The 2019 Drum Corps International World Championships saw a close World Class competition between the Blue Devils and the Bluecoats, several milestones among Open Class medalists, and innovative uniform concepts and set-piece surprises.
BLUE DEVILS COMMANDED THE STAGE
With a score of 98.325, the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps from Concord, California, took home the gold at Drum Corps International World Championships, finishing less than a tenth of a point ahead of the Bluecoats after a tight season-long race. The Blue Devils also received the John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award. This victory continues the Blue Devils’ streak of finishing in the top two every year since 2007 and serves as the corps’ 19th championship.
The Blue Devils ’ 2019 show, “ Ghost Light,” was based on a theater legend. Historically, theaters have kept a light on at the stage each night. While this tradition began for safety purposes, so that anyone who enters the theater can see, the practice also created a superstition.
“Theaters say they’re haunted; the legend behind that light [is that] the spirits come out at night,” says Patrick Seidling, the Blue Devils corps director. “Our show is … what happens at night when the theater is empty, and the spirits come out.”
THEATER IN MOTION
This theme gave the Blue Devils room to play with different theatrical traditions that have risen throughout history. “At the beginning of the show, you see references to the Greek chorus, which is our first theater,” says Scott Chandler, visual designer for the Blue Devils. “Then we worked through Elizabethan theater, which is Shakespeare. We sample that through the music and have a character portraying Hamlet.”
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