Visitors of our website left the following questions behind for Jonathan:
1 "I
know how involved you are in the marching world and specifically with
Blast! (at least at one time) I'm trying out, and I was wondering if
there were any things you could recommend for me and my audition tape.
I know they really expect creativity, and I know you are a genius at
that. Any guidance or tips for success would be more than appreciated". - Caleb Thomas -
>>Jonathan: Well
in any audition situation you want to make yourself stand out. The best way to
do so is with quality. Make sure that everything about your performance on the
video is of Star Quality. Do things on there you do very well and still max it
out. Wear something that will make people remember you. Go that little bit
extra on everything. If you were to act out a scene make sure that you use real
life thoughts of your past, to make your performance that much more real. 2 "Is
there a special stretch program before you rehearse at the Cadets? For
example, do the sabres have different stretch excersises than the
flagline? Please explain...". - Cindy Hendrix -
>>Jonathan: The Cadets warm up program is a different beast
than most because we do it everyday. We do have a warm up/technique program we
develop throughout the season. There are different exercises we do with the
different sections. For example The Cadets spin flag usually for the majority
of the show, so the entire guard knows the entire flag technique program. Then throughout
the season things are adjusted accordingly. We stop doing wind up tosses and
start using preps and tosses from the show. Sometime the writers and
choreographers have created exercises to incorporate into the daily technique
program so that the technique can be as consistent as possible. The Cadets also have a daily dance class for
at least 45 minutes to an 1 ˝ hours. This helps with line, stretch, strength,
as well as a movement style. 3 "Is there a different approach for designing/creating a summer show instead of a winter guard show?" - Wendy Bavels -
>>Jonathan:YES!!!! The biggest is time. Drum corps show can be
up to 11:30 minutes. That could be up to 2 full winterguard shows. Winterguard
show are in a controlled environment where drum corps is out side in the
elements. Creatively as far as concept and overall design they are very
similar, the biggest differents is for the choreographers and equipment
writers.All tricky hand things the
performers do while spinning gets lost out on the drum corps field. The writing
needs to be less about there hands and more about the color or lack of color to
create effect. Some costume ideas are viewed from over 50 yards away from the
judges, make sure everything is detailed accordingly. As well as in winterguard
some spectators are 6 feet away from performers(sorry you will have to do the
convertion to metric), so things down the right hem length are seen.
4 "What are you
looking for when you are watching a color guard (From a spectators and
judging view) Is there a style or unit which you really like? Why do
you like this style or unit so much?". - Ann Atkinson -
>>Jonathan: When I am watching a
group I always want to be entertained from a show design stand point and from
the performers. Things that I am always looking for is technique, do the
performers move and spin the same. Do they have effort changes, highs, lows,
breath. Do they understand how to move through space at different rates of
speed or is it all just even movement through space. I do have some favourite
groups most of which I performed with. Emerald Marquis, always had incredible
integrity in the equipment choreography. The Cadets, I love there technique
program for spinning and rehearsing. Escapade winterguard for there mastery of
performance and effect.The Pride of
Cincinnati for the commitment to motivational staging instead of just drill
writing.
5"If I want to do an audition in the US, is there a list
of things I need to know? Are there basic excersises which I need to
perform or can I just make a video with all kind of excersises?".- Renate Zuidweg -
>>Jonathan: There are some exercises that most groups do all
over the world. Things like drop spins, wind-up tosses, and double time spins.
Most groups have there own way of doing things so at least some knowledge of
these things are helpful. At most auditions people are looking for great hard
working people that kind add a great personality to there organization, not for
the people that are perfect when they walk in the door.
6"First of all I would like to compliment you with your
fantastic work in the Cadets, I always enjoy your color guardwork and
wish you good luck for this upcomming season. My question: "How do you
keep up with the latest techniques, styles etc? Do you go to seminars
or do you watch a lot of color guards? Even you has to learn
somewhere!".- Bethany Williams -
>>Jonathan: Thank you so much, The Cadets are and always will be
close to my heart. I use my equipment writers to develop advances in our
technique program. The way this works is for example Greg Lagola, one of the
equipment writers from the cadets, love to do finger twirls so we designed a
finger twirl exercise in the technique program. Some writers like to do “their
moves” by incorporating these things into what you do everyday makes the
performers much more consistent. 7 "How are you doing? When are you coming to visit Holland?" Love, - Sylvia Vos - POC 07 :-) >>Jonathan: I am doing so well thank you!
I am taking a little break from color guard to attend the Charles Macpherson Academy
for Butlers and House Managers. So, I just moved from NYC to Toronto Canada for
8 weeks. My Classes start Sept 6th and continue till Nov. 9th.
Drum corps for 18years, winterguard for 13 and Blast! For 4 ˝ years puts some
strain on your body and your pocket so I am back to student life. I am really
doing well and excited about a new chapter in my life. I can never or will
never leave the activity but for right now I am enjoying working with my local
group from NJ, Passaic HS, they are SA and 20 minutes by train from my house in
queens. It is low stress and I can still have a career with insurance and
benefits and all those things that are required to live. 8 "How does your
staffteam look like? How many staffmembers does a color guard need to
fully function. Do you have specialists? Please explain to me what kind
of positions I need to fill in my staffteam". - Emily Delcourtran -
>>Jonathan: Ideally, you should have a
choreographer for movement and one for equipment. A tech for each section, and
a movement person to do dance class everyday, then one person in charge of the
overall running of rehearsal.So at The
Cadets I have 2 equipment writers, 1 movement choreographer that was on tour
with us full time to do dance class daily, 3 equipment techs one for each
section any myself. Everyone was full time except the writers.At St Ann’s when I was there we had 2 staging
and equipment designers, 2 techs and myself, and we did just fine. It all depends
upon how much time and energy your people are willing to put in. How can 1
person do 2 jobs? Does the flag tech have great movement skills to do dance
class everyday? Having talented people on staff that can do such double
responsibility will help create a great and talented team.
Quote
"InCorps has been our partner organisation since the founding of Drum Corps Europe in 2000. With their technical skills and experience, the InCorps clinicians and arrangers are able to take drum corps in Europe to a higher level. We're very proud to have this fine organisation as our partner in clinics for brass, percussion, pit, guard, and marching. Without any doubt InCorps is an enrichment for European corps."
