't do large horn sections, guard will just look dirty (same with improvised drum parts). Clean is what wins, even if it doesn't fit the theme. I think on the small scale of the show, it is dada- that is what matters more than the large scale of the season, as others have said, most people see the show only once. I disagree. We see improvisation in things as miniscule as park&blows/spread&wails. And Improv Drill is actually I've thought extensively about, though admittedly have never tried to implement yet. Improvised Drill is most definitely possible due to group dynamics. If you let a group of people do whatever they want for a certain amount of time they will often react to each other's own improvisations. Just as a simple analogy, make a bunch of kids hold hands and tell them to "walk around without breaking hands with each other" and you'll get improvised drill. Heck you could even go into your average elementary school music classroom and watch them improvise things relating to the music using Kodaly/Delcrose methods. Large horn sections? Again, group dynamics. Guard will just look dirty? If you look through the performance through that particular glass. However if you go into the performance aware that the corps is improvising wouldn't that change the way you also grade them? (Or would it even make the scoring obsolete?) Improvisation is seen heavily in as well. If K-4 students can improvise music (obviously within certain parameters) I see no reason why we can't try and implement this sort of thing into an ensemble with much more awareness & talent.I know I'm getting off task here, but ideas like this are why I wonder why Hopkins/Gibbs/others seem to feel that woodwinds are the answer to all our innovative prayers. Edited June 23, 2012 by NR_Ohiobando 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 By now, you should know better . . . . . .the show announcements for most corps are almost always navel-gazing "intellectualism" trying to tie together why someone is playing Samuel Hazo and Lady Gaga in some vague "colors" or "dark versus light" or "Planet Earth PainSongs" dressing. This is no different; the Blue Devils show is, indeed, scatter-shot in its rep and pacing, and this is a fairly easy design "out" for them to use. It works a simple window dressing. Drum corps doesn't stray too far from the usual design check boxes, no matter who it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) By presenting to us a show that is incredibly coordinated and structured down to every last drill set and foot movement, aren't the Blue Devils entirely missing the point of the Dada movement? And if they are, shouldn't they be penalized for it? Yes and...no, probably not. Most show concepts are a bunch of sophomoric hoo-ha anyway, so Devils doing a totally designed-down-to-the-last-blink show about a movement that was about endless possibilities and non sequitur shouldn't count any more against them than everyone else's half-baked or totally wrong-headed concepts do. Besides, how many of the judges watching it could identify anything about Tzara or Dada anyway? I mean, maybe if the guard used urinals in a Duchamp homage, it would engender some discussion up in the booth, but aside from that... Edited June 23, 2012 by mobrien 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Classics: -opener-ballad-drums-closer -slow open / pit open to big hit -harder drill during drum feature / stand-still for technical passages -ballad bodyshaping / body movement Newer: -Pre-show electronic "mood" chatter -rock out sections using "walking" contra line . . .and so on. Tons more, of course. Like the percussion section backfield, and then "sneaking back in" while playing at the conclusion of the ballad. A worn-out cliche'... IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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