DCE report: entertainment at its best!

Who would have imagined ten years ago that drum corps in Europe would grow to such an extent? Saturday, thousands of people enjoyed a thrilling European Championships at the Stadium or via the webcast. Kidsgrove Scouts took their first title, debutants The Company nabbed a close second and Dutch champions Juliana once again left Jubal and Beatrix behind them. Here's a report.

 
PREMIER CLASS - THE SEMI FINALISTS
 
Congratulations to the winners, but let us not forget to mention the corps that did not progress beyond the Prelims. The day started wonderfully! Con Spirito, may have disappointed the judging panel, but the early birds in the stands certainly enjoyed their performance! What a great kickoff, with the classic 'Magical Mystery Tour' by the Beatles (and known form drum corps programmes). The Beach Boys music pieces literally and figuratively made the sun shine. The joy burst from the field and the audience knew that this would be a wonderful day!
 
Barely one hour later, 'Magical Mystery Tour' was played again, this time by The Devils. After that, the Germans switched to a Greek Sirtaki. The spectators enjoyed the musical trip around the world and clapped along enthusiastically. Calypso did the audience a favour with their 'Vergas' show, especially the still catchy 'El Tango de Roxanne', while Heartliner kept everyone entertained with a very modest beginning with a beautiful choreography which kept everyone's attention.
 
After a hint of Mediterranean music from Besana (this club has shown a huge growth in quality each year), it is the turn of Showband Marum. According to the reporter, the corps is a clear asset to the DCE competition, much like Con Spirito. Neither corps made it through to the evening, but both have enough potential to make it a lot further in the coming years. Marum was not lacking in confidence. They performed their show full of bravado their show and especially the drum line jumped out at me. The Kyteman song 'Sorry' was impressive. After Colin Benders, the Marum saxophonist also gave me goosebumps with her fantastic solo.
 
The above corps did not make it through to the evening, but gave the half-filled stands a lovely morning. The time when only four or five corps were worth watching is long gone. Hopefully, the audience will get to Kerkrade nice and early in the next few years, because the Premier Class is pure enjoyment from beginning to end.


JUNIOR CLASS - THE FINALS

The juniors also made themselves known in Kerkrade. Boys and girls with class! Where Jong Jubal was rather lonely at the top in recent years, the overall level of the Junior Class has soared. Johan Friso even went 'up and over' this year. The juniors from Middelburg already successfully seized power in the DCN Finals in Dordrecht and repeated that feat at the DCE Championships. They won the title swinging and convincingly. Jong Jubal also gave an enjoyable performance this year. Especially Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' dance moves performed by the guard girls were a delight to watch. Beat it!
 
Jong Beatrix had to settle for third place, but incited a lot of fun with 'Abba Rulez'. A feast of recognition for the older people in the gallery! The Hilversum kids showed that the Swedish cult music remains timeless. The French debutants Kadoudal certainly deserve an honourable mention. It is lovely and heart warming that a small group can give such a wonderful performance during their first participation. The drum major of the corps gets ten out of ten for their great salute to the audience. Hats off! It is very nice to see that the Junior Class has finally got an international flavour and is no longer a repeat of the DCN Finals. And despite the bottom place it was a brave debut and definitely worth repeating!


 
PREMIER CLASS - THE FINALISTS
 
With their show, the Staffordshire Knights secured as a solid tenth place for the Finals. This meant new blood in the top ten. The Knights bring classical music to the fore, and this is something the corps does very well. It was an impressive achievement to push for the top ten as a newcomer.


German champions Starriders once again started the climb, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Straight away after the intermission in the Prelims, the Germans get the public quiet with a very subtle beginning. With a little style dance, the corps lets the audience know it's ready, and the rest of the show is also very impressive, partly due to the stylish guard ladies. The Starriders repeat this finely in the evening and settle at a respectable ninth place.


Less subtlety for Millennium. The Italian champions chose to give the audience a spectacular show full of Roman tradition. Even the beginning was impressive. Drum major 'Julius Caesar' throws his sword in the grass by way of greeting and comes off the stage during the show to conquer guard girl 'Cleopatra'. At the end, the drum major himself is overthrown by the forces  on the field. Millennium impresses not only with this dramatic performance but also with their strong music and clever choreography.


That such corps should settle for eighth place says it all. But who else is coming? Dagenham Crusaders, Black Knights, Beatrix, Jubal, Juliana, The Company and Kidsgrove Scouts! A list of participants which reaches new heights! And all participants get the audience going. It was incredible to see on Saturday that the English have not only grown in quantity but also in quality. Finally, the British can combine strong arrangements with lots of immensity and power!
 
In 2009, after years of absence, the Dagenham Crusaders returned to the field as an alumni corps and have now even entered the competition. The corps is smaller than last year, but remains an impressive entity. And it is still enjoyable experience. Wonderful, these old-fashioned screaming trumpets! It is a joy, even for the juges as the corps gets an admirable seventh place. Interesting detail: apparently Dagenham does not listen to the phrase 'corps dismissed', because after the awards ceremony, they neatly march off the field.
 
Then we have the Black Knights. Two words: feeling good! The corps has been a crowd favourite for years, but it is also steadily improving terms of performance. In recent years, the Black Knights were in the second half of the Premier Class top 10, but this year they ended higher in the raning. They present a quality show without forgetting the audience. This was proven by their performance in the centre of Kerkrade on Friday afternoon, where many corps would have chosen to hold an extra rehearsal instead. Their performance on Saturday did not suffer. The corps once again received a standing ovation, sailed into sixth place in the Prelims, and even rose to fifth place in the evening!


For Beatrix, the disappoint must be the greatest. The Hilversum superpower eventually had to settle for sixth place. The big question for those people who were not in Kerkrade is naturally 'was Beatrix that bad, or was the rest that good?' The latter is more accurate. Because Beatrix gave an excellent performance as usual. The 'Wicked' show fascinated from beginning to end. A nice fast show, with lots of movement. Very cool how the brass run through each other a few times. A great experience.
 
The same goes for Jubal. The 'Clockwork Orange' theme has been carried through down to the second hand. Very nice visuals, including guard members trying to get their watch going. But most entertaining was the time machine that falls apart and the brass member screaming 'cuckoo'. Top entertainment, which was visibly appreciated by the audience.


But brand new Dutch champions Juliana firmly hold the door to the podium. The corps from Middelburg once again give an outstanding performance in Kerkrade and combine a wonderfully entertaining program with a solid performance. Juliana were even applauded by a well-known critical columnist for their performance of 'Strike Up the Band'. It was also nice how the guard stops the music with a 'essssst' a few times. Juliana unveils their new status, congratulations!
 
And then there's the English. The Company and Kidsgrove Scouts finished in top positions in England and also achieved top positions in Kerkrade. Not only with good shows, but also with programmes that resonated very well with the audience. The Company had several transformations in store and even swung a Lady Gaga-cry into the audience. The cooperation between the drums and the guard was visually extremely well achieved. Entertainment at its best. Among the music from 'Keep Running, Running', the corps ran off the field at the end of their show.


And then there were the Kidsgrove Scouts. The corps which already made its DCE appearance in 2003 at the ADO Stadium in The Hague. The corps longed for the title and was fully prepared for to go for it this year. This year there was a sizeable corps with the look of champions. The American tour, with an impressive sixth place at DCA, has clearly not done Kidsgrove any harm. The opening was already impressive, where from 15 to 15 almost the full width of the field was used. The pen was put down here, as it was a celebration from start to finish. What an amazing show! They were the rightful champions. This was also proved in the champions' show, for which much of the audience stayed behind until after the corps' photo sessions.

They were great Championships. This was confirmed by the responses to the webcast, where many Americans have shown their appreciation for the shows of the European corps. And rightly so. Did I mention that it was a joy from beginning to end? Many thanks to everyone, hopefully see you next year!