dannyboy Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 For new corps, or struggling corps that can't get 30 members on the field... What should be their role/place/venue in this activity until they can do so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUSICandCHARACTER Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 DCA's mini-corps. Why not? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyboy Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 (edited) DCA's mini-corps. Why not?Jim DCA Minicorps is fine for the Senior/All Age set, but what about corps like Bandettes, Kingsmen, Marquis, Racine Scouts, etc. if they only get 20 or 28 kids together? That's not enough to field. You have to have 30. Racine Scouts pulled it off last year by putting a number of boy scouts in the American Colors squad. But beyond parades (they need gigs that pay SOME money), what could we do with these level of corps? Before knowing for sure what would happen to DCM, I was thinking of these corps as maybe having their own class, perhaps at half-pay, with shorter shows or limited drill. At least give the kids a venue and experience -- and maybe they'd grow. I'm out of ideas now. Maybe a form of Minicorps for DCI? Edited November 15, 2005 by dannyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Adam Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 The old class system included a division lower than the current Division III. It was: Open Class, A, A60, and B Class (Parade Class) I even remember seeing the words Division IV somewhere in the mid 90's, although not at championships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 parade only corps, stand-still, exhibition... no reason to jump out into competition the first year of the corp's existance, especially if you don't have the resources IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 DCA Minicorps is fine for the Senior/All Age set, but what about corps like Bandettes, Kingsmen, Marquis, Racine Scouts, etc. if they only get 20 or 28 kids together? No reason they couldn't participate in DCA for a year or two if they can't get their members up, is there? If they can't find any other venue in which to participate. "All-age" means just that, right? Is there a minimum age for members participating in DCA? Plus, you might be able to add half-a-dozen recent age outs to round out your corps for that one year you're unable to field a competing DCI unit. And yes, although DCI never had a division lower than D3 or A-60, various regional and local circuits had a Class B, a division 4, or a Novice Class, Cadet Class, or Parade Class for very small and/or very young corps. Those were the good old days. But sure, why not a mini-corps division in conjunction with DCI's I&E contest? Could work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFPADirector Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 This idea of a mini corps level, or something would be wonderful. I run a beginning drum corps. Just getting the name out is hard, getting equipment is harder, especially horns. Kids aren't interested in just marching parades. When you say DCI, they get really excited. Even if it was mini-corps, the kids could still say they went to DCI. Payment could be half or whatever. The DCI evaluation is a good thing in my opinion. If you go through the whole process, you will have the groundwork for a long living program. Sometimes getting started is harder than you thought it would be. I think more corps would be in existence if there was a venue for them to compete in. Our goal is to become a full touring DIV III corps, but if we don't get 30 members, all of the kids that came out will have nothing to do. We had that happen last year. It's hard to tell kids that have been working so hard that we can't offer anything for them. This year we are offering indoor percussion. They only require a min of 5 members. That way we ensure getting something on the field/floor. Once again, I'm not mad at DCI, I just wish they could have something to help the little guys do what we can. We don't want to tour. We just want to go to a few local shows. Even if we score a 2, people will see us. When people see that something exists, they are more likely to support it or want to march in it. It's hard finding people to invest in a program that hasn't been on the field yet. In our area, we used to have Garden State Circuit (NJ). This was great for little corps that just wanted to stay near home. It folded a few years back. Sorry, I'm done rambling. If anyone comes up with something, please let me know. We would be interested in participating. Thanks, Chalet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiterose Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 I even remember seeing the words Division IV somewhere in the mid 90's, although not at championships. A couple corps in the Garden State Circuit a few years ago had "division iv" feeder corps. (The Quest Explorers and the Phoenix Kidets are the two that I recall... there may have been one more). They were younger kids, maybe ages six to twelve, and the purpose was for them to get experience on their instruments and performing. They did two or three songs and, if I remember correctly, a tiny bit of drill, and followed the division iii corps to local shows to perform in exibition. The staff was staff from the div iii corps or more experienced members of the corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyboy Posted November 21, 2005 Author Share Posted November 21, 2005 A couple corps in the Garden State Circuit a few years ago had "division iv" feeder corps. (The Quest Explorers and the Phoenix Kidets are the two that I recall... there may have been one more). They were younger kids, maybe ages six to twelve, and the purpose was for them to get experience on their instruments and performing. They did two or three songs and, if I remember correctly, a tiny bit of drill, and followed the division iii corps to local shows to perform in exibition. The staff was staff from the div iii corps or more experienced members of the corps. This is the kind of thing I would have liked to have added to DCM (an under-30 class), if it could have continued another season. Right now, for example, we have Marquis (Fond du Lac, WI) "ready" to come back in some form. They have equipment from before, uniforms, no debt, money in the bank, and consistent bingo income. They need a director (I suggested they run an ad in DCW). But it's going to be VERY hard to get 30 kids together in this area. There is also an uphill battle as the local business community is jaded from drum corps "experiences" in the past. Roman suggested they look at all-age; they want me to come to their next board meeting to discuss options. Regardless, I see no venue for them now, other than parades and mall-gigs until they reach DCI's 30 members and work though DCI's review process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 doesn't DCM have a DIV class? I thought they did..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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