Look, we are very sorry that we missed choirs, but your heard it straight from our director. We were not getting some "EXTRA" practice. We were helping our other choir Out of the Blue. This was their first competition and they needed our support, both emotionally and physically (getting risers set on stage). They couldn't have done it without us, and for that reason, we had to be late.
We wanted nothing more than to see all of the groups (this is the best part of the competitions in my opinion), but clearly it did not work out that way.
Thanks for your comments, Mr. Carroll. It's true that people can sometimes take rumors, not knowing how much is true, and see something unfair in them. Honestly, the few people I heard talking were emphasizing more the point that they wanted In Sync in the house to support the other groups rather than any complaints about some unfair advantage. Even on this point, we should remember that In Sync has always BEEN in the house for other competitions.
HOWEVER, I believe this mini-issue shines the proverbial follow spot on a much bigger problem, and that is the inequality, unpredictability, human fallibility and appalling lack of perfection that seem to plague this creature we call competitive show choir. To address these disgraces, I suggest the following policy changes:
1. Henceforward, all choirs are required to have students excused from the WHOLE day of school on competition days. This will ensure that students from distant schools don't have an unfair advantage from missing more classes and thus having less geometry and literature cluttering their brains prior to a competition.
2. All busses will be required to arrive 3 hours before the competition begins. Breakdowns will be disqualified. Every school in the near vicinity of a competition will be required to drive around town in their bus until they've driven as far as the most distant school.
3. There will be one sound check, for everyone, all at the same time, so nobody gets the advantage of going earlier or later. This might seem noisy, but it's noisy for everyone, and after all, it IS a SOUND check.
4. The excuse, "but they're teenagers! They might look brilliant on stage, but they're occasionally going to lose their pants (*cough JD*), or forget to put their earrings in their bag, or have an emotional cell-phone conversation with their friend (at least they THOUGHT it was their friend) who's now dating their ex-, or maybe fall asleep somewhere because they get an average of 5 hours of sleep per night" will no longer be allowed. Backtalkers will be disqualified and their parents flogged.
5. All performers must eat the same food before competition...let's say, McDonald's. Oh, wait.....they already do that.
6. The judges will be 1) the first person we find on campus at the nearest college or university; 2) the first homeless person we find under the nearest freeway overpass; 3) the first person we find working in the weight room at the nearest gym; and 4) Mr. Willert's son. Okay, that last one makes no sense, but it sounded funny to me.
Some other ideas I've been working on:
- Maybe we could institute some sort of a sports-style draft system.
- Maybe we should all do the same set, say Brea's set.
- If there are twelve choirs in a competition, there should be twelve divisions, with twelve 1st place trophies...and they shouldn't be letter-named, but color-named, or maybe animal-named ("We won FIRST in tortoise division, Dad!")
- John had a good idea: Since the two of us couldn't figure out a way to have nobody go first or last, he thought of a handicapping system, a la Vonnegut. The first group would perform normally, then every succeeding group would have to carry weights and wear ear coverings; more weights and thicker ear coverings the later you perform.
Oh, yeah: 7. No opinions are allowed, since this encourages value judgment. For example, I'm not allowed to say that IMHO BV should have won their division last night, even if I stress that I'm not saying anything AGAINST, Brea, Chula or Los Al, whom I love. The fact that I said it gets me banned from show choir for life and exiled from California.
That should help, what?
Other ideas are welcome.... as I said, it's going to take a lot to remedy all the disparity so we can start having fun....
Thanks for your consideration.
Dan
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That sounds like a very modest and should I say reasonable and fair proposal.... " border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> but can I make a suggestion? I suggest everyone wears potato sacks to promote fairness and equality among choirs, so noone gets an "unfair" advantage...
Thanks for your comments, Mr. Carroll. It's true that people can sometimes take rumors, not knowing how much is true, and see something unfair in them. Honestly, the few people I heard talking were emphasizing more the point that they wanted In Sync in the house to support the other groups rather than any complaints about some unfair advantage. Even on this point, we should remember that In Sync has always BEEN in the house for other competitions.
HOWEVER, I believe this mini-issue shines the proverbial follow spot on a much bigger problem, and that is the inequality, unpredictability, human fallibility and appalling lack of perfection that seem to plague this creature we call competitive show choir. To address these disgraces, I suggest the following policy changes:
1. Henceforward, all choirs are required to have students excused from the WHOLE day of school on competition days. This will ensure that students from distant schools don't have an unfair advantage from missing more classes and thus having less geometry and literature cluttering their brains prior to a competition.
2. All busses will be required to arrive 3 hours before the competition begins. Breakdowns will be disqualified. Every school in the near vicinity of a competition will be required to drive around town in their bus until they've driven as far as the most distant school.
3. There will be one sound check, for everyone, all at the same time, so nobody gets the advantage of going earlier or later. This might seem noisy, but it's noisy for everyone, and after all, it IS a SOUND check.
4. The excuse, "but they're teenagers! They might look brilliant on stage, but they're occasionally going to lose their pants (*cough JD*), or forget to put their earrings in their bag, or have an emotional cell-phone conversation with their friend (at least they THOUGHT it was their friend) who's now dating their ex-, or maybe fall asleep somewhere because they get an average of 5 hours of sleep per night" will no longer be allowed. Backtalkers will be disqualified and their parents flogged.
5. All performers must eat the same food before competition...let's say, McDonald's. Oh, wait.....they already do that.
6. The judges will be 1) the first person we find on campus at the nearest college or university; 2) the first homeless person we find under the nearest freeway overpass; 3) the first person we find working in the weight room at the nearest gym; and 4) Mr. Willert's son. Okay, that last one makes no sense, but it sounded funny to me.
Some other ideas I've been working on:
- Maybe we could institute some sort of a sports-style draft system.
- Maybe we should all do the same set, say Brea's set.
- If there are twelve choirs in a competition, there should be twelve divisions, with twelve 1st place trophies...and they shouldn't be letter-named, but color-named, or maybe animal-named ("We won FIRST in tortoise division, Dad!")
- John had a good idea: Since the two of us couldn't figure out a way to have nobody go first or last, he thought of a handicapping system, a la Vonnegut. The first group would perform normally, then every succeeding group would have to carry weights and wear ear coverings; more weights and thicker ear coverings the later you perform.
Oh, yeah: 7. No opinions are allowed, since this encourages value judgment. For example, I'm not allowed to say that IMHO BV should have won their division last night, even if I stress that I'm not saying anything AGAINST, Brea, Chula or Los Al, whom I love. The fact that I said it gets me banned from show choir for life and exiled from California.
That should help, what?
Other ideas are welcome.... as I said, it's going to take a lot to remedy all the disparity so we can start having fun....
It's interesting that such a big huff is being made about Burbank not being in the auditorium. It is NEVER required or expected that you watch all of the other groups at our events in the midwest. Kids are kids, and they deserve to go take a breather outside, chat with their grandma, or take a nap if they want. Let's be reasonable here! This has NOTHING to do with the performances, and should consequently have NOTHING to do with the scoring. It's about the art, not about rules and regulations that add nothing to the art form itself.
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I belive the reason for what happend was a mis-understanding between Directors. Period.
And in regards to your comment about the students being able to go outside for a breather, we agree. At the Diamond Bar Spectacular, we do not have a "potty pass", however when a group misses more than half of the competition, it's no longer considered a "breather." Another reason that we like the students to be indoors is for safety reasons. To my understanding, midwest competitions are freaquently held inside the high school gym. Out here, the majority of our competitions are held off school property. For safty reasons, its best that the students remain inside the auditorium for the evening. And besides, wouldn't you want to see the groups you're competing with? Part of the fun of show choir is seeing what other groups perform! Right? Last night was a great night, regardless of what happend. There were no penalties, every group went home with a trophy, and we were done before midnight!!
Thank you all for attending last night. With out you (Directors, Choreographers, Students, Band, Techs, Parents, Fans) there wouldn't be this great art we call "Show Choir."
I have been in LA for the American Choral Directors Association convention this week, and I really enjoyed being able to see how you folks do show choir out here. It was certainly an interesting and enjoyable experience!
Congrats to everyone. There wasn't a bad show at Diamond Bar last night. Special props to Burbank for an AMAZING performance. It felt like home for me, with the more "midwest" flavor. Brett Carroll, we miss you back home.
It's interesting that such a big huff is being made about Burbank not being in the auditorium. It is NEVER required or expected that you watch all of the other groups at our events in the midwest. Kids are kids, and they deserve to go take a breather outside, chat with their grandma, or take a nap if they want. Let's be reasonable here! This has NOTHING to do with the performances, and should consequently have NOTHING to do with the scoring. It's about the art, not about rules and regulations that add nothing to the art form itself.
And if anyone thought that one more hour on the day of the contest gave Burbank an edge, get real. Quality like that comes from countless hours of practicing and refining at a high level, not from a few extra run throughs right before the performance.
As I said, I truly enjoyed seeing this competition. Every group I saw was impressive. Thanks to Mr. Willert for graciously providing me with tickets to come see how you folks do show choir out here, and thanks to all of you who were performers for a thoroughly entertaining evening!
so the second comp and another bunch of awesome performances
powerhouse : i lovedd your new number " caught up" ...really coooool! and like always i loved "earth song" ..awesome blend.
Hart : loved your song choices , looooveddd "snake" soo awesome
really good dancing, WOW.
arcadia : didnt see your show caz we were right after you. i realllly cant wait to see you guys sometime
ps .congrats to Out Of The blue for winning 2nd place in their first advanced comp !!!!
in my opinion...db .. had sum up n downs.... sum things werent fair.. sum things were.. i think that this whole situation is just pathetic... in my opinion.. being a choir... also means have RESPECT for ALL CHOIRS!!! also... we should juss stop the tension and the rumors.. this is how it ALL starts... being respectfulllll, also MEANS stop talkin bad about others.. this is my opnion.. n e ways thanx 4 the great show DB!.. i think i like MOST about db's competition.. is that their director n oyur HOSTS all make it seem that this is NOT a competition... its more of like a show... all choirs received trophies...that is what i like best... competitions arent suppose to make others feel like crap... its suppose to make us all feel gud about ourselves since we have the opportunity to go on stage n give everyone a great show!!! gud job everyone nice meetin u courtney
Thank you for clearing that up, Mr. Carroll..I know there were definitely rumors going around the entire auditorium and I apologize for questioning your integrity as a group...Burbank was definitely on the ball last nite and I congratulate them for being consistently awesome in their show...I know many people questioned your win last night and hopefully your words have shed a light on the controversy..so much drama already and its only the second competition! " border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> btw, love the costume change!
In reference to the comments that were and will be made about In Sync not being in the auditorium the entire evening:
Our "Out of the Blue" was the first group to go, scheduled to go into warm-up at 6:15pm. They are mostly freshmen and it was their first competition, so you can imagine how much prep they needed. The "In Sync" kids helped them get ready and, of course, wanted to be there to support their sister choir during their first performance.
Due to an emergency yesterday, we did not get to leave Burbank ON TIME earlier in the day. Most of you know how bad traffic can be....so needless to say "our plan" did not get a chance to work (and it was VERY tight schedule for us anyway.)
Thus, In Sync was not dressed and ready when it came time for the evening to begin....but rather than have "Out of the Blue" not get help from the older kids to prep (and so that they could be there during their younger choir's performance) we had to miss performances.
And contrary to popular myth, we were not gone having some "super-rehearsal" that gave us the magic ability to win the competition. I am constantly amazed at some directors and choirs on this circuit who are so bent on winning that they look for any way they can to try and prove that somebody else has an "advantage" that is "illegal". I would suggest that those people look more at their own performance and their preparation in the days before if they are looking to do better. I know that I was not completely happy with our performance last night, but that doesn't mean that I am going to look somewhere else to place blame on our not placing higher vocally.
For those people who were miffed last night, I apologize. Sincerely. Though, there WAS a Burbank group in the auditorium seated the ENTIRE evening since we had two groups there. And for those groups "In Sync" missed watching last night while they were getting dressed, I know you were great and we WILL get to see you MANY times this season. I think the only real complainers were those people (directors) thinking we were gaining a "leg up" on them, which is quite silly. You know what? I will never be a director who tries to stir up trouble on rumors or try to get someone disqualified EVEN if they are not following the rules. (By the way, the rules that I had from Diamond Bar did not have any listed penalty for not being in the auditorium for EVERY group's performance.) I don't want to compete if my winning is so important that I want to bring others down to get there. I want all of you to bring your best #1 show to the table however you think is best. If it takes directing in the auditorium or on the stage, using sequenced synthesizers in your band, using risers or not using risers, using props or not using props, strategically deciding who is close to what microphone onstage to keep good balance, only performing your best three songs because the others aren't ready, copying past choirs/songs and concepts, talking to the judges after the competition to learn what they "want" to see and hear, taking time to get dressed and supporting your sister choirs....ETC. Whatever it takes, I want ALL the choirs to get a shot to be comfortable, not be rushed, and to perform the BEST SHOW they have ever done.
Can you believe that there are directors/students/parents who actually are sitting there in the audience WAITING for your choir to "mess up" so that they will score and look better. Why does their success depend on somebody else not doing their BEST SHOW. This is an EDUCATIONAL experience not the Super Bowl. As Mr. Willert said last night, everyone is a winner. You ALL took time out of your life to learn music, to practice choreography, and to learn a show. That alone is a monumental task. And THEN you get up on stage in front of 5000 people and show us what you have worked on.... WHY can't we be happy for everybody who is there?? I thrill in getting to hear Burroughs sing Earthsong, I have a blast getting into Chula's entertaining shows, I sit in awe that Arcadia has the ability to sing with such an incredible blend, and I can't get enough of Hart's breakdancers! I don't sit there hoping I can find a way to discredit or discount what they did that night. How petty some have become. It is a sad commentary on where we place importance in our lives when our success depends on the misfortune of other.
I WILL make a constructive comment here that I shared with Mr. Willert last night after this topic came up. This is in reference to the warm-up room at Citrus and how the time is handled. I feel like everyone should have a separate dance warm-up rehearsal before the assigned warm-up slot due to the lack of space and time to properly warm up the performers main instrument: their body! Stretching muscles and preparing the body for dance is important. Many dancers and choreographers would call it careless and DANGEROUS to attempt to go out on a stage and dance the way many of our groups do without an adequate chance to stretch out and prepare yourself. This is a serious and unhealthy flaw in our system.
Burbank DID NOT have that opportunity last night, thus: I had a student last night who had a serious asthma attack after our group's performance. He would have been in better shape if we had been able to do a proper physical warm-up before the performance. This would have prepared his system to get ready for a very physical show. BUT, all we had was the 15 min. or so warm-up where I had to get the singers ready with final instructions and also had to clear up a few problems with my band together with the singers. They had no time to really get physically prepared to put on a show.
It saddens me that I feel like I have to discuss this situation..... But people run with rumors. Before you know it, we will be accused of using psychic mediums to influence the judges decision last night. (uh...yeah....that's where we were last night.....around a crystal ball...) ;) Maybe those mediums could make everyone, but us, sound like they are singing "out of tune". OR MAYBE I COULD PLACE A LITTLE MORE EMPHASIS ON WORKING ON MY OWN GROUPS and decide to quit attacking and accusing other groups...
MAN, that totally sucked!!! I think if we all got EXTRA rehearsal time we all could have done better! Alot of us were really shocked and dissapointed that it happened. Missing one choir, i would feel bad, but missing 4 or 5...lol, crazy! Oh well, I guess what's done is done? " border="0" alt="blink.gif" />
KyLiE
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i agree with u kyle.... t0o bad huh?
but hey.. o well.. we did have an off nite last nite... but i guess it was 0ok.. i was still very shocked that we had gotten 3rd.. hart.. i still love u guyss.. n u guys had an awsome show! arcadia... sum may like ur show.. sum may not.. but who care!! i LOVE your show! its s0o much betta this yr.. vocals r amazing...!!!!!!!!! i love iht all.. and the guys r s0o cute!!!!!!! hehehehehe i love u arcadia.. hart.... im very excited t0o see your set again... its s0o sexy n SASSY!!!
like sound sensations always said last yr (o3-04) KEEPIN THE F-A-I-T-H FAITHHHH!
great job burbank.. i loved your closer.. i was listening to it on the way up to diamond bar.. great song.. well deserved first place.. everyone else did great too.. it was good seeing all those friends.. and making some new ones.. like the burroughs people that were sitting behind me.. funny how everyone in there is like "oh i know you didnt you have a thing with rachel" as i give them an evil look lol..
Great job to everyone! The drama last nite was a lil' intense! Sorry Hart, but the ppl in charge of the competition told us to not instigate the cheering...we could only respond ;) ..Hart was incredible you guys should definitely has placed higher...Arcadia was awesome, I think we'll be fighting for music the entire season! Burbank, great show....the whole going out of 4 choirs is a little dubious and on the edge of rude, but you gotta do what you gotta do and apparently it paid off..
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thats alright, one thing i dont get about that though is, we are all nice and quiet during all of the performances, and when the judges are gone, i mean.. come on let us have our fun
Great job to everyone! The drama last nite was a lil' intense! Sorry Hart, but the ppl in charge of the competition told us to not instigate the cheering...we could only respond ;) ..Hart was incredible you guys should definitely has placed higher...Arcadia was awesome, I think we'll be fighting for music the entire season! Burbank, great show....the whole going out of 4 choirs is a little dubious and on the edge of rude, but you gotta do what you gotta do and apparently it paid off..
who wuz dat choir who wuz gone 4 like, 1 1/2 divisions? datz s0 n0t koo, yo. ;)
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MAN, that totally sucked!!! I think if we all got EXTRA rehearsal time we all could have done better! Alot of us were really shocked and dissapointed that it happened. Missing one choir, i would feel bad, but missing 4 or 5...lol, crazy! Oh well, I guess what's done is done? " border="0" alt="blink.gif" />
Time and time again Arcadia Chanteurs shows a level of singing and dancing calibur that  can overwhelm even the best of competition... Next week they might even get 1st... Watch out Burbank and Burbank 2...
Diamond Bar Spectacular 2005
" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> but can I make a suggestion? I suggest everyone wears potato sacks to promote fairness and equality among choirs, so noone gets an "unfair" advantage...
MAN, that totally sucked!!! I think if we all got EXTRA rehearsal time we all could have done better! Alot of us were really shocked and dissapointed that it happened. Missing one choir, i would feel bad, but missing 4 or 5...lol, crazy! Oh well, I guess what's done is done? 
" border="0" alt="blink.gif" /> 
;) 