Santa Clara Vanguard 2022

[scheherazadesghost]

18 minutes ago, FTNK said:

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

I've not yet been given evidence that this was the case. Appreciating your fire about GH though.

[FTNK]

4 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

I've not yet been given evidence that this was the case. Appreciating your fire about GH though.

I marched with one of the plaintiffs and another victim was my assistant director

[scheherazadesghost]

26 minutes ago, FTNK said:

I marched with one of the plaintiffs and another victim was my assistant director

This and other abusers' reach are so far and wide. I'm so sorry to hear it but I'm glad they have fierce defenders like you.

Trust me, if I catch wind of a connection here (based in evidence,) I'll be the first to leverage my high level contacts at SC (which I have not tapped except for in my own case). And I will put them on blast. If there's not a there there, they would be much better off releasing a public statement that tells us this isn't what happened AND that bars GH, his enablers and other known abusers from their proximity.

But I won't do that unless I have proof. I'm not out to ruin careers and destroy corps, least of all my own.

I still have faith that this activity can be safeguarded.

Edited August 3, 2022 by scheherazadesghost
typo

[scheherazadesghost]

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, 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.  

In this way, I feel like SC's use of white makes the most sense of all the corps, thematically speaking.

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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

Gosh how lovely that would've been. I'd also have loved for them to lean into the colorguard-as-chaos idea. Seems like some of that softened... or do designers just mean that in the drill and color that's what they represent? Still a little unclear on that.

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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.) 

I thought that perhaps the colorful powders (herbs?) they use in some festivals would be so lovely for finals all over those white colors. Probably against regulation though.

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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.

Thanks so much for lending your expertise. This is the remedy for the cultural appropriation that flies in this activity sometimes. Talk to the experts and pull your ideas from their knowledge, via paid consultancy of course!

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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. 

Makes perfect sense. Thank you.

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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.)  

I feel similarly. Do we really think these folks would just haphazardly disappear the guard? After seeing the new ending, I have much more trust in this design crew than I did earlier in the season.

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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.  

i just looked into this and the imagery alone is fascinating. Thank you!

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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.  

YES! YES! Can't wait to see the wheel on finals! ❤️

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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 not ready for this if it's what in store. I'll be screaming so loud from the high desert that y'all will hear me in Indy.

Even if this isn't what happens, I've been continually reduced to a sobbing mess by the ballad and new ending, so I certainly don't NEED more Vanguard magic. 😉

On 7/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, KVG_DC said:

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.

Not every member is in the wheel. It looks like at least 4-5 of them end by the podium...

But also, I'm sure there are ways. This isn't the corps to let silly logistics hold them back.

Thank you so much for this KVG. I with all the tumult happening now with GH, it's refreshing to dive back into this show and feel joy again.

I have an analysis brewing about the ballad and Smells Like Teen Spirit as it strikes me. Both have a deeper connection to the corps' legacy than I think even the designers or MMs know. ❤️💚

[KVG_DC]

Thanks. I know enough to see things and suggest avenues. But would defer and refer to an actual Buddhist for any design consult. 

[Reed]

Source music for part 2: 

 

[RickCogley]

speaking of saffron, I really loved the colorguard costumes in 2009 for the "ballet for martha" show. Just a gorgeous design and color. 

 

[KVG_DC]

That's some great big band!

[scheherazadesghost]

4 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

But I won't do that unless I have proof. I'm not out to ruin careers and destroy corps, least of all my own.

Sorry to self quote, but needed followup in the form of an update from Vanguard:

https://postimg.cc/yktcgNbG

Edited August 4, 2022 by scheherazadesghost
typo

[RickCogley]

Lots of various improvements at Allentown, I thought. Among many things to love, I especially loved the guard work at the end, and it looked like the brass really worked on those horn snaps. I suppose it could be purposeful, given the idea of "chaos to clarity",  but there seem to be a number of marching mistakes in big moments however, with a member or two out of some major form. If they are just mental errors, I'm hoping for good concentration and focus for the next few shows, to bring that drill perfection!