Jak Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 This is just my personal opinion of course, but I can't stand it when guards do hip-hop. I'm not a judge, so I'm allowed to have personal likes and dislikes. I like classical (or at least sophisticated) music with classical technique. I do thing one thing that ballet has over the other forms of dance (when it comes to color guard) is the emphasis on posture, centering, and line. This creates performers who look confident, polished, poised, trained, etc. I think it would be difficult to hold yourself that way and have that kind of posture while doing hip-hop. But then if you throw those things (posture, etc.) out the window, you start to look really sloppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pink_guardie Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I've been on squads that have done both...hip-hop(ish) and ballet. The judges definitely liked the ballet stuff a lot more. Honestly, I can't give preference to one over the other, like someone else said it really depends on the show. Perhaps if more and more guards branch out and use hip hop and modern dance, the types of judges you get might change a bit to people who have dabbled in all types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toph34 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 (edited) Seems like up until last year, James Logan used quite a bit of street dance in their programs to great success. Braddock injects alot of FLAVA into their repetoire and does well. As with all skills, goes to training. Well trained = well credited. p.s. Hey Alisha! Welcome to HeatWave! Congrats and can't wait to meetcha. Edited December 2, 2006 by toph34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBro Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 (edited) Please don't take any of this personally.. I mean no offense.. its just my view... But I have NO clue what you people are talking about. Most guards dance in a VERY modern/jazz/lyrical kind of way... All the spine changes, contractions, use of tension and release... are all concepts of modern and post-modern dancing... I'm not saying it's not ALL based in Ballet technique.. because it is.. a good understanding of classical technique is IMPERATIVE... You want REAL classical technique.. Go watch san marino the year they did the show in pointe shoes... or you know.. the ballet ;o) edit: Oh and saying judges don't appreciate hip hop? or other forms of dancing? Can anyone tell me how many times James Logan has won SW? ;o) But yeah..... just my 2 cents... ;o) Let the flames begin ::grins:: Edited December 5, 2006 by JBro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrishDish1002 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 i think that what we're trying to say in response to your "how many times has James Logan won?" comment is - yes, they do use more of a hip hop STYLE with MODERN/CLASSIC TECHNIQUE. Hip Hopppers generally (not all) throw themselves into the ground with no regard to back leg extension, etc. You can't tell me when Scott teaches a combination like pirouette-split he's not telling them to extend their back leg and point their toes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyCallMeBroadway Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Yah I can remember one show where Braddock had some street dance. I'm not incredily crazy about it unless it's done by ABSOLUTELY amazing. Anything below that is just kinda... meh. It can basically make or break a show. I would love to see more people push the envelope on what is considered "normal" in the world of guard shows though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jak Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 (edited) Please don't take any of this personally.. I mean no offense.. its just my view...But I have NO clue what you people are talking about. Most guards dance in a VERY modern/jazz/lyrical kind of way... All the spine changes, contractions, use of tension and release... are all concepts of modern and post-modern dancing... I'm not saying it's not ALL based in Ballet technique.. because it is.. a good understanding of classical technique is IMPERATIVE... You want REAL classical technique.. Go watch san marino the year they did the show in pointe shoes... or you know.. the ballet ;o) Of course you're right about that. In classical technique the spine is never taken off center, performers do not go into the ground, nor do you have the empahis on weight shifts, releases, etc. Everything is always very upright and lifted. But the foundations of stretch, extension, point, being well turned out, deportment, posture, etc. all come from ballet. I guess some of the best movers in WGI (Kennesaw Mountain, Oracle, Center Grove, etc) do what I call "color guard dance." It's sort of a bastardized combination of classical, modern, lyrical, and strictly color guard stuff. Edited December 7, 2006 by Jak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHSmirage Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I wouldn't call it "bastardized combination"...... You can/need to edit movements to convay a message. Take like a simple sotee (sp?), change the arms. It's not changing the lower body, but manipulating to the story your telling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jak Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I'm saying it's bastardized because it's not a pure implementation of any one technique. We've taken elements of ballet, modern, jazz, lyrical, etc., and put them together to form our own style. That's not a negative thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deftguy Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Yah I can remember one show where Braddock had some street dance. I'm not incredily crazy about it unless it's done by ABSOLUTELY amazing. Anything below that is just kinda... meh. It can basically make or break a show.I would love to see more people push the envelope on what is considered "normal" in the world of guard shows though. Herein lies the problem with WGI for me. A lack of variety of styles. This same lack of different styles has spilled over from WGI to DCI on the field. It seems to me that the judging community should expose themselves to many different dance styles so they can understand how to judge it. Why should guards work out of a box just so a judge can effectively judge them. After watching guards do ballet for 30 years now, I am pretty sick of looking at it. Now lies the question that I previously posted here, and the only answers I got were "stay the course" Where does guard evolve from here? My response was to effectively intertwine old school with new school styles together. Secondly was to educate the judging community on different dance styles so a show designer has more styles to work with. My last suggestion was to place more emphasis on the equipment book and less on dancing which would make things a little more interesting for guards with limited dance skills. I think it is insane that a guard can dance 1/4 of their entire show, and not touch a piece of equipment in the process. At what point do you become a dance team instead of a colorguard? It took less than ten years for colorguards to transition from military to pagentry (the 80's), since then there has been absolutely no movement whatsoever. Alot of "jewelry" has been added, but not alot of innovation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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