byline Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 wow, we really seem to be on the same page!!! Yes, we do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS787980 Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I am in a great place right now, I work 5 hours a day, and get paid for 8. So now I have plenty of time to do my favorite thing, and that is to watch DVD's. I decided that I would go through the years, one by one in order and just watch my legacy DVD's that I love so much. I started with 1974(I absolutely dug the Kingsman) and work my way to 1991(I still have some collecting to do). One of the things that I noticed was some year in the eighties guards stop marching like the corps, and began jazz running(or some derivative of it) from set to set. The only guard that I noticed that continued marching was the Cavaliers colorguard, and it made the corps look more uniform. I marched last year , and we jazz ran from set to set, while the corps just marched. I found that VERY weird. How do guards get away with having a completely different marching style than the corps? Does anyone but me think that it looks kind of strange? Does it seem like the corps and guard are two different entitiies marching on the same field to you? Do you think it is because the tempo's have increased over the years? What are your opinions <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Three initials. W G I Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHBob Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 What I have noticed is not so much that guards don't march, but that they basically move from set to set with little or no transition in between. Modern guard work -- much like modern music arranging -- relies heavily on isolated impact points and less on continuous flow and development. Too many guard books seem to be conceived using a formula simliar to this:Begin sans equipment Dance around for 32 counts Pick up equipment Hold the equipment while doing interpretive body movement Spin one or two times Big release or toss (hopefully catch it) Run off to next position/set and repeat Guards also spend an inordinate amount of time changing equipment. This in itself necessitates some of the running-instead-of-marching style. Every change in music is now accompanied by a change of silks and/ or costumes. Flags are exchanged for rifles, rifles for sabres, sabres for new flags, flags for airplane kites, scarves, boards, tires, taxi cab doors, etc. It's no wonder guard members are kept on the run. THAT sums it up very neatly! And it's the exact same with horns and drums - isolated impact points. Scurry from set to set - stop and play real loud, repeat ad nauseam, etc. to the point where SO many drills look the same and SO many drum solos sound the same. Why not bring it on full volume while MOVING? That's so exciting and really turns on the crowd. At the very least, the guard/auxiliary/dance group needs to wear uniforms that at least match IN COLOR, if not in style, the corps colors. And why do they spend so much time around the perimeter or off to one side of where the horns and drums are? Incorporate them into the drill, make 'em part of the whole again rather than a separate whole. I have yet to see hand-held props that can compare, consistently and for the entire show, with flags and rifles. Not that other props cannot be good (1989 SCV) - there is some beautiful and effective modern-day stuff out there. But flags - tall ones preferably - give off a look and spirit of pageantry that nothing else can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malibu Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 THAT sums it up very neatly! And it's the exact same with horns and drums - isolated impact points. Scurry from set to set - stop and play real loud, repeat ad nauseam, etc. to the point where SO many drills look the same and SO many drum solos sound the same. Why not bring it on full volume while MOVING? That's so exciting and really turns on the crowd.At the very least, the guard/auxiliary/dance group needs to wear uniforms that at least match IN COLOR, if not in style, the corps colors. And why do they spend so much time around the perimeter or off to one side of where the horns and drums are? Incorporate them into the drill, make 'em part of the whole again rather than a separate whole. I have yet to see hand-held props that can compare, consistently and for the entire show, with flags and rifles. Not that other props cannot be good (1989 SCV) - there is some beautiful and effective modern-day stuff out there. But flags - tall ones preferably - give off a look and spirit of pageantry that nothing else can. Boy you must have been going to the bathroom all the years some very beautiful flags were being used. I disagree with the guard wearing the same color or style uniform of the corps. It just wouldn't work today. Think how long ago corps were doing away with that.....like 1980. The purpose of the different guard uni is to reflect what the show is all about. Madison Scouts 1995 show is a great example among others. That show wouldn't have had the same impact had the Scouts guard wore their old green uniform. I have no problems with the guard being in a different color and style as long as it isn't distracting.....like Cavaliers from this past season. ^0^ You say tall ones preferably....well guards are using equipment now rather than holding them at Right Shoulder Arms. In the '70s flags were mostly 6 ft. Today they range from 6 - 7. However I do agree corps designers should incorporate (or intergrate) the guard more rather off in their own little cluster. If a designer is good, you won't noticed the equipment change. There should always be something going on the field to take the attention away. I could go on forever but I have a show to judge. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Dance, dance, dance!!!As Danny Kaye sang in "White Christmas,"....."there doing choreography..." If you want to see old color guard stuff check out the alumni corps. My only observation is, as time moves on, everything changes. What can you do about it? NOTHING! Accept it and move on. Well we all could complain BUT no one listens to us any way, right? Nice being back. "Check out the Alumni": "If you want to see old style color guard stuff check out the Alumni". Ladies and gentlemen, we have a WINNER!!! Hold all other phone calls!!!! Elphaba WWW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHBob Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 (edited) Boy you must have been going to the bathroom all the years some very beautiful flags were being used. I disagree with the guard wearing the same color or style uniform of the corps. It just wouldn't work today. Think how long ago corps were doing away with that.....like 1980. The purpose of the different guard uni is to reflect what the show is all about. Madison Scouts 1995 show is a great example among others. That show wouldn't have had the same impact had the Scouts guard wore their old green uniform. I have no problems with the guard being in a different color and style as long as it isn't distracting.....like Cavaliers from this past season. ^0^ You say tall ones preferably....well guards are using equipment now rather than holding them at Right Shoulder Arms. In the '70s flags were mostly 6 ft. Today they range from 6 - 7. However I do agree corps designers should incorporate (or intergrate) the guard more rather off in their own little cluster. If a designer is good, you won't noticed the equipment change. There should always be something going on the field to take the attention away. I could go on forever but I have a show to judge. B) I have seen MANY beautiful flags in the last 34 years! I would just like to see more of them! I find the clashing uniforms (no matter what the style of uniform is) to be distracting more often than not. Old-school guards that marched around with flags at Right Shoulder Arms were actually quite boring. Highly intricate, precise, snappy flag work - and lots of it - is what I personally like. I'm glad that we agree about the need to integrate the flags with the horns and drums to a higher degree. I have seen recent shows that just marginalize the flags so much out of the picture that it's borderline disrespectful to the guard members. As far as the need to utilize a different guard uniform to reflect what the show is all about....that may in fact be the case since most corps today feel the need to produce a "themed" or "concept" show. That type of show frequently needs some kind of explanation or interpretation or you run the risk of the audience not "getting it". I would only state that for decades prior to today, concept shows were the exception, not the rule. What attracted me to drum corps way back when was the precision, the volume of sound, and the excitement that was generated on the field. That sound hit me in the chest and came out of the top of my head - and combined with the M&M was absolutely stunning, highly entertaining, and needed no interpretation whatsoever. None of my comments have any negative reflection on the AMAZING young people who march in corps today. My disappointment is with the current school of thought in most show design, which produces an on-the-field product that is becoming, in my opinion....boring. Edited October 2, 2005 by FHBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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