Does anybody have a list for everybody's shows?
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Congrats to all groups, especially Inno- I'm excited to work with you again this week to get you ready for Linn Mar!
Waconia and Milton, congrats on a really great start to your seasons. Both of you still have work to do in reaching the goals you hope to acheive, but I couldn't be happier with your wonderful start. Iowa City, we'll work hard when I'm there this week to tie up some loose ends and sned you into next week feeling good about the show. Sounds like it was a truly great competition! God Bless, Damon
I apologize to Waconia for this, but I felt that during the day, the choreo wasn't nearly as clean as the rest, the vocals were mediocre and very lacking in energy...I had you 7th during the day.
Finals (in order of performance)
1.) Hastings - I felt you all had the best overall package during the day...but I also think that's the problem....after I saw everyone else in finals I don't feel like you kicked it up as much as everyone else did. Still love the heelys though...my 2nd favorite thing about the day.
2.) Milton - umm...wow. I have never experienced Milton so good so early in the year...and im an alum. You also provided my numero uno favorite thing about the day....the Mr. Roger's Neighborhood novelty was a riot.....and your facials were amazing...I could not stop laughing. Milton groups have had trouble in the past projecting their sound up to their full potential. Tonight you definitely exceeded my expectations there...but it got a little shouty in parts. I think that's what brought you down, because if I remember correctly your vocal tone and intonation scores were the lowest. Only other complaint...vocal intensity dropped in the closer(more in the daytime than in finals, but still happened). Watch out everyone the rest of the year...this could be a dynamite show.
3.) Linn-Mar - gorgeous. I was a little underwhelmed during the day, which is why I had Hastings ahead, but at night....simply gorgeous. I am always amazed at the vocal intensity and passion you have, whether in english or italian, loud or soft. Just beautifully done. Now...that said...I felt that your show had one problem, and that besides a gorgeous ballad, there really isn't any other climax point in the show...when other groups do reach your level later in the year, this could hurt you, so keep on keepin' on I guess is all I have to say Congrats on a great and well-deserved GC.
4.) Johnston - weird thing about this show. I watched the whole thing without writing anything down...and I couldn't decide whether this was good or bad. Now, during the day, I felt you guys were timid and hadn't really come into your own yet, but at night everything was much better. I realized the reason I didn't write anything down was because there wasn't anything truly spectacular about this show, but then again, I really don't have much criticism for it either...it's just a really solid show for this early in the season. Great job, and your soloist (Allen?) is A-mazing.
5.) Prairie - good show. It was a little non-descript for me, but it has a lot of potential. I think you all have a great sound, but just need to find a more centered tone quality...it got a little pitchy for me at times. Also, one more week or so cleaning Mike Weaver's choreo would do a world of good...not that it was bad by any stretch of the imagination, but this show just needs a little extra something to get it over the hump.
6.) Waconia - now, I apologize for not putting you in the finals during the day...I just totally felt that it fell flat. You definitely showed that you deserved to be in finals at night, though. Energy was much better, as was the choreo. I was still having issues with vocals...mostly that I wish your girls were even half as strong as your guys section, but still...for January 10 I was quite impressed. Personally, I still didn't agree with a 3rd runner up for you guys...I had you a little lower, but I guess that's just my opinion. But your band and your facial and body energy were great and I think that saved you. Because on the final score sheets you were in 6th vocally and 4th on choreo....Milton had you beat on both, and prairie had you beat on vocals, so it wasn't a solid 3rd runner up, but congratulations anyway for having a great show and for the placing you got.
Now...Totino...ah, Totino. I will have to (as much as this pains me) disagree with everyone else who thought it was a travesty that Totino didn't make finals. #1...yes, they should have been in finals. #2...I was completely and totally underwhelmed by their show. Like I said earlier, I had you at 6th going in...so I felt you should have been there. If Waconia had performed it's night show during the day, though, I would have agreed with sending you home...sorry! First impression...Totino does not = April James...never will it or should it. Second impression....how do your girls dance in heels that high? Vocals were pretty good...I thought Linn-Mar, Hastings, Johnston, and Milton had you beat in that category, though. Choreo just turned me off...it wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't solid. I saw wayyyy too many "floppy arms", and with April James stuff that is a cardinal sin. And there was just no intensity to the moves. I guess, lastly...it just didn't feel like a Totino show. I didn't get that warm fuzzy feeling I usually get from a Totino show. I was very disappointed. But, *sigh*, life goes on.
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With that in mind, congratulations to all groups who performed this weekend... what an exciting way to get the season going!
Quite surprised to see Totino miss the finals. They had a complete package. I left Milton out of the finals because though their choreo was great, their final female soloist had such a whiney, irritating voice that i deducted major points. She's probably the one who got best female soloist. I assume that the Johnston best male soloist was their ballad soloist. I'm a bit surprised here too, since he sung it in operatic style. I thought that he spoiled an otherwise great show. The only thing worse than opera in show choir is rap in show choir. Onalaska rankings went closer to my opinions, except that I thought Sioux City should have won. Most original show I have ever seen, but obviously didn't conform to SCA philosophy, and all of the judges were hand-picked for conformity to SCA philosophy. Totino should have gone to Onalaska.
And so it begins...
And which choir would you be associated with most? Just curious? Rarely have i been to a competition that the best female/male soloists are ever wrong. (debateable, but not "awful" like you claim) And remember that judging is going to be a bit subjective, but all these judges that are picked at these wonderful competitions are qualified.
When you have such a high number of quality groups someone is going to get left out, its a crappy situation but it does happen.
Just curious if Totino had any reductions, maybe time? But reading these comments on Totino make me VERY excited to see their show at Linn Mar and will expect it to be even better.
And creativity does not win you a competition. Execution of vocals and choreography do, and clearly 5 other groups did those better, and won.
AAAHHH!!! I had sooo much fun today!!! I was soo depressed when my totino people didn't get to be in finals, so I went out and gave my all in our performance not only for our group, but for Totino! I figured I could attempt to get the top spot for us both!!! I am so happy for stephen todd. He was so excited to be able to utilize us for his choreography this year and getting best choreography shows just how hard we worked!!! We at Hastings loved our little cheer off with milton/johnston and cannot wait for the next time we see these guys!!
So my friend and I drove down to watch finals and this is what we thought: super impressed by everyone, although some choirs in finals had facials not up to par with their singing and dancing (at least in the first half of their show). Linn-Mar and Johnston had terrific vocals (Hastings and Cedar Rapids-Prairie also sounded great). I really enjoyed Waconia's show and thought they had more energy than anyone else that night (partly thanks to their horde of screaming fans). I'm sure all these groups will go on to have terrific seasons and I wish I could be around to watch - but I'm going back to California after Monona Grove and hopefully will catch some awesome show choir out there.
I'm sure all these groups will look a lot different by the end of the season, but way to bring it for the first competition and best of luck for those competing next weekend!
Quite surprised to see Totino miss the finals. They had a complete package. I left Milton out of the finals because though their choreo was great, their final soloist was whiney. I assume that the Johnston best male soloist was their ballad soloist. I'm a bit surprised here too, since he sung it in operatic style. Onalaska rankings went closer to my opinions, except that I thought Sioux City should have won. Most original show I have ever seen, but obviously didn't conform to prevailing show choir philosophy.
thanks so much to all our fans that came out to watch us... AND JOHN I DID SEE YOU'RE HUGE SMILE... considering the fact that i looked right at you katy and wes during the ballad...
CONGRATS TO THE FINALIST!!! you guys did a great job during the day =D
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR ROOM HOST YOU GUYS WERE AWESOME AND THIS WAS A VERY WELL RUN COMPETITION
also congrats to LEAH AND LAURA ON THEIR SOLOS!!!
we're looking forward to seeing you all next saturday at linn-mar!
congrats to all the groups! sounds like this was a fun and very competitive competition! Anyone have the breakdown scores- they'd be interesting to see.
Also, I must say CONGRATS to my waconia kids taking 2nd in prep, and from what i hear scoring higher than a couple versity groups?!? SO PROUD OF YOU!
congrats to everyone at this competition! this was another one like linn-mar and johnston are going to be, apparently, that was just full of crazy talent. this will be an interesting year, to say the least. i'm really excited to see a lot of these groups this year. wooooo linn-mar! congrats on GC!
and damon:
"Actually, it's a "buzzard descending upon a flock of sheep as they graze unknowingly in a pasture of freshly grown alfalfa" ripple. It's SO dramatic."
solid description. but jeff's right, in practice we just call it the vulture ripple. however, i do chuckle as i ponder your comparison of the boys to buzzards and us girls to sheep. " border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
well - just got back - as you may have read - yes i did get a speeding ticket, and i literally am too poor to pay for it.
that said - i'd like to address this totino issue. me, wes, katy sat and watched each group starting after lunch, we all had our input, came up with a rough list. i understand we are completely biased - but we were confident in company's lock in finals and positioning in one of the top spots. i was just shocked. to see the improvements they have made just from preview night on monday is miraculous! seriously. i don't know if anyone else would like to comment, but from what i saw, company had a beautiful sound, sharp choreo, and great energy. i literally can find no flaws great enough to reduce them out of finals. i am just at a loss for words. i was also amazed by milton! oh my god! the choreo was amazing and your sound was killer! i am so disturbed by your low placing! i dont want to get into too big a discussion over this, but i just wanted to tell all company kids reading this: this competition proved nothing. don't lose hope - because you all have something truly incredible! the show fantastic, and i'm sure you couldn't see it, but i was smiling ear to ear the ENTIRE show! i am so proud of all of you!!!!!!!!! you are all going to ROCK IT this next weekend!!!!!! i know it!!!!
Huge congrats to the Johnston kids! They stepped it up tonight, and performed with confidence - which made a world of difference.
I thought Hastings might pull it out tonight - I thought they had the best over all package, and the gimmick in the closer is clever and fun.
Now - about Totino. This is not a matter of difference of opinion, or even a bubble group that got shut out. This was a mistake - and is simply one of the biggest glaring omissions I've seen in over 20 years of watching show choir. I had them in contention to win a GC - so for them to be put into 7th place was just plain wrong. The crowd better look for them next week at Linn-Mar, when I suspect they will be a major contender, just as they were (or should have been) today.
Actually, it's a "buzzard descending upon a flock of sheep as they graze unknowingly in a pasture of freshly grown alfalfa" ripple. It's SO dramatic!
Damon, you make it so hard for other choreographers to do anything near as original or amazing as your ripples... and with such metaphors... simple brilliance.
Viterbo 101 2009
Congrats on a great and well-deserved GC.
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