Santa Clara Vanguard 2022

[KVG_DC]

Ok.  I'm gonna buck that and say the reverse should happen.  

There should be color committed to that starts at the beginning of the show and is faded to white as the show progresses.  

Also, purple was the wrong choice, they should have gone with saffron.  

Initially I wanted a massive visual color bomb at the end becasue, who doesn't like color and, It's India...where's the color? (Watch any Bollywood movie if you don't know what I mean.) 

Here's the reasoning behind this opinion (and that's all it is): 

While, in someways 'thats so california' to see people doing zen movements etc on the field. In some ways. It is not.  I'm a professor of religion and am attuned to how Western eyes have distorted the distinctions between Hinduism and Buddhism and how they've been morphed into something different as they globalized. 

SCV's commitment to white shows me a real involvement in the Buddhist aesthetic not the Hindu aesthetic of India.  And a Zen aesthetic that leans more Theravada than Mahayana.  That boils down to "all is illusion"  And the only way to release oneself from suffering (dukkha) and release from the cycle of rebirth (samsara) and thus more suffering is to realize the four noble truths that suffering is caused by desires and attachments to the illusory nature of ... everything.  This is where white becomes the predominant visual.  But even white illusory. 

The only color you really see scattered in all that much is saffron.  Which is why I now wish they'd have gone with saffron instead of purple for the guard colorway and then lost it during the show somewhere.   That the guard gets 'lost' when not actually flashing equipment and silks is...actually part of the commitment ot the design theme (I think.)  

As I looked at this ending my first thought was a mandala because of the motion and build.  But what I really think they're doing here is the wheel of samsara...the eightfold spoked wheel that is the symbol for Buddhism in many places.  

Going with color in it would break the commitment to the theme for me.  It goes back to the illusory (maya) that entraps us in samsara.  

SO...if they're gonna go all in...here's what I'd love to see them do come finals. 

Clean the hell out of that wheel at the end and do things with all white and movement that people didn't realize could be done.  

Then....

Pull a classic SCV magic trick and disappear the corps somehow.  They could pull a white tarp up from the center and cover the corps with it.  And if they can leave the field under it without appearing to have 'emerged' as individuals but "float off" as one....that would be bonkers.  Just bonkers.

I'm aware that leaving the field that way is problematic because there's gonna need to be some held back to get those props and equipment off the field.  But if they design it right so those poeple are hidden with the props or up at the pit and not in the wheel...it could work.

[RickCogley]

Loved the new ending, and how the visual is just starting to "click". 

Looks like there was a collision at the start of the "nirvana roll" section. A snare went down and somehow recovered after colliding with a guard and horn member it appears? Hope nobody lost any teeth. 

[scheherazadesghost]

Second time in a row this show has brought me to tears.

Couldn't be prouder!

Wish there were more alum around these parts! 💚❤️

[Cappybara]

13 hours ago, KVG_DC said:

Ok.  I'm gonna buck that and say the reverse should happen.  

There should be color committed to that starts at the beginning of the show and is faded to white as the show progresses.  

Also, purple was the wrong choice, they should have gone with saffron.  

Initially I wanted a massive visual color bomb at the end becasue, who doesn't like color and, It's India...where's the color? (Watch any Bollywood movie if you don't know what I mean.) 

Here's the reasoning behind this opinion (and that's all it is): 

While, in someways 'thats so california' to see people doing zen movements etc on the field. In some ways. It is not.  I'm a professor of religion and am attuned to how Western eyes have distorted the distinctions between Hinduism and Buddhism and how they've been morphed into something different as they globalized. 

SCV's commitment to white shows me a real involvement in the Buddhist aesthetic not the Hindu aesthetic of India.  And a Zen aesthetic that leans more Theravada than Mahayana.  That boils down to "all is illusion"  And the only way to release oneself from suffering (dukkha) and release from the cycle of rebirth (samsara) and thus more suffering is to realize the four noble truths that suffering is caused by desires and attachments to the illusory nature of ... everything.  This is where white becomes the predominant visual.  But even white illusory. 

The only color you really see scattered in all that much is saffron.  Which is why I now wish they'd have gone with saffron instead of purple for the guard colorway and then lost it during the show somewhere.   That the guard gets 'lost' when not actually flashing equipment and silks is...actually part of the commitment ot the design theme (I think.)  

As I looked at this ending my first thought was a mandala because of the motion and build.  But what I really think they're doing here is the wheel of samsara...the eightfold spoked wheel that is the symbol for Buddhism in many places.  

Going with color in it would break the commitment to the theme for me.  It goes back to the illusory (maya) that entraps us in samsara.  

SO...if they're gonna go all in...here's what I'd love to see them do come finals. 

Clean the hell out of that wheel at the end and do things with all white and movement that people didn't realize could be done.  

Then....

Pull a classic SCV magic trick and disappear the corps somehow.  They could pull a white tarp up from the center and cover the corps with it.  And if they can leave the field under it without appearing to have 'emerged' as individuals but "float off" as one....that would be bonkers.  Just bonkers.

I'm aware that leaving the field that way is problematic because there's gonna need to be some held back to get those props and equipment off the field.  But if they design it right so those poeple are hidden with the props or up at the pit and not in the wheel...it could work.

Just wanted to thank you for being culturally attuned and aware. It’s a trait sorely lacking on DCP by the usual suspects 

[scheherazadesghost]

nm

Edited August 1, 2022 by scheherazadesghost

[DCI-86]

The issue with the guard getting 'lost' is less to do with the color choice and more to do with their staging - they are SOOOO spread out around the corps most of the show.  Right towards the end when they come together in a block you can see how effective they are.

Unfortunately I feel this staging choice has really limited the guard's ability to be featured and be a dominant section - like they have been in the past, and like the drum line is now.  The secret to a winning show is to figure out how to feature all sections (this is what BD does so well - like them or not!). I suspect at SCV, the drum line staff get to call the shots a lot more than the guard staff does!

[scheherazadesghost]

2 minutes ago, DCI-86 said:

The issue with the guard getting 'lost' is less to do with the color choice and more to do with their staging - they are SOOOO spread out around the corps most of the show.  Right towards the end when they come together in a block you can see how effective they are.

Unfortunately I feel this staging choice has really limited the guard's ability to be featured and be a dominant section - like they have been in the past, and like the drum line is now.  The secret to a winning show is to figure out how to feature all sections (this is what BD does so well - like them or not!). I suspect at SCV, the drum line staff get to call the shots a lot more than the guard staff does!

You're the second to bring this up, thank you. I haven't sat down to analyze the drill in this way because I just love to see the ding-dang performers' faces on the field with multicam.

I suspect you and others are spot on.

[KVG_DC]

40 minutes ago, DCI-86 said:

The issue with the guard getting 'lost' is less to do with the color choice and more to do with their staging - they are SOOOO spread out around the corps most of the show.  Right towards the end when they come together in a block you can see how effective they are.

Unfortunately I feel this staging choice has really limited the guard's ability to be featured and be a dominant section - like they have been in the past, and like the drum line is now.  The secret to a winning show is to figure out how to feature all sections (this is what BD does so well - like them or not!). I suspect at SCV, the drum line staff get to call the shots a lot more than the guard staff does!

I'm in agreement after last night.  I watched on high cam and they're SUPER spread out.  It is sort of a neat thing at times though that you're just suddenly seeing silks pop out and spin, rifles rotating and sabers flashing though.  Some more compactness here and there would let that happen more perhaps.  I dunno.

[scheherazadesghost]

When I watch this show on high cam, I have no trouble distinguishing the guard. Maybe that's the lasik talking, maybe I'm just so biased that I'm looking with my wizard eyes, not sure. 🪄

Where the staging is a real issue in my mind is this not in judges'/audiences' ability to see the guard through the drill, but the guard's ability to clean when so spread out. But they're spread out to serve the theme so they have to figure it out. Here's where I see your point... perhaps the guard staff didn't have a big enough voice in the drawing room if they tried to point this out. I'm not sure I would've. Instead, as an instructor, I would've assumed it was to serve the theme and figured out how to teach this young guard how to stay together despite challenges...

The big challenge for this guard will be dressing, which I learned from a ring-bearing Cavie and Every Body cast member. I don't know if this is taught anymore, but when you're this spread out, you have to watch the forward most performer and match your timing to them, even if it feels off to you. Now, when you're in a straight dang line, as the guard is fairly often for impacts your SOL. (I'll just say, to be clear, that the 04 sabreline could not have handled this kind of demand.) Easy fix? Have the guard face a 45 degree angle so they can see each other.

With this choreo, the "front person" changes, obviously, so you have to constantly be redirecting your focus and re-dressing to the new front. They should no longer be focusing on projecting their performances, but dressing their checkpoints to each other. This guard's mastery will come with focusing on being together more than projecting. The former serves the theme better.

All this said, it's really hard to clean a guard with holes. They've had a hole for every show this season, the poor dears.

Another thing that's hard to clean is all the one-handed releases on flag. Give these young MMs a few more pop tosses especially on impacts and you'll see their achievement go up big time.

Or, as is more appropriate bc changes this late SUCK, the guard staff should keep doing what they're doing because they're getting progressively cleaner every show. 🙂

[FTNK]

Giving George Hopkins VIP passes - I hope this corps folds.