Drum Corps International
| Drum Corps International | |
 |
|
| Activity | Drum and Bugle Corps |
| Founded | 1972 |
| No. of corps | 44 (World/Open) Classes |
| Country |  United States Canada |
| Current champions | The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (World Class); Blue Devils B (Open Class) |
| Official website | DCI.org |
Drum Corps International (DCI), formed in 1972, is the non-profit governing body for junior drum and bugle corps in the U.S.A. and Canada. Junior corps are composed of members 21 years of age and younger. DCI is composed of member corps who have earned their membership through competition. It is responsible for developing and enforcing the rules of competition and is the sanctioning body for junior corps competitions. DCI is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Its Board of Directors is composed primarily of directors of the member corps.[1]
The stated purpose of a DCI corps is "...to provide a life changing experience for youth through the art of marching music performance." The DCI competitive summer tour, consisting of DCI-sanctioned competitions (known as the Summer Music Games) throughout the United States and Canada, culminates in August with the week-long DCI World Championships.[2]
Other drum corps associations around the world are largely based upon DCI.
Contents |
[edit] Class Structure
Currently, DCI assigns North American corps to two classes, and corps from Europe and Asia are assigned to the International Class. Corps from all classes often compete together, but are judged and ranked separately. In the past, classes have been fully or partially determined by the number of marching members in each corps; at present, all corps may march up to a maximum of one hundred fifty (150) members.
- World Class (formerly Division I) corps are the corps that have chosen to compete at the highest level and that have shown the DCI leadership that they have the ability to survive at this level both competitively and financially. The leadership of the "Top Twelve" World Class corps are given voting rights on the DCI Board of Directors. The higher a corps is ranked at the DCI Championships, the higher the performance fees they will earn for the following season's performances.
- Open Class (formerly Divisions II & III) corps are generally smaller or committed to a lesser competitive level. In September of 2007, DCI combined the former Divisions II and III into this new division.[3][4]
- International Class is for corps based outside North America that wish to participate in DCI competitions. Corps in this class are allowed to follow certain of their own country’s organizational guidelines which are not allowed for North American corps, such as a higher maximum age limit.[3]
[edit] Historic Classes and Divisions[5]
| 1972-1974 | 1975-1982 | 1983-1984 | 1985-1991 | 1992-2007 | 2008–Present |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Class | Open Class | Open Class | Open Class | Division I | World Class |
| Class A | Class A | Class A | Division II | Open Class | |
| All-Girl | Class A60 | Division III |
[edit] Class/Division Membership Limits
- Open Class (1972-92) had a membership limit of 128.
- Class A generally had 90 members or fewer.
- All-Girl Class was for corps with membership restricted to girls only: there was no such class for corps restricted to all-boy membership.
- Class A60 and the later Division III had a maximum of 60 members; a controversial minimum of 30 members was added later.
- Division II had the same membership limit as Division I but a generally lower level of competitive expertise.
- Division I went from an original membership limit of 128 to 135.
- World Class, the new Open Class, and International Class all have a membership limit of 150.
[edit] Drum Corps Season
Prior to the advent of DCI, many locals corps were a year-round youth activity. Still, the competitive season generally ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day, which one essentially coincided with the school systems' summer break.[5]
Today, drum corps is often still a year-long activity, but not in the same manner. Where once memberships were almost entirely local, many corps now have a membership drawn from all over North America and the world. Therefore, off-season activities occur during "camp" weekends. At the early camps, potential members audition for membership in the corps. Later, the members gather monthly or bimonthly to work in preparation for the summer. As the season nears, many corps go into intense, full-time camps, with the members "moving in" and spending days on end in preparation for going "on tour."
At the present time, the competitive season begins in mid-June and ends with the DCI World Championships during the second week of August.
For members of all World Class corps and the most competitive Open Class corps, the activity is a full-time summer commitment. Members travel from show site to show site, performing in competitions and parades across North America nearly non-stop until the DCI Championships. Corps travel by coach buses in convoy with semi-trailer trucks holding equipment and field kitchens. Once on the road, members generally sleep on the buses as the corps travels at night, and in sleeping bags on school gym floors when their next destination is reached. The corps practice their shows for as long as the schedule allows during the day, and then they go to the stadium for the local competition. After each show is over, the cycle repeats, with only a few breaks in the cycle for laundry days and an occasional free day for relaxation.
Some corps have neither the finances nor the member commitment to spend the entire summer "on tour." Some of these corps restrict themselves to local competitions only. Others may delay the start of their touring, marching only a short season on the way to the DCI Championships.
[edit] DCI Championships
The DCI Championships, first contested in 1972, are the culmination of the drum corps season.[2] Originally held during the third weekend in August, this has moved to the week of the second weekend in August, as the school year has lengthened and the Championship activities have increased.
Over the years, the DCI Championships were held in college or professional sports stadiums in eighteen U.S and Canadian cities, spread from Montreal in the north to Orlando in the south, and from Philadelphia in the east to Pasadena in the west.[5] Since 2009, however, the Championships have been based in Indiana, with the Open Class Championships being held at Ames Field in Michigan City and the World Class Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. DCI plans to remain at the current venues until at least 2018.[6]
Beginning in 1975, the DCI Championship Finals were televised on PBS.[7] From 2006 to 2007, they were carried on ESPN 2.[8] Although the Finals have not been broadcast live in several years, since 2004, the quarterfinals have been screened live at a large number of movie theaters across the country.[9]
During championships week, in addittion to the Open Class and World Class Championships, Individual & Ensemble (I&E) competitions are also held, typically at an indoor facility near the championship stadium. Members of all corps are able to compete, and participating members often use much of their limited free time to prepare their I&E routines. There are a great number of categories or captions for each individual brass and percussion instruments, for auxiliary (aka "color guard") equipment, and for brass, percussion, auxiliary, and mixed ensembles. In the 2005 season, I&E included woodwind instruments for the first time, in recognition that many marching members play instruments other than brass and percussion.
[edit] Marketing
DCI and the individual drum corps derive a large part of their revenues from marketing their product. DCI not only sells tickets to its sanctioned competitions, but it is also the primary distributor of audio and video merchandise for the junior drum and bugle corps activity.[10]
The DCI videos are produced by professionals who primarily work for the major broadcast and cable television networks. Audio products have often been produced by Grammy Award winning recording engineers.[1][5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.dci.org
- ^ a b Drum Corps International: The First Decade: 1972-1981; Nicholas Waerzeggars; Drum Corps World; 2012
- ^ a b "Speaking with one voice: The advent of ‘Open Class’". DCI.org. http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=4702fcb2-7d25-4541-b1f3-61b784ceb769. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "DCI Executive Committee approves formation of ‘Open Class’". DCI.org. http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=48ada8f9-84bf-4fa9-bc3a-39af65269ef0. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ a b c d A History of Drum & Bugle Corps, Vols. 1 & 2; Steve Vickers; Drum Corps World; 2002 & 2003
- ^ "DCI Moving Headquarters, World Championships to Indianapolis", Drum Corps World, 8/29/2006
- ^ DCI Broadcast Schedule, DCI News, 8/23/2004
- ^ DCI on ESPN2 -- tune in on Sept. 6, DCI News, 8/17/2005
- ^ "Coming soon to a theater near you: A larger-than-life DCI experience!". DCI.org. April 23, 2004. http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=95e794c7-f940-4017-97fc-4a00b0b609b3. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ http://store.dci.org/
