Trix on Tour (5): Denver is in sight

Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps is on tour in the United States to take part in the DCI competition. Episode 5: Denver is in sight, will Beatrix make the Division II top 9 and make Finals?

Tuesday, July 27
After a trip of about seven hours, we arrived in St Louis at 2.30 hours new time. The clock has been put back another hour. The time difference is now seven hours with The Netherlands. Upon arrival we noticed that the school was closed. Nobody waspresent, meaning that we have to walk arround to find an open door or somebody who can open it. Unfortunately no one present. A phonecall didn't help either. Suddenly a security car. It is rather strange to see three busses, a truck, a kitchen truck, a camper and two vans in front of a closed school.

Fortunately they could reach someone to open the door so we could enter. A great location again. A huge school with beautiful fields and... next to the contest field. That's how it feels when they see you as a top corps. Tomorrow we can put on our uniforms and than walk to the contest field. Great. It is almost scary how the hosts help us all the time. The hospitality is really great.

At eight is was wake up time and then rehearsal. Again three blocks. From 9.30 until 22.00 hours. The weather was great. Warm but very nice to practice. And that's what they did. They worked very hard. The procduct becomes better and better. The members dig into their reserves and fight against heat. To see them work this hard gives me goosebumbs. At 16.30 we were allowed to use the contest field to do a run. This was going to be filmed by the State News but unfortunately they were late. Therefore they made a recording during dinner of the quickly assembled percussion. This was broadcasted in the ten o'clock news. We will get a copy of that over the mail. At 21.30 hours we did a stand still which was really good. The corps is still growing in quality. The lights went off at 23:00 and the members fell a sleep immediately.

It is going really great this tour. Working very hard but hardly no negative sounds. The members are flexible, prepared to help and with a lot of drive. Beatrix is having an unique experience in her almost 60 years of existence.


Wednesday, July 28
Today is an important day with regards to our position on the scoring tables. Tonight's show is completely devoted to Division II, so no Division I corps in sight. Because we improved our show in key places, we are very eager to find out how the judges, but especially the audience will react. Our advantage is that we stay in the same school as where the contest will be held. So we can get used to the contest field and the stands.

A Beatrix member tells about the day: "This morning lights went on at 7.30 hours. That means that the rehearsal will start at ten. In the meantime you have to get showered and have breakfast, so you can start the rehearsal well prepared. I had some trouble getting up myself and that carried on in the morning rehearsal. This rehearsal was mostly visual, with much attention to timing and visual movement. The rehearsal was somewhat shorter than planned, so we could take some more time for lunch. I ate some extra to be able to use more energy in the afternoon rehearsal.

The afternoon rehearsal went much smoother for me. Although the sun was very present, I was able to concentrate well on the focus points that can improve the show for me. In the closing run through I try to pay as much attention as possible to the latest adjustments in the show and make them look like they're routine already. Disregarding some small mistakes, I had a good show and that gives me faith for tonight. But first shower, eat, clean and change clothes. After the show we will leave for the next location, so everything has to be loaded into the buses and trucks before showtime.

The warming up for tonight's show goes well, but the atmosphere is a bit tense. Because everyone is very eager to find out where we stand compared to the other Division II corps. During the warming up my focus gets diverted to an army of mosquitoes that are here for my blood. Because of this, my warming up is not that great and I become determined to make up for that in the show. A pep talk by the staff sets all noses in the same direction... we're going for it!"


Thursday, July 29
Contest in Oklahoma City. Again with only Division II and III corps. These divisions are comparable to the European level. Even stronger, a club like Beatrix, not the least in Europe, has to fight here for a ninth spot in Division II. We get asked many times what division we're competing in. Beatrix is in Division II International Class. This means the same judging system as the other corps in this division. Next Tuesday in Denver we will have to place ourselves for thursday's Finals by ending ninth or higher.

The housing in Oklahoma City was cancelled, so DCI had to provide an alternative. This was a hotel! Unfortunately it turned out that four corps had to stay in this hotel and that there were not enough rooms available. Luckily we know how to improvise, so with six people to one room we managed to house the whole corps. Rehearsal was only possible at the hotel because our drivers had to catch up on their sleep after the long drive from St. Louis. So, musical on the hotel parking lot. This didn't go bad at all and at 5.30 we left for the contest.

A beautiful stadium, but unfortunately almost empty. According to the organisation this was due to the weather. We thought the weather was very nice, but of course we're from Holland. We had to perform at peak level though, crowd or no crowd. This happened partially. Musically this was one of the best performances, maybe the best even, but visually there were some flaws. However, with 79.125 we remain in a fighting position for the top 9. After the snack, we left for Garden City - Kansas. We will have our next contest here on Saturday, next to our housing. It is a beautiful new field with astro turf. The weather is very good, around 37 degrees celsius.

Friday, July 30
A day off. During the morning we went to the laundry service for the last time. It is quite an invasion: 94 people in one launderette. Luckily we managed, with some delays. After lunch the buses left for a mall. Bearix really is a champion in shopping. In no time, all shops know that a bunch of Dutchies is let loose and that they are crazy for clothing, shoes and all other stuff that is cheaper here than in the Netherlands.

An hour and a half later all shops could report a boost in their sales. After that the buses left for a swimming pool. A swim in a big, square pool. Nothing much extra, but who needs that? When the members entered the pool and were only half wet, a whistle sounded. It turned out that the life guards had their 20 minute break and during that time no others are allowed in the pool. So, out we went. After that we could swim around. After dinner, rehearsal. Very intensive and useful. Until 22.00 everybody worked very hard and we ended the day with a super run through. Tomorrow there will be another contest and everybody is looking forward to it. (Text: beatrix.org)