How Does the Activity Expect to Survive.

[TOC]

1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

Yowza you went there

Had to beat you from posting the same thoughts.

[ironlips]

2 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

I happily stand corrected and grateful,  @ironlips.  What did you like about the show?

FWIW, I'm starting live dance classes in my small mountain town in the coming months. The pandemic took out me, my partner, and many of our peers in the field... now working in other industries.

An alum recently told me that they would attend dance concerts with Myron for years before his passing. It's like there are aspects of dance and drum corps share, and they are glorious to witness in person.

This was the program:

https://www.sfballet.org/productions/festival-b/

I began attending the SFB many years ago (when Myron was a Vanguard French Horn Player and I was on the BD staff). Two of the guard instructors had season tix to the ballet, 'way up in the cheap seats, and I would sometimes accompany them. They knew that color guard was moving to incorporating dance elements to enhance variety and wanted to experience "the pros" in action.

Very quickly I realized what I liked (aside from their company): The superbly played live orchestral music, and the real-time, creative movement of the dancers. Those elements continue to draw me in, though these days we've up-graded our seats to the Dress Circle. That's just a better GE box.

 

[jjeffeory]

1 hour ago, Tenoris4Jazz said:

If this is the case, they'll have to call it something else.  Drum corps will be dead the moment it leaves the football field.  I know I sound overly dramatic, but football is played on a football field, even if it's 60 yards long and indoors.  Basketball is played on a court, even if it's a run at Rucker Park.  Soccer is played... well, anywhere there's a ball and something serving as a goal.  Drum corps is performed (I hesitate to say "marched" these days) on a parade field or football field, be it NFL, NCAA or high school.

There are indoor arena league football teams, so there can be indoor arena league corps, just with 40 brass instead of 85. If something like indoor happened, I'd actually like to see less percussion and guard, and have more brass. There are already guard units, and percussion ensembles, so why not let brass have their own ensemble too?

[Jeff Ream]

9 hours ago, jjeffeory said:

There are indoor arena league football teams, so there can be indoor arena league corps, just with 40 brass instead of 85. If something like indoor happened, I'd actually like to see less percussion and guard, and have more brass. There are already guard units, and percussion ensembles, so why not let brass have their own ensemble too?

True. But football on a regulation size field draws a lot more people than an arena.

 

drum corps in an arena draws fewer people too

[RiverCityAndTroopersFan]

On 1/22/2023 at 7:26 AM, Slingerland said:

Flutes on the field in Open Class won't really drive anyone away, the same way that violins, guitars, and cellos in World Class didn't. Not to put too fine a point on it, but most people who call themselves drum corps fans don't show up to Open Class shows anyway, so....

If you want to find ways to make it affordable again, you're going to have to focus on growing the number of participating organizations so that more corps can compete regionally, rather than nationally, and short of coming up with $300 million in seed money to help create 100 new open class/local corps, you're going to have to focus on ways to utilize assets that already exist. 

On the point about band directors not wanting to do summer shows, as noted, that was once the norm, and, comes down to it, summer competitive marching band makes a lot more sense than fall competitive marching band. Give them an option that de-stresses the BOA calendar in favor of something more casual and lower cost, and you might find that some of the thousands of high schools who don't WANT the fall competitive band experience could do it as a summer school project (we're aware that the vast majority of high schools aren't into the fall competitive band thing, right?)

Also, troopers are gonna do harmonica, and river city did an EWI 

[RiverCityAndTroopersFan]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:25 AM, Slingerland said:

 

...make Open Class all instrument and encourage high school band programs to put together summer competitive programs that can be on the same ticket as DCI drum corps. 

Yup. Most local shows are just open class, would show woodwind players that there is a place for them. 

[JimF-LowBari]

10 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

True. But football on a regulation size field draws a lot more people than an arena.

 

drum corps in an arena draws fewer people too

And…. Acoustics, acoustics, acoustics…

We played at opening of local special olympics. Was in a 1930s hockey arena which has concrete roof, sides and floor. We stood on walkway halfway up as athletes came in and filled in chairs on the floor. Amount of echo at the start was horrific and as more athletes came in to soak up the sound it got better. Better as in royally sucked less.

Anyone who watched or performed at Hershey PA stadium has seen the place as it’s across the parking lot from the ticket office

[IllianaLancerContra]

11 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

True. But football on a regulation size field draws a lot more people than an arena.

 

drum corps in an arena draws fewer people too

Football played on a basketball court could be interesting.   There is a version of soccer (speedball) played on basketball court.  

[greg_orangecounty]

4 hours ago, RiverCityAndTroopersFan said:

Yup. Most local shows are just open class, would show woodwind players that there is a place for them. 

There's already a place for woodwinds; either sitting in the stands, or in the context of a pit.

That's quite enough. 

[RiverCityAndTroopersFan]

8 minutes ago, greg_orangecounty said:

There's already a place for woodwinds; either sitting in the stands, or in the context of a pit.

That's quite enough. 

For drum corps to survive, it must adapt and allow woodwinds. Your comment is kinda harsh