DFA1970 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) 52 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said: Well put. I strongly believe they have something/s they're not revealing yet. Or perhaps it's a slow burn in which they sprinkle in a little more oomph each show. This is the way, as I remember it. My fingers and toes are crossed for some well placed high mark time. I'm easy to please. This is fair. I tend to dismiss my own need for continuity in this show as the "finding" part, or the arduousness of the search. Sadly, that might be a bit generous to the designers at this point. But again, I've performed SC shows that were like this and were scoring around the same place. I guess I'm willing to accept it at face value because I know what it's like to march an approximately 5th place show like a boss. I simply don't see ambiguity as SC's enemy here. If any audience member is fooling themselves into thinking that the path to finding nirvana is straightforward, they're expecting the wrong show. Go watch 03 instead where we show you the way. That's not what 22 is about. But I'm incredibly biased and I acknowledge that. I'm of two minds here. First, as a choreographer myself, I LOVE seeing them work with an extended movement vocabulary. However, I don't see them all moving with the ease I was hoping for just yet, but the season ain't over and the corps is still young. A few of those sections do an AMAZING job with the complex choreography they're given. I just wanna run onto the field and hug them! Ultimately, while the choreography and its execution is growing on me, I just wish for two things: ...that he choreographers had done a bit more work researching the movement practices of Buddhist and/or the Indian diaspora. I see SOME of this, but all or most of the movement practices in these traditions are very, very, very grounded and involve bent limbs and subtlety... not the westernized, conventional movement with a few "Asian flares" that I'm seeing. Also, in a show about finding nirvana, I still want to see more corps members manage and perform their breath more. I saw a splendid hornline performer do this in Ft Collins and it really made my heart sing. I'm almost positive you can't find nirvana without mastering your breath. Ergo, you can't embody or perform finding nirvana with out exaggerating this crucial component. ...and that the corps had more movement training, not less. But let me explain... again, I don't think they're grounded yet. I see telegraphing a bit still. I see guard and other marching members overshoot drill and wobble a bit. I see poses on one leg in which members wobble. They're wobbling like the set pieces! 😭While I know from experience that grounding one's self on tour is tough, I think this is a missed opportunity aesthetically and a mistake not to focus on. Also, if I see one more member do a handstand with their fingers I might scream. Putting your palm on the floor during an inversion is modern dance 101 and I see guard and hornline members not doing this. It's an easy way to snap a finger if the wind takes you. It's also not grounded. I feel very lucky I got to see them this year. The screen does not do this corps justice in the way it does for so many other of the flashier shows this year. The power of subtlety is just lost. Perhaps they're going with a star on finals only. And even then, maybe just ageouts? I'm not sure how that or the green feather have been handled over the last couple decades, but neither would be out of precedence necessarily. I never got to wear a star or feather in performance as a guard member, for example. I have a soft spot in my heart for 22. Could talk about this show (and defend it) forever. Just a biased alum here, don't mind me! 💃🏽 I know this may sound weird but when I first saw the movie Nomadland I was scratching my head as to why some think this is great? BUT, after a few more viewings of that movie, I now appreciate it for the beauty of it. I'm getting that now with SCV 2022. Edited July 22, 2022 by DFA1970 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scheherazadesghost Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) . Edited June 11, 2023 by scheherazadesghost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said: Yes. Join me. The water's fine! ❤️💚 Did you notice the wind chimes on the props last night? If nothing else, I hope 22 can be appreciated for going a TOTALLY different direction than other corps this season. I expect no less of my house. As long as JONZ brings it, the hornline melts my face, and the guard exudes class. I'm happy. That's all happening in spades. Beautiful as it is, I cringe at the shifting guard holes, folks sitting out behind props, and the knee braces I'm seeing. I'm not sure many can understand how much it hurts this old alum vicariously to see that, having been taken out by injuries mid-season myself. Marching with holes feels like a phantom limb. The hole I left in 05 is still there on the recording. It just sucks and I wish there was something I could do to help. Different direction for some SCV alumni is not a happy place. I have a friend who marched in Vanguard in the 90's now lives in AZ. Believe me he's not a happy person in re to.... He thinks the current SCV is losing their identity. He saw them in Tempe a few weeks ago and ah...not happy. I think his main thing is why these unis. In his words...At least BD still look like BD but in a modern approach so why can't Santa Clara do the same. Edited July 22, 2022 by DFA1970 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scheherazadesghost Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) . Edited June 11, 2023 by scheherazadesghost 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamborista Viejo Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 12 minutes ago, DFA1970 said: Different direction for some SCV alumni is not a happy place. I have a friend who marched in Vanguard in the 90's now lives in AZ. Believe me he's not a happy person in re to.... He thinks the current SCV is losing their identity. He saw them in Tempe a few weeks ago and ah...not happy. I think his main thing is why these unis. In his words...At least BD still look like BD but in a modern approach so why can't Santa Clara do the same. I'm of the same thought. The intensity and execution is SCV. But, if I didn't know it was SCV, at first glance of the unis, I would have named another corps. I'm hoping some uniform enhancement to add color (a purple or red/green sash?). SCV was my first corps from the 70s and my love continues. Many of my high school alumni marched and were on staff. Watching them in Fort Collins was SO MUCH better than on screen. I'm looking for the little additions every time they perform but hope at finals (I'll be there) some magic blows us away. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirsbrunner Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Tamborista Viejo said: I'm of the same thought. The intensity and execution is SCV. But, if I didn't know it was SCV, at first glance of the unis, I would have named another corps. I'm hoping some uniform enhancement to add color (a purple or red/green sash?). SCV was my first corps from the 70s and my love continues. Many of my high school alumni marched and were on staff. Watching them in Fort Collins was SO MUCH better than on screen. I'm looking for the little additions every time they perform but hope at finals (I'll be there) some magic blows us away. Having watched SCV shows the last 10 years, I feel like the corps is easily identifiable by what they’re doing on the field. Broken Arrow was the first show I watched (and via Flo) this year. One of biggest things I noticed was that each corps has a really established design identity and tradition and I can identify who’s who in the first 15 seconds usually musically and visually, regardless of uniform. Edited July 22, 2022 by Hirsbrunner 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scheherazadesghost Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) . Edited June 11, 2023 by scheherazadesghost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamborista Viejo Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 49 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said: The unis are always a sore spot for us. Most alum will ever be pleased. I honestly think the sharpest ones were from my era (of course!) because you knew who you were dealing with AND they were cut in a very flattering way for all body types. The down-tilted aussies still set my heart ablaze because they lend a special mystique by minimizing individual identity and concretizing a group look. The newer style of uniforms simply don't do this. What they do, though, is: not overheat the players (and honestly, sweaty polyeseter/wool uniforms + bus always sucked!) provide more range of motion (as a guard member, I could never have worn the old school uniforms as much I loved them... too restrictive!) let me see their beautiful faces!! (heaven forbid, SC SMILING!? Don't get me wrong, I love the teeth-bearing sneers of excited performers too... but I love seeing them enjoy themselves on the field too... no aussie, more face!) If you or anyone else can find a way to do all of the above AND maintain Vanguard's uniform legacy, you'd be rare! On a different note, I thoroughly enjoyed the Ft Collins show. Did you hear me scream out "Bring it home Santa Clara!"? 💚💖 Gotta let 'em know when they got blood in the house! Yea, I may have heard you!! I’m the guy on 2nd tier in the red SCV T-shirt. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scheherazadesghost Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) . Edited June 11, 2023 by scheherazadesghost 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarimbaManiac Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, gak27 said: There are times where (to me) this show feels like an assemblage of exercises/moments designed for scoring, and the "magic" of how they're all tied together just doesn't seem to be there. Yes, that part. The show has no glue holding it together that's compelling enough to propel them into the next tier. This is a classic issue for the corps across design teams, and is partially responsible for their huge gaps in medals in the 2000's. 2018 had such a clear and compelling concept that tied together these effect moments, and that is what this show desperately needs. Unfortunately that's not something that can just be sprinkled in by adding a toast, cymbal V, high-mark time, or other gimmick. It's a fundamental flaw in their design that is far too late to address. Sometimes the corps is so focused on trying to push the envelope, that they are quick to shy away from fundamental storytelling, and the well known elements that made the organization special in the first place. BD wins because they have a set formula that they revisit over and over with different source material, allowing them to communicate their message clearly. I feel like with SCV, once they find something that works they say "we don't want to repeat ourselves" and throw everything out and start over again. Edited July 22, 2022 by MarimbaManiac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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