Months of practice to 6 weeks of competition?

[LabMaster]

On 11/28/2022 at 11:55 AM, siletzspey said:

I'm curious... the DCI 2023 competitions run Jun 28 - Aug 12, but between now-ish 2022 and Jun 28 2023, what's the schedule and summary of how drum corps go from tryouts to Jun 28 premiere?

I can only guess that circa Jan the performers get initial music/drill materials, then for months things mature thru a mix of short in-person camps, remote/online practice and DIY practice, and then circa May the field show can be fully matured in-person?

For just 6 weeks of competition, what does the preceding half year look like for the performers, and even the staff?

Here is a breakdown I am a little aware of:

A corps I “follow” has a live callback camp this weekend in TX.  They are also pushing out 1:30-1:50 of show music.

Live production camp next month in TX.  This will likely be for contracted students, B,P,G.  This is also the initial corps policy review for students, instructional staff, volunteers, admin.  

There will be one camp per month, live and virtual likely until ST which may be in June this year versus May in past years.

First competitive performance is in July. Then a jam packed 20 performance schedule over the following weeks up to Indy.

There is a lot of individual practicing between live rehearsals but corps generally have things in place to measure practice quality and progress of students.  And remote learning has become a skill students today have become excellent at as have instructors.  Much of what we saw last year was the result of a lot of virtual teaching and rehearsing.

[craiga]

55 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

Here is a breakdown I am a little aware of:

A corps I “follow” has a live callback camp this weekend in TX.  They are also pushing out 1:30-1:50 of show music.

Live production camp next month in TX.  This will likely be for contracted students, B,P,G.  This is also the initial corps policy review for students, instructional staff, volunteers, admin.  

There will be one camp per month, live and virtual likely until ST which may be in June this year versus May in past years.

First competitive performance is in July. Then a jam packed 20 performance schedule over the following weeks up to Indy.

There is a lot of individual practicing between live rehearsals but corps generally have things in place to measure practice quality and progress of students.  And remote learning has become a skill students today have become excellent at as have instructors.  Much of what we saw last year was the result of a lot of virtual teaching and rehearsing.

This is good info. In addition, many corps employ a software program called "SmartMusic", an interactive application where brass and percussion members can play with their sections and/or for their subcaption instructors in real time.  This has been around since several years before the pandemic, so there is alot more going on between camps above and beyond simply emailing parts.

[Lead]

On 12/10/2022 at 5:17 PM, musicteacher said:

Holland is on point. Add Covid and the new normal is vastly different for most corps that it was as recently as five years ago.

Who is actually "adding COVID" as any kind of realistic deterrent or threat at this point? As more info continues to come out the risk for college-age kids (really anyone under 65) decreases more and more.

[Jeff Ream]

17 minutes ago, Lead said:

Who is actually "adding COVID" as any kind of realistic deterrent or threat at this point? As more info continues to come out the risk for college-age kids (really anyone under 65) decreases more and more.

Well if it spreads like we saw last summer it can shut a corps down for days 

[scheherazadesghost]

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Edited June 13, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[siletzspey]

Thanks for the replies and insights. It's impressive to consider the lack of time and distance challenges the corps have pre-season, and yet the on-field results when they start performing.

--tg

[JimF-LowBari]

On 12/12/2022 at 8:33 PM, Lead said:

Who is actually "adding COVID" as any kind of realistic deterrent or threat at this point? As more info continues to come out the risk for college-age kids (really anyone under 65) decreases more and more.

And those college age kids may have family members or others they are around who could be higher risk for whatever reason. Risk not as bad as before but for some it’s still there.

[Jeff Ream]

On 12/12/2022 at 8:33 PM, Lead said:

Who is actually "adding COVID" as any kind of realistic deterrent or threat at this point? As more info continues to come out the risk for college-age kids (really anyone under 65) decreases more and more.

i'd imagine many corps are. why? look at last summer. outbreaks hit several corps that led to missed shows and several days not doing much. Troop did a show with almost 50 holes one night