I definitely agree. Though I think that if there are rules, they should be enforced. There's no value to anyone creating a "rule" and then being wishy-washy about it. Either make guidelines for everyone to follow, or if those guidelines seem outdated or unhelpful to those performing, get rid of them altogether! In the case of this discussion as it relates to doing a different set in finals, I don't see why a group shouldn't be allowed to use their 20-minute slot however they wish. If a group truly did two completely different shows, that would be double the work for the choir. I doubt many would want that on their plate. If they were able to execute them both to finals-level standards, though, I'm not sure how it harms anyone by doing different performances.
My opinion: Don't put limits on creativity with rules about "do the same presentation one more time with no significant changes". If a group has their act together and the confidence to present different shows in the evening than they did in the day time, why prohibit that? Admit it, even amoungst finalist groups, there are shows that you don't want to see twice. If I did not like your afternoon performance, I probably won't like your evening performance if it is the same. But if it is not the same, there is a chance that I will enjoy it more than the afternoon performance. No limits!
So like some sort of musical palindrome, where the flow of the set works in both directions? That's a really genius concept, now I have to see it.
Just out of curiosity, do some competitions have rules against that? I remember something happened last year where one group lost a lot of points due to changing a broken backdrop or some prop for finals. There was a rule where you couldn't make any significant changes like that between prelims and finals.
I'm a little late to the party but I didn't see this until today. From the competitions I've watched (and actually bought a program to see the rules) most of them had some sort of rule about keeping the same show from prelims to finals. I think some slight adjustments were fine but groups couldn't drastically change their show. That Indiana competition is the only place where I've seen it actually enforced. I remember awhile back Winfield had a audience participation show where the audience could pick how they did certain aspects of their show and I wondered how they got around the same show rule.
Wheaton's concept has me very intrigued though. I wonder what they will do for their competition, or something like FAME nationals where there isn't a real finals.
It was an early 2012 competition in Indiana that managed to severely drop Center Grove down in the rankings for that year. After that a bunch of penalties began to crop up all over the place that managed to have a negative effect on the entire 2012 season. Correct me if I'm wrong.
The "rankings." Other than that competition, "Sound System" 2012 had a great season. But yeah, Mt. Zion and John Burroughs, perhaps among others, had penalties of sorts that year.
So like some sort of musical palindrome, where the flow of the set works in both directions? That's a really genius concept, now I have to see it.
Just out of curiosity, do some competitions have rules against that? I remember something happened last year where one group lost a lot of points due to changing a broken backdrop or some prop for finals. There was a rule where you couldn't make any significant changes like that between prelims and finals.
It was an early 2012 competition in Indiana that managed to severely drop Center Grove down in the rankings for that year. After that a bunch of penalties began to crop up all over the place that managed to have a negative effect on the entire 2012 season. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Props to Glenwood! According to a source, the daytime show is War is Love and the finals show starts out with the closer as the opener and the finals show is Love is War. Quite amazing. Only WWS could do something so incredible and innovative.
I will do anything to see this Wheaton show. I have to. This is one of the craziest things I've ever heard. Even for Wheaton. Oh my freaking out ohie fweaklfdsjklmfdhskfjdsa.fds
Oh. My. Gosh. If what is being talked about here is true, I am floored... Like laying on the floor, seizing. Unbelievable. I was wondering what direction WWS would go in to continue besting previous years, but this is amazing! I love it!
Is it possible that the Nebraska competition they dropped out of has this rule?
OOOHH GREAT POINT!
Btw I totally had this exact idea and obviously Dwight Jordan is secretly KGB and had the technology to bug my brain and search it for show concepts.(kidding of course but really, I had that EXACT idea)
I was certain it was either Mt Zion or Center Grove, just not what year. Both groups typically place pretty high so I just had to look for any results that stood out.
Agreed about a national standardisation of rules, that it has many pros and cons. Every choir is unique and brings something different to the stage. Recently we've seen a lot of choirs try new things, like Wheaton with this palindrome set or Burbank using (pre-recorded) dubstep in their 2012 set. I've heard this is against the rules in some competitions, so my biggest concern is if these regulations were adapted as a national whole, which would limit the more contemporary "out there" sets. What makes show choir fun to watch, in my opinion, is seeing how all these choirs have their own style, something that should be embraced.
I guess Wheaton would just avoid any competitions with the rule. I'm not sure where else they're going this season.
Found what I was thinking of, it was this competition.
You are fast! I wasn't even conscious that that had happened, but it does seem pretty ridiculous. I think you raised a great point about rules, though, and that a lot of this stuff should probably be reexamined as it applies to modern show choir. As much as I'd love to see more standardization across the country so things just work better from state to state, one has to be careful about championing for a "national show choir board" because you'll get something like this rule stuck in the system and all of a sudden it becomes a nightmare for everyone. From what I've seen, things like ISSMA generally tend to be more of a pain than a blessing (though I'm speaking purely based on comments I've read over the years).
I was actually tempted to say "Indiana" in that last post but was just making a friendly jab at Ohio because of recent conversation here. I certainly hope Wheaton doesn't get penalized over the course of the year for bringing a little creativity to the stage.
Found what I was thinking of, it was this competition.
I imagine it would inspire a few choirs to try having a different prelims and finals show, whether the songs are reversed or it's a completely different set all together. Perhaps a story set, first half in prelims, the second in the finals. I imagine only a few could pull these concepts off, in a way it's like learning two different performances. Congrats to Wheaton for thinking this up.
Just out of curiosity, do some competitions have rules against that?
Oh there's probably some event somewhere that has that rule... (Ohio? ), but I think it would be pretty absurd to adhere to it. The whole point of finals is to absorb critique from the day round and make changes that improve your performance... whether that's vocal technique, choreography, staging, or anything else. If people expect a carbon copy show in the evening, there doesn't seem much point to do it again. I've had a long standing love/hate relationship with the concept of "finals" since I was introduced to it (I'm mostly in favor now, though that comes with some big asterisks), but if you're going to go twice, give the audience something to remember. I think Wheaton's idea is brilliant, original, and shows why they're one of the best. I just hope we aren't going to see 15 groups try something similar next year.
So like some sort of musical palindrome, where the flow of the set works in both directions? That's a really genius concept, now I have to see it.
Just out of curiosity, do some competitions have rules against that? I remember something happened last year where one group lost a lot of points due to changing a broken backdrop or some prop for finals. There was a rule where you couldn't make any significant changes like that between prelims and finals.
In preliminaries the show runs in one direction; in finals, the show runs in the opposite direction with some embellishments.
Now that is a cool idea. It would be interesting to see how it affects the story - assuming there is one - and how the reverse order changes the feeling of what's being conveyed. Obviously it would come down to execution, but on paper that's a really unique and interesting concept. So many shows I need to see this year!