Marvelous Minnesota, July 8

[oldbandguy]

50 minutes ago, corps8294 said:

Is this show setting up the seeding for San Antonio? 

Last year this show and a show in Kentucky were used for seeding purposes, then the specific positions were drawn in groups of three.  (1-3,4-6,etc)  A year ago the top 3 for SA were Bluecoats, Blue Devils, Crown.  (The more things change, the more....)

I would assume this show will be used.  Not sure which others will be figured in.  Would probably need to be two other shows to get everyone.

[DrumManTx]

I'm so excited to finally get to see Troopers show!  And a great Open Class lineup.  It's so much more fun when you follow everyone.  

[westcoastblue]

39 minutes ago, HockeyDad said:

Completely serious. Are you?

Well then let me be of help:

Environmental demand - what does this mean?

As corps stopped doing elevator drill with the drum line and symmetrical brass staging in front of and on the sides of the drumline and starting to spread things out, corps wanted recognition of and ultimately reward for achievement when musical and visual elements got spread out across the field. Guard spinning to something 80 yards away is more difficult than spinning right next to the music they are interpreting. Snare rhythms are harder to align with baritone parts when placed at great distance on the field. Brass tend to play behind the beat when drummers are in front of them, etc. The space and the placement of music voices (the musical environment) affects achievement and GE. Body poses, foot speed, etc, are also a part of the environment in which performers have been placed to do their thing. Sometimes the environment is super difficult to perform in, and sometimes not. These are sometimes great design choices and sometimes they are design flaws. 

movement vocabulary- what does this mean?

Like with language, you can have a limited, or greatly expanded vocabulary. As with environmental demand, as corps have further and further explored types of movement beyond marching forwards, backwards, slides, etc., the members have had to increase their skill set. Each movement skill is one thing on their list, their vocabulary so to speak. Members now know many types of movements, from LaBan, ballet, modern dance, etc. Since most all of these movement skills have been codified by movement experts, most often dancers, each movement has a universal term associated with it- thus using the words movement vocabulary. 

stylistic vocabulary- what does this mean?

This can be associated with movement, and musical styles. It can be argued that if a brass player in Bluecoats is required to play swing, bebop, classical, pop, and Baroque styles in the show, this should be recognized and to some degree awarded by the judges under achievement and variety. This of course can affect GE and achievement scores. Similarly, guard members asked to do classical ballet, modern lyric, and jazz  in a show means their skill set, their stylistic vocabulary is more varied and demanding than if they were simply marching in step and spinning as was most common prior to the mid 80s or so. 

using the terms "movement vocabulary" and "stylistic vocabulary" also comes from the professional dance/choreography and musician world. These terms may be better than saying "what all styles can you play, dance, sing, etc." or using terms like "bag of tricks", "what's in your wheel house", etc.

Edited July 8, 2017 by westcoastblue

[DCM]

Well broken down. God job. 

[BlueStainGlass]

I'm just ready to finally see all my students marching this season perform. Let's go Shadow and Blue Stars !

[mjoakes]

1 hour ago, DrumManTx said:

I'm so excited to finally get to see Troopers show!  And a great Open Class lineup.  It's so much more fun when you follow everyone.  

Hope you like it as much as I did last night. I'm seeing again here tonight and it's one of two I am anxious to see again.

[HockeyDad]

1 hour ago, xandandl said:

movement vocabulary is the accumulated number and types of movement techniques attempted/utilized in a show... the greater the variety DONE WELL, usually the higher the credit for this consideration of the visual sheet. As each piece of music has its own tempo and rhythm, the vocabulary should change appropriate to the piece. Vocabulary includes both the movement of the feet as well as body moves, posturing, and related visual achievements.

stylistic vocabulary is not that different. Within a jazz piece, do the movements reflect the music style?  For instance, robotic movement during a jazz piece or melodic ballad would be jarring and not representative of the piece. Although the designer may counterpoint movement styles with the music at times, it doesn't credit unless done most perfectly. Does the movement reflect any interpretative dimensions or is it purely mathematical/technical?

Environmental demand is defined differently in various circuits.

The common understanding is how is the mm interacting with the props, ensemble, and various elements of the corps (percussion, brass, guard) or has the designer written 3 separate shows within a show so that these elements never intersect in movement and props are only to clutter space. Does the mm face a difficult task to achieve excellence given the other aspects of the visual show (props, people, and boundaries?)

i agree with all the examples given by bicsta in the post above.

Well, thank you guys. So, for example, movement vocabulary = movement techniques. That makes sense. Then why don't they just call it movement techniques?  Movement is not vocabulary. Never mind. Don't answer that.  

[ajlemm]

Remember, to those that are heading to the stadium, they don't allow any bags except gallon sized or smaller clear bags or a small clutch purse.

[N.E. Brigand]

1 hour ago, HockeyDad said:

Well, thank you guys. So, for example, movement vocabulary = movement techniques. That makes sense. Then why don't they just call it movement techniques?  Movement is not vocabulary. Never mind. Don't answer that.  

I'm going to answer anyway: as a given field of study advances, it develops a jargon. I agree with you that sometimes the terms are less helpful than they should be.

In this case, someone decided that just because movement is a form of expression, and language is also a form of expression, that terms from the latter might be used for the former.

This happened at some point since 1964, to judge from the unabridged Webster's Dictionary of that date I just pulled from my shelf, in which "vocabulary" is defined only with reference to language.

[KVG_DC]

Apparently it's a thing in the field of dance. Which would explain the use in Marching Arts with all the dance influence on body movement. 

See the second meaning,

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/vocabulary

I've seen vocabulary used in technical ways in my field but usually in reference to symbolic interactionism theory frameworks. 

Edited July 8, 2017 by KVG_DC