Best Cadets Guard

[TrishDish1002]

I always love the Cadets guard...but esp. 1995

runners-up - 1996, 1994, 2000, 2002, the ballad in 1997 and some of the 80s shows

[BennyASU]

They DID win in 91(deserved) 93(deserved) and 96(deserved)

92 & 95 went---DESERVEDLY to Blue Devils !!!

~G~

i know G, and i know this will bring forth an onslaught of blondie jokes :P but i think that the Cadets deserved high guard from 89-97 continuously (POSSIBLE exception being 1990). Then BD in 98, 99, and 01.

[Tripdid]

I voted for 92 only because they MADE me watch them that year. I was always visually drawn to what they were doing every time i saw them that year. In no way do i think that was the best cadets guard ever technically speaking, but if they can keep the attention of this drummer for more then 3 seconds, they did something right. 93 rocked as well. I kind of base my opinions off of shows that i see live, as i believe the videos never do the guard justice. anyway, back to your regularly scheduled postings.

[BennyASU]

92 was absolutely awesome! not only do i think they deserved high guard, but i think they should have won overall as well.

[SCVBabe2004]

I would definately have to say 92 was a really good year. However i thought that 95 was good too, but that year the caveliers were insane. But altogether 02 was the best yet. They were just all there. Its one thing to be somewhat if not totally clean but its another thing to get totally into it like they did.

[chris ncsu]

I know this is an extremely old topic, but I want to chime in on it (I just came across it).

The Cadets' guard is my favorite just about year in/out.

Now, I voted for 1996 because it is EXTREMELY clean and because they fit well into the show and look like they are having a blast! Especially very close to the end, when they emerge from a prop, and for two measures they are sort of prancing and turning 360 a few times, and you can see one girl's face and she is having the time of her life. That's a great moment. It always makes me smile.

1992 is also an exceptional year. The only thing I would change would be to cut those girls' hair! When they're doing the flying sequence during the ballad and a few guys are holding a few girls and diving them around like airplanes...the girls have to swing their head up awkwardly when they reach the bottom of the dive to get the hair out of their face. Just an odd observation :) Also, before the final piece in this show gets going, the music slows down and the horns are playing back field...there is some really beautiful guard work. Perfectly together. It gives me goosebumps.

I have also fallen in love with their work in the 2001 ballad. I know there were and are a lot of cracks on The Cadets for their laying down and other staging oddities during this ballad, but it effectively isolated the guard. The green silks are incredible, and they pull the emotion out of this song, especially when the song is at its climax and there is that toss that '88keys' mentions. I love it.

My favorite silks of any corps of any year are contained in Cadets 98 Stonehenge production. Most of the time, each member of the guard is using a slightly different shade of the color currently being used. I remember specifically differing shades of purple at one point, and red I think at another. And the bright pastelle colors when the guard is lined up backfield and along one goal, using different shades of different colors to mimik the horn runs the brass is doing. Each color is a surprise, then they bring out another fantastic silk after that with the big horn hit. Some great weapons work, too.

1997 is also very fun to watch, but I'm not crazy about the uniforms and I don't...understand parts of their work. But I still like it.

1995 and 2002 sell the show, and I love the 1940s dresses. The rifle feature at the end of 1995 turns the emotion up for the final push of the show -- the ending to that show, at least on finals night, is one of the best endings of any show, IMO.

I'm not crazy about 1994 in general, probably because I don't like the show overall. But I do marvel at the horn book arrangement, on a side note.

1993...as others have said, this show would not have been the same without the guard. Their work at the end of the first piece...in a block...launching flags at each other, and when they kick the flagpole down at the end of that first number...wow. Some very musical and appropriate weapons work, too. Shame it was so wet on finals night.

Otherwise, 2000 is a blah show for me in terms of guard work, and I haven't seen 1990 in a long time so I won't comment. As far as the 80s go, the color guard world was quite a bit different then. I hate the hairstyles in 1986 (with the oddly perky, erect bangs!), but that's just a tangent. They worked their butts off in 1989, but overall I don't remember much about the guard work from 87, 85, 84... It's not fair to compare that era with 1990s+.

Incidentally, I think Cadets should have won guard in 92 and 01. :)

[Malibu]

Chris, I can't remember exactly which year, but I think '86 was the year Cadet's guard wore the same uniform as the corps. There were only 12 members on the field. The idea was to make the "whole corps" look larger....but IMO it hurt them visually. I truly think that was the worst year for them as far as guard.

I will say, it was Garfield Cadets color guard who started turning heads in 1982 with the new style skirts.......prairie, which looked like lamp shades....but I still liked the look. Peggy Twiggs & George Zingali should be given the credit for the guard that year pushing the envelope as far as excellence in execution. That is no surprise as Peggy & George were also responsible for the great guards 27th Lancers had. Out of these two great instructors arose the famed April Giligan as well as others who were spawned from Cadets.

[profhill]

1991

I think 1991 is one of the best color guards of all time. They were doing things that had never been done before. Letter from Home set new standards for what was acceptable in a drum corps show, from a stand point of role playing and expression.

You know I thought on Finals night in '92 that the Cadets should have won guard. I was wrong.

I also thought on Finals night in '90 that the Cadets should have won guard.

I wasn't wrong. They were great.

[Cop]

They DID win in 91(deserved) 93(deserved) and 96(deserved)

92 & 95 went---DESERVEDLY to Blue Devils !!!

~G~

i know G, and i know this will bring forth an onslaught of blondie jokes :P but i think that the Cadets deserved high guard from 89-97 continuously (POSSIBLE exception being 1990). Then BD in 98, 99, and 01.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Edited September 16, 2004 by Cop

[Musical_Spinner]

Hello?

2002 anyone? That rifle work was amazing, until the one guy drops, but that doesn't make the work less amazing. And their movement and dancing was great. Absolute favorite guard year of the cadets. It had so much energy....gotta love that.