Drum Corps International (DCI) is a professional marching arts activity that consists of up to 45 separate groups ranging from California, to Michigan, to South Carolina and even to the Netherlands.
These groups have upwards of 154 people who spend the winter months rehearsing on weekends to prepare a 12 minute show from June to August. Competing with other groups for the top spot and different caption awards.
Crown has been in the top 5 groups in DCI for years since they were established.
Dylan Liggett marched for DCI with the group Legends in the summer of 2018 and 2019.
“In November of 2017, I went to an audition camp for a group named Legends, near Kalamazoo, Michigan. There I got a contract and spent the summer of 2018 marching trumpet and 2019 as a field conductor,” said Liggett.
Liggett has also marched for the New Prairie Marching Cougars since the summer of 2015, his 8th grade year.
He has evolved from marching on the field as a trumpet player to his senior and junior year as a Drum Major.
Liggett decided to step out of his comfort zone and audition for Carolina Crown in South Carolina.
“I left at 5 A.M. Friday morning and came back Sunday, getting home at about 4 A.M Monday morning. It was about a 14 hour drive to my camp,” said Liggett.
His grandfather drove him all the way there and back while he stayed with Crown and his grandparent stayed in Charlotte.
At Crown’s camp, Liggett stated, “I spent the weekend working on the musical and visual technicalities of a professional marching production! Practicing difficult music, doing various dance/choreography and marching technique exercises was the focus of the weekend.”
While a participant of the group has to transport themselves to and from the camps, while they are there, most of their time is spent indoors, especially during the winter camps, which is one of the camps Liggett attended.
“The weather was much more pleasant than good old northern Indiana, of course. I spent 99% of the time in South Carolina inside of a high school,” said Liggett.
After Liggett’s weekend with Crown, he received some news from the group that he wasn’t expecting.
Liggett said, “At first, I thought I got a callback, which is still a huge accomplishment for me, so I was pretty excited. A couple of days after the camp I had actually been offered a contract for their 2020 summer show.”
Although he was unable to accept the contract for personal reasons. Liggett said, “It was a great feeling to have and the opportunity to be a part of one of the top groups of the activity.”
DCI can be fun but it is a costly activity that requires a lot of hard work and good work ethic, Liggett explained.
Both Legends and Carolina Crown work very hard and have a lot of hands on material throughout their camps, Liggett added.