2019 The Academy | The Bridge Between

Tempe, AZ | 15th Place | 84.300
arizonaacademy...
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[@KiranSundarkdog97]

Is it just me, or do they sound really good, particularly for 15th place?

[@kyoza5069]

They do. It had to do with the design of the show, but the marchers in this corps are all amazing performers.

[@june-ls1hw]

Yeah. I think the hornlines in 2018 and 2019 were extremely strong but held back by show design.

[@FrostbiteP1ano]

All jokes aside this corps really puts in a lot of work, I would love to see them in finals again for the 2020 season.

[@jeremygoodenough7252]

this comment hasn't aged well lol

[@ryangreen9378]

@@jeremygoodenough7252 F

[@noahandrews8936]

Sad

[@FrostbiteP1ano]

@@jeremygoodenough7252 you hate to see it lol

[@micah3986]

Sadical

[@Zynxy1234]

The Bluecoats called they want their tilt props backs.😂 But seriously this show is killer and definitely should have been in finals

[@Griffin그리핀]

Arguably this show should have made finals the brass and guard were on a whole new level then they ever had been.

[@Houston_RPM]

One of the loudest hits in the lot at semi-finals

[@fadededed]

Let's go Academy! killer show this year, exited for this next season!

[@Fishermhm]

This didnt age well lol. 2021 though!

[@noahandrews8936]

Sad

[@MintyChipArt]

Loved this show since the first time I have seen it, continue to work hard Academy, i'll be seeing you in the 2021 season

[@MiraDaWulf]

Very true

[@paulplaysstuff6696]

Such a fun show to watch

[@LordZeusCR]

WAY too underrated. Should’ve placed higher in my opinion. AMAZING show

[@carson3370]

Spirit of Atlanta and Academy should've switched places this year

[@anthonyspacing5037]

Under rated asf

[@522Dusty]

the most under-rated Drum Corps,

[@jesuspectre9883]

Academy placed 15th because of a weakness in the show design, not because of its Broadway-quality performers: 1) How is the end different from the beginning? 2) What happens during the show? 3) What's the pattern that escalates for dramatic effect? 4) Why is London Bridge sampled repeatedly? What's the meaning behind "London Bridge" other than a common nursery rhyme on the selected topic? 5) How is the theme of Bridge Over Trouble Water personalized and contextualized dramatically? 6) Where are the high stakes?

[@Artremas]

Literally everything is metaphors for you, you should just become a philosopher, you could be the next Sigmund Freud..

[@jesuspectre9883]

​@@Artremas Music has meaning. Composers often talk about the meaning behind their pieces. When you create a visual presentation to go along with the music, you can't avoid it. Visuals guide the viewer on the intended theme. If you're going to be a professional in the music and entertainment industry, you have to become aware of the underlying meaning in music and music-based productions. Symphonies. Outdoor concerts. Arena concerts. Musical Theatre. Dance concerts. TV concert specials. Superbowl halftime shows. Even now Burning Man. The meaning doesn't have to be heavy, or maudlin or serious. It can be about puke, if you want. But there has to be some substance underneath. Something universal, unique and emotional.

[@Artremas]

@@jesuspectre9883 music is also heavily up to interpretation which is why you see abstract shows appearing here and there and they still have quite an impact on people. I don't know if you're a DCI judge or have experience in it, but a shows "meaning" or "theme" impacts mainly G.E. and not much else, everything else such as visual is judged on both cleanliness and difficulty. So no, not all shows or even music has to have deeper meaning, it can be purely interpretation

[@Artremas]

@@jesuspectre9883 I saw another one of your comments recently complaining about a visual set in Carolina Crown's show It Is complaining how there was no main focus and everything seemed scattered to you, meanwhile others interpreted it as a set where the corps has "lost their sense of direction". You just seem to take things at face value and nothing else. That's not an inherently bad thing, but I don't believe you would make a good judge.

[@jesuspectre9883]

​@@Artremas I'm sorry no. The "up to interpretation" defense is what sophomores use when they haven't decided what their composition means. The selection of music and its visual interpretation impacts the categories of Visual Analysis, Music Analysis and Color Guard, and affects more than half the score. So just no. Just playing a tune isn't good enough. Just abstract elements that don't tie together into a cohesive arc isn't good enough any more. Just saying you're taking an "aesthetic approach" isn't good enough. We're not decorating the living room for Home and Garden TV. This is marching's major league. A winning visual interpretation covers the intellectual, the emotional and the aesthetic, all three, according to Plato's aesthetics. Drum corps isn't just playing elevator music in the background. Drum corps has become a high-stakes game of meaning. Visual design and interpretation of the music has a major impact on the score, and the overall depth of concept. In fact, it can be argued that 2019's score rankings were in order of depth of concept, (barring some other scoring anomaly like an incredible hornline or marching execution). 1) Blue Devils - Ghostlight - Drum corps has become theatre, asking life's big questions. (COMPLEX SOCIAL COMMENTARY) 2) Bluecoats - The Beatles era was halcyon, polycultural, spiritual and full of hope, unlike today. (COMPLEX SOCIAL COMMENTARY) 3) SCV - Underground music was full of passion and defiance, and eventually, unity. (MODERATELY COMPLEX) 4) Carolina Crown - A sacred geometry lies underneath everything. (COMPLEX) 5) Cavaliers - A imaginary band of pugilistic, infighting railcar vagabonds eventually join hands to help to build the railroad itself. (SIMPLE STORY) 6) Boston Crusaders - Castaways form a Lord of the Flies-like social order. (MODERATELY COMPLEX SOCIAL COMMENTARY) 7) Blue Knights - We should look into the mirror to find our way on issues of immigration. (MODERATELY COMPLEX SOCIAL COMMENTARY) 8) Blue Stars - Scenes from The Call of the Wild. (SIMPLE STORY) 9) Cadets - A naive princess is assaulted and adapts; her aggressors say "We can do better." (STORY WITH SOCIAL COMMENTARY) 10) Mandarin - An scrappy outlier attempts to escape hell and dies trying. (SIMPLE STORY) 11) Crossmen - Glimpses of the tale of the Valkyrie. (SIMPLE STORY) 12) Phantom Regiment - Glimpses of the life of Joan of Arc. (SIMPLE STORY, MINOR SOCIAL COMMENTARY) 13) Spirit of Atlanta - The music, look and emotion of underground clubs. (SIMPLE SOCIAL OBSERVATION) 14) Pacific Crest - Our minimalist, monochromatic clean triangle props light up; we're using as few brush strokes as possible. (SIMPLE SANDBOX, NO INTENDED MEANING, PLAYING WITH VISUAL ELEMENTS) 15) Academy - We're bridging to a new artistic director. (SIMPLE SANDBOX, NO INTENDED MEANING, PLAYING WITH VISUAL ELEMENTS) 16) Colts - Hell freezes over and changes color. (SIMPLE SANDBOX, NO INTENDED MEANING, PLAYING WITH VISUAL ELEMENTS) PS: You're confused about the word "abstract". Typically the term "abstract" refers to a style of art where elements are taken out of their real-life context and presented in a way as to capture the essence of a subject, upending the regular rules of presentation. Abstract productions often play with timelines, the essences of characters and incidents, and locations to create an off-beat, streamlined scenario in order to focus the audience on a new point of view. For a good example of an abstract show, the Blue Devil's show about Dada, Cabaret Voltaire, captured the essence of the new genre, defying convention. Academy's Bridges didn't defy any convention or standard, despite its passionate ensemble.

[@rileyhart2462]

The ppl who disliked this video are scared of trombones

[@TazeBrickway]

I know that it’s the same piece that Crown used in 2016, but what’s it called?

[@carterwaite4665]

This has got to be one of the most unentertaining show to come out of the last 5 years

[@Kamoojaan]

Ok

[@anthonyspacing5037]

Who asked?

[@snakebros2474]

@@anthonyspacing5037 it was me, i asked

[@jesuspectre9883]

A show being "entertaining" is partly based on the show making sense to the audience. What's this show saying? What's it about? Why play Bridge over Troubled Water? What trouble is this corps referring to? What experience have they had which they would "lay me down" to help someone walk across? The central passionate statement in the song is rendered meaningless without an underlying concept to support it. Why did Academy choose this tune? What background incident supports it? What information on or off the field helps support the theme? And don't say they're bridging to a new show coordinator, or I'll puke. That theme breaks the fourth wall and is self-referential. A bridge to a new beginning begs the question "What was so bad about the old way?" What was "troubled" about the past? All unanswered thematic questions resulting in a nearly last place finish. The meaning behind a show matters and impacts the score.

[@carterwaite4665]

@@jesuspectre9883 Jesu what do you think of the Blue Knights 2019 program?