The emcee put it the best when he said, "these groups win week in and week out." All four finalists had previously won a grand championship. I went in with the thought that Mitchell, CG, and Bishop would all be battling for their rank. I had seen parts of all three and I knew that with the scoring system FAME used that CG and Mitchell both had a great opportunity to win. I am not from the north, but i will give a regional perspective on it. CG and Mitchell are both known and I think most people would put them in the same grouping from a national perspective. With that being said, I would not have been surprised if either of the two would have won so for me FDC didn't "come out of nowhere."
I feel that the sentence that followed my "came out of nowhere" statement was explanatory, but I will explain.
I can't speak for members of Center Grove, however seeing as to how neither group competed within hundreds of miles of one another the only way for either member to be aware of the other's successes would be through some happy medium(SCC). I cannot tell whether such users of the website would talk to non-using members (That is not a drug reference...lol) about information that may be gathered from SCC.
I am aware of Mitchell, but I've been around here for a looooooong time...Not to mention they have been placing well all season. However, I cannot be sure how known these current, not to mention past, successes of FDC have become to members of other groups. And, seeing as to CG's record at National competitions I am empathetic to those that may not have seen this coming.
Please don't feel that I'm not aware or attempting to devalue FDC's wonderful season and very accomplished placement at Fame Orlando. The last thing that I would want to do is come across that way.
Explain yourself... FDC certainly didn't "come out of nowhere" look at their season.... They only lost to TG and Waukee and it was the same competition.
I feel that the sentence that followed my "came out of nowhere" statement was explanatory, but I will explain.
I can't speak for members of Center Grove, however seeing as to how neither group competed within hundreds of miles of one another the only way for either member to be aware of the other's successes would be through some happy medium(SCC). I cannot tell whether such users of the website would talk to non-using members (That is not a drug reference...lol) about information that may be gathered from SCC.
I am aware of Mitchell, but I've been around here for a looooooong time...Not to mention they have been placing well all season. However, I cannot be sure how known these current, not to mention past, successes of FDC have become to members of other groups. And, seeing as to CG's record at National competitions I am empathetic to those that may not have seen this coming.
Please don't feel that I'm not aware or attempting to devalue FDC's wonderful season and very accomplished placement at Fame Orlando. The last thing that I would want to do is come across that way.
I agree with the idea that "Mitchell came out of nowhere". I'm pretty certain that Mitchell and CG have never competed together, not to mention that neither school travels into the other's "territory".
The SCA claim wasn't the worst claim I've ever read, simply because it comes up every year.lol
Explain yourself... FDC certainly didn't "come out of nowhere" look at their season.... They only lost to TG and Waukee and it was the same competition.
Remember scores can also be based off of dificulty of other groups there. I am an Opelika alum and was at the competition and can say that of all the choirs in finals CG had the easiest choreography. They executed it equally to anyone and the scores reflected that. Overall, the complaints on here have been silly. As mentioned, the two judges with the most ties to SCA had yall in first by a large margin and yall still lost. Also, Opelika sends at least 20 to 30 kids every year to camp and those same two with the most ties to camp had Opelika in fourth by a large margin. Your ballad was phenomenal and yall put on a great show, but Mitchell just happened to be a little bit better. If you are going to compete then you have to understand that you pay your money and take your chances. It was a great competition and you should be very proud of your placement. It's very impressive.
are difficulty scores at Fairfield going against Burroughs and Clinton were nines and tens
Verda did have CG in first in finals as well as Sue Monniger. Anne did not. I saw the scores myself and this is very much true. I never said that CG's choreography was easy, but that it was easier than Mitchell's as a whole. CG won choreography in finals with a lower score in difficulty which goes back to my point about execution. Both CG and Mitchell were amazing and both should be proud of their performance. In the future, I would suggest performing to move people over performing for trophies. Your ballad was one of the most inspiring performances I have ever seen and it seemed so genuine. After seeing and hearing all of the bitterness, it makes it seem fake and forced like you were only doing it for the trophies. I can tell you for a fact that Opelika was exctatic with their finish not because they got third and beat some really great groups, but because every person gave the best performance possible and moved people in the audience. The trophy really meant nothing. It sat in the bus the rest of the trip relatively unnoticed because everyone knew they had given their best. You gave an awesome performance; one that moved people. Celebrate the effect you had on the audience not the effect the second place trophy had on you.
Verda did not have CG in first...i am not sure about Sue but Verda for sure did not have us in first.
And dont worry we were very happy with our performance the crowd response was great ...we dont need the trophy to "win" the response from the audience was enough
I agree Ben... Opelika's performance in Finals was awesome.. I didn't get to see them in daytime but I'm sure they were awesome as to have made finals. I also want to say thank you to whoever said "perform to perform" or something along those lines... don't perform to win. When you're an alumni you don't look back and say "oh man i miss getting 6 foot tall trophies, and sweeping the competition" you say... "I MISS PERFORMING!!!!" which is soooo true. don't ever sell yourself short on the few years you have with your choir. Everytime you step on stage you should realize it's one closer to the last time you'll be with this group of some of your closest friends.
I want to congratulate all groups on fantastic performances this past weekend. I was amazed at the talent level and committment from each of the groups. Mitchell has one of the most refreshing creative shows I've seen in a long time. Center Grove has the best ballad I have ever heard. They can put out a huge sound, but they were so sensitive in the ballad. I can't begin to describe how amazing it was.
Our goal was to make finals, and we succeeded. I like to do well, but I stress to my students the importance of competing against yourself rather than focusing on other groups. If the focus is only on winning, you'll often end up dissappointed. I never want my students to be dissappointed with an amazing performance. At the end of the day, last place or first place, we went there to entertain and put on the best show we had done all year. Hopefully we did that. Once again, congrats to all groups.
I just finished uploading our performance onto youtube. Hopefully you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who helped make our year a success.
I want to congratulate all groups on fantastic performances this past weekend. I was amazed at the talent level and committment from each of the groups. Mitchell has one of the most refreshing creative shows I've seen in a long time. Center Grove has the best ballad I have ever heard. They can put out a huge sound, but they were so sensitive in the ballad. I can't begin to describe how amazing it was.
Our goal was to make finals, and we succeeded. I like to do well, but I stress to my students the importance of competing against yourself rather than focusing on other groups. If the focus is only on winning, you'll often end up dissappointed. I never want my students to be dissappointed with an amazing performance. At the end of the day, last place or first place, we went there to entertain and put on the best show we had done all year. Hopefully we did that. Once again, congrats to all groups.
I just finished uploading our performance onto youtube. Hopefully you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who helped make our year a success.
they weren't poorly phrased. more like comments that should have not been made period. I am for discussion on the boards, but to come out and say the competition was rigged because they have done SCA is the worst claim i've ever read. I think the problem is they feel like Mitchell came out of nowhere to win, where that is not the case.
I agree with the idea that "Mitchell came out of nowhere". I'm pretty certain that Mitchell and CG have never competed together, not to mention that neither school travels into the other's "territory".
The SCA claim wasn't the worst claim I've ever read, simply because it comes up every year.lol
Just gonna say it, this is how easy it is to judge a group on a few members' poorly phrased comments.
they weren't poorly phrased. more like comments that should have not been made period. I am for discussion on the boards, but to come out and say the competition was rigged because they have done SCA is the worst claim i've ever read. I think the problem is they feel like Mitchell came out of nowhere to win, where that is not the case.
It wasn't fake at all, most of the choir was bawling their eyes out when we sang it in warmup. Thanks for judging the while choir based on what two people said, though!
Just gonna say it, this is how easy it is to judge a group on a few members' poorly phrased comments.
Verda did have CG in first in finals as well as Sue Monniger. Anne did not. I saw the scores myself and this is very much true. I never said that CG's choreography was easy, but that it was easier than Mitchell's as a whole. CG won choreography in finals with a lower score in difficulty which goes back to my point about execution. Both CG and Mitchell were amazing and both should be proud of their performance. In the future, I would suggest performing to move people over performing for trophies. Your ballad was one of the most inspiring performances I have ever seen and it seemed so genuine. After seeing and hearing all of the bitterness, it makes it seem fake and forced like you were only doing it for the trophies. I can tell you for a fact that Opelika was exctatic with their finish not because they got third and beat some really great groups, but because every person gave the best performance possible and moved people in the audience. The trophy really meant nothing. It sat in the bus the rest of the trip relatively unnoticed because everyone knew they had given their best. You gave an awesome performance; one that moved people. Celebrate the effect you had on the audience not the effect the second place trophy had on you.
It wasn't fake at all, most of the choir was bawling their eyes out when we sang it in warmup. Thanks for judging the while choir based on what two people said, though!
Verda did have CG in first in finals as well as Sue Monniger. Anne did not. I saw the scores myself and this is very much true. I never said that CG's choreography was easy, but that it was easier than Mitchell's as a whole. CG won choreography in finals with a lower score in difficulty which goes back to my point about execution. Both CG and Mitchell were amazing and both should be proud of their performance. In the future, I would suggest performing to move people over performing for trophies. Your ballad was one of the most inspiring performances I have ever seen and it seemed so genuine. After seeing and hearing all of the bitterness, it makes it seem fake and forced like you were only doing it for the trophies. I can tell you for a fact that Opelika was exctatic with their finish not because they got third and beat some really great groups, but because every person gave the best performance possible and moved people in the audience. The trophy really meant nothing. It sat in the bus the rest of the trip relatively unnoticed because everyone knew they had given their best. You gave an awesome performance; one that moved people. Celebrate the effect you had on the audience not the effect the second place trophy had on you.
Let's clarify: Verta and Ann did not have CG in first place. The vocal judges from the day are the only ones who had CG in first place.
Another point: Why were the caption awards given at the end of the day? Does this happen at nationals?
Fame is not making any points toward a national competion. It is too bad Showstoppers couldn't make it. At least the judges were reputable.
Verda did have CG in first in finals as well as Sue Monniger. Anne did not. I saw the scores myself and this is very much true. I never said that CG's choreography was easy, but that it was easier than Mitchell's as a whole. CG won choreography in finals with a lower score in difficulty which goes back to my point about execution. Both CG and Mitchell were amazing and both should be proud of their performance. In the future, I would suggest performing to move people over performing for trophies. Your ballad was one of the most inspiring performances I have ever seen and it seemed so genuine. After seeing and hearing all of the bitterness, it makes it seem fake and forced like you were only doing it for the trophies. I can tell you for a fact that Opelika was exctatic with their finish not because they got third and beat some really great groups, but because every person gave the best performance possible and moved people in the audience. The trophy really meant nothing. It sat in the bus the rest of the trip relatively unnoticed because everyone knew they had given their best. You gave an awesome performance; one that moved people. Celebrate the effect you had on the audience not the effect the second place trophy had on you.
The easiest way to judge tap is by listening. Watching the feet to see unison in steps is rather difficult when the choirs are tapping.
And just to say it, this was a very qualified panel... I fail to see how any of the four mentioned judges don't lend credibility to the Fame organization.
The caption awards are always really weird at Fame events. I've been to a few of them and most of the non major awards are given at the end of the day. After the finals round is when I've seen them hand out the "Major" awards.
Center Grove has incredibly hard choreography year in and year out. We have the same choreographer as them, and his stuff is very hard. Have you ever tap danced before? It's really difficult, especially to get them all in unison. Maybe if the judges would look at what the feet are doing every once in a while instead of watching arms the whole time they would see that Center Grove has really hard stuff to do
Sorry for going off like that but it just irritates me when people say that groups like Center Grove and Cedar Rapids Washington have easy choreography when it's actually some of the hardest
FAME Orlando 2010
