Happy Thursday!
Normally blog posts don’t come out in the middle of the week, but the marching arts just got some ground-breaking news– DCI and DCA are working together to create an “DCI All-Age Class”.
To truly understand why this is a big deal, there’d a few things we need to break down. First of all…
What is DCI?
Drum Corps International (DCI) is a non profit organization that hosts junior drum corps. With Open and World classes, members audition for their corps, rehearse a show during “spring training” (rehearsal schedules vary between corps and class, but they typically live at the rehearsal site full time during spring training), and go on a “tour” where organizations perform their show and compete against other groups in their class. The tour is usually nationwide, hitting a variety of states before the end of the season. This series of competitions all culminates during one weekend in August–DCI World Championships, historically held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. All members must be under the age of 21, each corps can have no more than 150 members, and typically costs between $3000-$8000 per summer, per member.
What is DCA?
Drum Corps Associates (DCA) is a non profit organization dedicated to drum corps. With A Class, Open Class, World Class, Mini-Corps (5-25 members), and Alumni Corps, members rehearse their shows during an abbreviated “spring training” and go on a “tour” where organizations perform their shows and compete against other groups in the same class. The tour is usually more local to the home base and is more abbreviated than DCI. The rehearsal schedule and show schedule for DCA is typically on the weekends, allowing members to be home during the week. This series of competitions leads to DCA Championships, typically held near Rochester, NY.
So, what’s going on?
This week, DCI and DCA announced a two-year partnership agreement where DCA will continue to operate under it’s own rules but will take on the operating policies of DCI. In an effort to sustain the drum corps activity, the two organizations have decided to partner.
Why is this good?
This partnership means:
- More resources for all-age corps including event management expertise, participant health, wellness and safety programs, potential partnerships and an expanded marketing reach
- A bigger stage for all-age corps (more exposure!)
- A bigger + wider audience for DCI–more money coming in, which helps the activity survive in an age where rising costs make DCI harder and harder to maintain
- Could make marching drum corps a reality for more members who found the activity later in life
Why could this be bad?
- All-age corps will cost more to march, pricing even more people out of the activity
- Will increase travel demand for all-age corps, making it harder for some members to march
- Could mean the end of mini corps and alumni corps
- Most DCA corps are on the East Coast. The move to an Indy Championship location could keep many DCA corps from attending, including many of the fans.
What do you think? Will this partnership benefit performers and fans, or is this the beginning of the end? Let us know in the comments below!
Read the original press release here
