Santa Clara Vanguard 2022

[oldsnare]

Does anyone know where SCV will be practicing Aug. 6th - Allentown Show?

[TRacer]

On 7/22/2022 at 5:34 AM, scheherazadesghost said:

I marched during a similar cusp of change... in one show in particular that I still see as an outlier for SC in almost every way. I feel this more than you know.

My personal preferences? Christmas unis complete with aussie, limited amps, Myron Rosander drill, big friggin flags for a ballad, and very tightly controlled theme and variation in scoring. But we can't always get what we want and Vanguard alum are all too guilty of gatekeeping.

I've heard similar rumblings from other alum about this year or that year "not being Vanguard enough" since I joined the corps. I heard that on Myron's lips on more than one occasion and it really messed with me. We have to be careful when we get this close to gatekeeping the SC identity for younger generations. These kids resurrected the full corps after a pandemic; we could just cut them some slack and give them a season to grow into their big dog paws.

That said, I know a particular alum I hold in very high regard that similarly feels like they're getting a watered down version of Vanguard in 22. I'm not in a place to agree or disagree yet, but I can say a few things about it:

• Even if they're getting a watered down version, they're still oozing everything intangible I've come to love about SC. That speaks to THEIR talent and capacity to transform info from non-alum staff into something that's very Vanguard. I dunno, I think that's part of the magic even if it's different than how I learned it.
• Again, I'm thinking lemons to lemonade here. With all the change, all the newness, they're still transforming a show that audiences are pretty cold to into something meaningful for themselves and diehards like me. That takes exactly the kind of grit I experienced as a marching member. Nobody loved 03 when we marched it, but many have come to appreciate it over time. It's okay to march those shows. We can't all be champions.
• Regarding the uniforms... I've also marched a white year in which the uniforms weren't well received. But we weren't well received because we weren't clean enough for white. That's not he case in 22. The uniforms highlight their mastery of bent leg and they're much cleaner than I felt we were in 05. I have other aesthetic feedback about the uniforms, but I don't think they're holding the corps back enough to state them until after the season's over. They have to sleep in the bed they made now.

I heard another alumni tell me at show earlier that season that "I remember when the hornline marched instead of dancing" RIGHT IN FRONT of the hornline. C'mon alum, we can do better than that. Support the show the kiddos are doing, not the ones we wish we were marching or the ones we THINK they should be marching. We owe them that....

The alum who commented about marching instead of dancing would have been appalled at the camp we had in February 1984 where professional choreographers were brought in from San Francisco to teach the “new” coed hornline (from its formation in 1967 to 1983 the horn line had been traditionally all male) dance elements and whip us into shape. The entire brass rehearsal room was cleared out like a dance studio, and we worked our butts off. To make a long story very short, visual designer Dave Owens’ original vision for drum solo (La Boheme Musica) involved a huge joint guard/hornline dance routine that (then) would have predated Star 93’s body movement by 9 years and set the DC world on its ear. While some like myself were “getting it”, not all of the brass folks were up to the physical challenge of what was being asked of us at a time in the activity when brass players were not tasked with knowing dance fundamentals. Looking back I wish we had stuck with Dave’s original concept perhaps with a scaled down dancing brass ensemble, and not the very watered down version we put on the field at Finals.

That said, my son spent 2016-2018 in the Santa Clara org on trumpet then went to Blue Stars in 2019. What drove him away was (in his eyes) the over emphasis on dancing brass when he just wanted to march great drill “…like you did, Dad.” Blue Stars gave him that in spades, although he lost his last two competitive seasons to Covid. 

Finally, I sponsored a couple of the ‘03 members and later marched with a few when we did the ‘04 Rose Parade; holy mackerel those folks could play loud! 

Edited July 25, 2022 by TRacer
Typoz

[scheherazadesghost]

5 hours ago, TRacer said:

The alum who commented about marching instead of dancing would have been appalled at the camp we had in February 1984 where professional choreographers were brought in from San Francisco to teach the “new” coed hornline (from its formation in 1967 to 1983 the horn line had been traditionally all male) dance elements and whip us into shape. The entire brass rehearsal room was cleared out like a dance studio, and we worked our butts off. To make a long story very short, visual designer Dave Owens’ original vision for drum solo (La Boheme Musica) involved a huge joint guard/hornline dance routine that (then) would have predated Star 93’s body movement by 9 years and set the DC world on its ear. While some like myself were “getting it”, not all of the brass folks were up to the physical challenge of what was being asked of us at a time in the activity when brass players were not tasked with knowing dance fundamentals. Looking back I wish we had stuck with Dave’s original concept perhaps with a scaled down dancing brass ensemble, and not the very watered down version we put on the field at Finals.

That said, my son spent 2016-2018 in the Santa Clara org on trumpet then went to Blue Stars in 2019. What drove him away was (in his eyes) the over emphasis on dancing brass when he just wanted to march great drill “…like you did, Dad.” Blue Stars gave him that in spades, although he lost his last two competitive seasons to Covid. 

Finally, I sponsored a couple of the ‘03 members and later marched with a few when we did the ‘04 Rose Parade; holy mackerel those folks could play loud! 

Thank you for the lore! I would be so curious to know what the non-watered down version looked like. And guess what, totally not surprised that Vanguard was at the forefront of integrating choreo into the hornline. TYVM! 💚❤️

I'm so sorry your son lost his two last seasons. If it's any consolation, I lost my last two seasons, but to differently-sad circumstances. I can totally understand his desire to march great drill and glad he got that at Stars. With SCV, I can say I still see so much great marching technique that solidifies 22's place in our legacy, but the drill demands are certainly different than what I remember.

We marched together in the Rose Parade, friend. I was the doofus rifle that couldn't stop smiling. Sorry about that. It meant the world to be marching with alla y'all and I couldn't hide my joy. I also marched 03 and 04 so thank you for sponsoring some of my fellow marchers. As for loud, yes, I got some good loud years out of SCV and couldn't be more thrilled.

[TRacer]

I just wanted to add that ‘84 was Year 2 or 3 of the subjective/“build-up” judging system vs. the prior tic/“tear down” system where every mistake or equipment drop cost 0.1, so Owens (like others of his day) were pushing boundaries. The corps did very well in the Visual captions under his leadership. 
 

i watched you from the stands in Denver; a lot of fans were willing SCV to win and I lost my voice that night. 🥳

Edited July 25, 2022 by TRacer

[scheherazadesghost]

4 minutes ago, TRacer said:

I just wanted to add that ‘84 was Year 2 or 3 of the subjective/“build-up” judging system vs. the prior tic/“tear down” system where every mistake or equipment drop cost 0.1, so Owens (like others of his day) were pushing boundaries. The corps did very well in the Visual captions under his leadership.

More lore?! Thank you, kind alum.   This is making my day!

4 minutes ago, TRacer said:

i watched you from the stands in Denver; a lot of fans were willing SCV to win and I lost my voice that night. 🥳

THAT SHOW WAS THROUGH THE ROOF! So much Vanguard love! We wanted to win for you!! 💚💖

[crownisking]

I love when I fist see a show on Flo and I’m like “meh”…then I see the show in person and it totally wins me over! This is the case with SCV ‘22! It reads so much better in person and I really really love this show now! I woke up with the closer stuck in my head! Does anyone know what the source music is? I couldn’t find a full rep listed anywhere. 

[scheherazadesghost]

1 hour ago, crownisking said:

I love when I fist see a show on Flo and I’m like “meh”…then I see the show in person and it totally wins me over! This is the case with SCV ‘22! It reads so much better in person and I really really love this show now! I woke up with the closer stuck in my head! Does anyone know what the source music is? I couldn’t find a full rep listed anywhere. 

Yes. Come to the light! 😁

I think I saw Flo listing it somewhere. I'll see what I can find.

I've had this show in my head for days.  💚💕

[jwillis35]

Santa Clara is getting HOT! I was super impressed with their showing at San Antonio. As I said on the SA thread, SCV has an A+ music ensemble. They just need to tighten up the other aspects of the show and keep working with the visual program. The music is awesome and the emotion is starting to connect with the audience. They are not out of this by any stretch. 

[scheherazadesghost]

9 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

Santa Clara is getting HOT! I was super impressed with their showing at San Antonio. As I said on the SA thread, SCV has an A+ music ensemble. They just need to tighten up the other aspects of the show and keep working with the visual program. The music is awesome and the emotion is starting to connect with the audience. They are not out of this by any stretch. 

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by scheherazadesghost

[scheherazadesghost]

Hey folks!

 

I have so much to say and so much love to give for SC 22 that I thought I’d share some thoughts to hopefully provoke some more in-depth discussion. Here's what these tired old eyes are seeing:

 

Symmetrical drill - I’ll never hear the judges tapes, but I’d imagine this is something that’s being acknowledged as a smart design choice. I’m seeing the repetition of groups of 4 to compliment the props (which are intended to represent the 4 noble truths.) I’m seeing the designers form the drill into mandalas. I’m seeing the 50 yard line used as the center point. Vintage, but refreshed. Well done.

 

The end of the closer leaves a single flag soloist separated from the rest of the guard by the corps. Did she find nirvana? Did she do the thing? Can’t wait for the tag ending.

 

A curiosity - I watched a video where a colorguard designer is explaining the flag designs and their progression. She speaks of the purple in the flags as representing chaos (possibly samsara?) and that the designs get progressively whiter through the show. In this scenario, does the colorguard represent chaos? If so, how is that being presented? They’re so gentle and graceful… 🙂

 

The build to the Vanguard yell in the closer features drill that is delightfully angsty, broken, and chaotic. It reminds me of the build to the company front in 2004 or the build to the Vanguard yell in 2003, but juiced up. This is our legacy, along with a logical design choice. Two birds, one stone.

 

DAT BALLAD DOE…. I didn’t need my face anyway, thankyouverymuch for melting it off! I hope they play to this strength more!

 

Uniform change - Is it cutting edge because they’ve stuck to the same palette instead of introducing a wholly new costume idea? Is it lazy? Does it advance the story in a clear stark way? I don’t care about any of these things. I read that nirvana translates in Sanskrit to snuffing out, which, to me denotes a removal or taking away. That’s what this costume change is. And wow, I love to see them sparkle in that company front!

 

Props - They are supposed to represent the Four Noble Truths:

 

The truth of suffering (dukkha)

The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)

The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)

The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)

 

I don’t think that the way SC plans to use them has been fully fleshed out yet. Are they going to suddenly do something wholly different? No. But I’m starting to realize their use as staging centers for soundmaking with bells and windchimes. Once the posing and other impromptu choreo is filled with their fullest intent, I’m sure they’ll make even more sense. That said, I know what these props could mean to the MMs; and that their meaning for them makes it so they probably aren’t concerned with whether audiences “like” them or not.

These props are also efficient for a young corps performing during the pandemic. To me, it doesn’t make sense to push the current MMs with crazy ### props and effects. Simple idea, simply executed, this way they can focus on the meat of the show…which should never be props (at least, in this old cat’s humble opinion.)

 

Think of this show as a meditation. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. SC is bringing you a whole different show than any other corps this year. Savor that. Their designers have given them a show that CAN teach them how to soften. The softer they get, the more they will take your breath away at finals. … and the more impressive it’ll be when they contrast it with their marching technique in those white unis. Excellent.

 

I have other thoughts to share in another post later. Specifically, I’d love to share with everyone what this show means to me personally… as an alum who has been seeking healing and reconciliation with this corps for years. Until then, bring it home Santa Clara! 💚💓

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by scheherazadesghost
fixed some wonky formatting