Like last week's Download of the Week, Dutch Boy is one of the seven corps that made the DCI World Championship Finals as a World Class corps just once. Originally known as the Dutch Boy Cadets, the corps from just over an hour west of Toronto advanced to the Finals in 1990, after slowly moving up in the ranks and making the Semifinals for the first time in 1986. 1990 Dutch Boy is the last time we've seen a Canadian corps in the World Class Finals, which was a common occurrence in the early years of Drum Corps International when corps like the DeLaSalle Oakands, Oakland Crusaders, and Seneca Optimists took the field. Dutch Boy in 1990 followed a new Vegas-style identity that the corps had worked to establish over several years. DCI Hall of Fame member Michael Cesario's glitzy and glamorous color guard costume design may have been responsible for a province-wide sequin shortage in Ontario! The Broadway tune-laden show kicked off with the guard members in full capes and feathered headdresses as the corps blasted an intro fanfare to "Strangers in the Night," heading into an interlude of "My Way," which had been a part of the corps' shows two and three years prior. After the brass section formed a company front while playing the "My Way" theme, the guard removed the capes and revealed a set of brightly colored flags. The opener ended with a return to "Strangers in the Night."
1990 Dutch Boy performance excerpt.
"It's Alright with Me" featured some members of the guard with large pink boas and a jazzy percussion break. "What Kind of Fool am I" explored a bit of introspection before another big musical push came forward prior to the quiet ending. In the peppy closer of "Come Back to Me," the guard members continued to pare down their costumes, with a screaming rendition of "Once in a Lifetime" seemingly bringing the show to an end. However, in true Vegas spirit, where more isn't enough, the show finished with short reprise of "My Way" as massively long multi-hued banners filled the field with an explosion of color. This week only, you can save on 1990 World Championship Audio and Video Performance Downloads on the DCI Fan Network.Buy the 1990 Dutch Boy Video Performance Download.(Available this week only for $3.99. Regular price: $4.99.)Buy the Audio Performance Download bundle of all 12 Finalists from 1990.(Available this week only for $15.99. Regular price: $19.99.)Offer ends Monday, Oct. 17 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Michael Boo was a member of the Cavaliers from 1975-1977. He has written about the drum corps activity for more than a quarter century and serves as a staff writer for various Drum Corps International projects. Boo has written for numerous other publications and has published an honors-winning book on the history of figure skating. As an accomplished composer, Boo holds a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in music theory and composition. He resides in Chesterton, Ind.
