Carolina09Spirit Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Background Info: I'm currently 22 years old. Never marched Drum Corps. Desire: To march drum corps. But have started making progressions in my career path that limit me from devoting full-time to DCI; reason why I'm posting under DCA. Question: Take Alliance for example. Based out of Atlanta, close enough for me considering I'm from Alabama. In the DCA world, how much time and effort goes into putting a show on the field? For the most part, if I'm not mistaken, these are "weekend corps" which to me sounds like a TON of work goes into a small amount of time, to get a show put on the field that's adequate enough to field a corps. Bottom line: I'm still a guy who loves the Drum Corps activity. I lost all my chances in DCI and I regret that. I am now involved heavily with my lifelong career, but still want to make room/time to march a small corps if possible. Get the picture? Help me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legoman Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Drum corps is a lot of work. Most corps start out with an open house in November, followed by "camp" weekends about every other weekend throughout the winter. Then, they switch to rehearsals every weekend from about Easter through Labor Day weekend (Finals). Depending on the corps and situation, they may work with you and your schedule during the winter, but as the competitive season begins, you will need to make sure you are available because every member is important. Most weekends during the summer begin on Friday afternoon or evening, meeting up with the corps for travel to the show site. Saturday morning will be rehearsals and then Saturday night is the show. You will probably travel back to the corps' home site after retreat, and then have a full day of rehearsal on Sunday. Rinse and repeat most weekends until September. I've been in the Marine Corps for almost 7 years, and it has been a little over 7 years since I've marched drum corps. At first, I was stationed in North Carolina, and Gold was about 3 hours away, but there was no way I could make that work with my schedule. Now, I am stationed in Hawaii and there are no corps out here. I do miss it, and hopefully I will wind up in Virginia or Florida next, and can make it work. Your best bet would be to analyze your schedules, making sure you understand that from about April through August you will have no free weekends to do anything other than drum corps. If you are okay with that, and it is definitely worth it, then contact the corps you are interested in and talk to the caption head for the instrument you play. I would contact them anyway, because even if you can't march due to your schedule, you can still be involved as a volunteer with the corps. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Background Info: I'm currently 22 years old. Never marched Drum Corps. Desire: To march drum corps. But have started making progressions in my career path that limit me from devoting full-time to DCI; reason why I'm posting under DCA. Question: Take Alliance for example. Based out of Atlanta, close enough for me considering I'm from Alabama. In the DCA world, how much time and effort goes into putting a show on the field? For the most part, if I'm not mistaken, these are "weekend corps" which to me sounds like a TON of work goes into a small amount of time, to get a show put on the field that's adequate enough to field a corps. Bottom line: I'm still a guy who loves the Drum Corps activity. I lost all my chances in DCI and I regret that. I am now involved heavily with my lifelong career, but still want to make room/time to march a small corps if possible. Get the picture? Help me out. Every corps is different as far as off season camp schedules, the summer performance schedule, etc. Contact the corps you may be interested and talk to them....go to the source. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Detweiler Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Background Info: I'm currently 22 years old. Never marched Drum Corps. Desire: To march drum corps. But have started making progressions in my career path that limit me from devoting full-time to DCI; reason why I'm posting under DCA. Question: Take Alliance for example. Based out of Atlanta, close enough for me considering I'm from Alabama. In the DCA world, how much time and effort goes into putting a show on the field? For the most part, if I'm not mistaken, these are "weekend corps" which to me sounds like a TON of work goes into a small amount of time, to get a show put on the field that's adequate enough to field a corps. Bottom line: I'm still a guy who loves the Drum Corps activity. I lost all my chances in DCI and I regret that. I am now involved heavily with my lifelong career, but still want to make room/time to march a small corps if possib le. Get the picture? Help me out. Hello! If you are in Alabama then there are several options available. With Alliance announcing their return next year, that is certainly one. Depending on where you are in Alabama, one of the Florida corps might be an option (Sun Devils or Tampa Bay Thunder). Atlanta CV is another option. I would suggest you do your research, contact the organizations that interest you and go from there. If you are at all interested in CV I would be glad to talk with you or put you in touch with our director, Dr. David Stolberg. Welcome to the drum corps family and just let me know if I can help. Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alliance_JM Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) Dan's right; you've got two great options in the Atlanta area! It's never too late to start a drum corps career. As far as time commitment, a southern corps' schedule is slightly different than 'Legoman' described because of the lighter show schedule. Most DCA shows are "up north" and it's just not financially feasible to travel to every show once or twice a month. But there are usually 2 or 3 DCA shows in the south and a performance in the Georgia Dome at the DCI Southeastern Regional before heading up to Rochester for DCA Championships. You can view our Tentative 2014 Schedule (without contest dates) here: Alliance Calendar Most of your assumptions about the amount of work it takes to march a DCA corps are correct. It's a TON of information in a small amount of time. What's interesting is that the individuals with "professional careers" tend to thrive because they understand time management. They become great leaders-by-example for our college and high school students, who usually have all the time in the world and don't always know how to manage it effectively (We've all been there!). In 2010, we had an ER doctor in the corps who drove from Indiana every weekend! He ALWAYS had his "stuff" together and was mentally and physically prepared for each rehearsal. Do your research and ask questions; Best of Luck! Edited July 29, 2013 by Alliance_JM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Background Info: I'm currently 22 years old. Never marched Drum Corps. Desire: To march drum corps. But have started making progressions in my career path that limit me from devoting full-time to DCI; reason why I'm posting under DCA. Question: Take Alliance for example. Based out of Atlanta, close enough for me considering I'm from Alabama. In the DCA world, how much time and effort goes into putting a show on the field? For the most part, if I'm not mistaken, these are "weekend corps" which to me sounds like a TON of work goes into a small amount of time, to get a show put on the field that's adequate enough to field a corps. Bottom line: I'm still a guy who loves the Drum Corps activity. I lost all my chances in DCI and I regret that. I am now involved heavily with my lifelong career, but still want to make room/time to march a small corps if possible. Get the picture? Help me out. Go for it, if you have the opportunity!!! I think you'll find the work ethic, desire to succeed, etc. the same on the all-age side as on the DCI side. Just less time... by the nature of the beast, being a weekend-only thing... to put the product together. Over the years, the all-age corps have gotten much, much better at making the best use of their limited rehearsal/prep time. Plus, you'll make new friends... and have a "second family" (the people in your corps) as your support system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legoman Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 As far as time commitment, a southern corps' schedule is slightly different than 'Legoman' described because of the lighter show schedule. I was basing my response on my experiences up north. That is actually good to hear that the southern corps are a little less time-intensive, as my next duty station will most likely be in the south. I may actually have an opportunity to get back into marching. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina09Spirit Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 Appreciate all the responses, folks. I'll definitely take all of those into consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alliance_JM Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I was basing my response on my experiences up north. That is actually good to hear that the southern corps are a little less time-intensive, as my next duty station will most likely be in the south. I may actually have an opportunity to get back into marching. Awesome, I hope it works out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Go for it, if you have the opportunity!!! I think you'll find the work ethic, desire to succeed, etc. the same on the all-age side as on the DCI side. Just less time... by the nature of the beast, being a weekend-only thing... to put the product together. Over the years, the all-age corps have gotten much, much better at making the best use of their limited rehearsal/prep time. Plus, you'll make new friends... and have a "second family" (the people in your corps) as your support system. Totally agree, but get ready for a Yankee in a funny shirt mispronouncing your corps' name finals weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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