Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps

DrumCorpsInfoBox
corpsname=Blue Stars
logo=
location=La Crosse, WI
division=World Class
founded=1964
president=Bruce Furlano
director=Brad Furlano
corpsdirector=Eric Sabach
titles=VFW:1977DCI: 1989, 1993, 2001, 2003
uniform=Jackets with navy blue along the left side and white along the right, with a silver star over the right side of the chest. Pants are solid white with white shoes. Blue shako with silver centered star and white plume.The Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class (formerly "Division I") drum and bugle corps based in La Crosse, Wisconsin and founded in 1964. The corps was one of the original members of the "Combine" (along with the Troopers, the Cavaliers, the Scouts, and the Vanguard), which was the precursor to Drum Corps International. The Blue Stars were one of the most successful DCI open class corps in the 1970s, placing second at the inaugural DCI Championships in 1972, and appearing as a DCI Finalist from 1972-1979. The corps was also the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Champion in 1977. After reorganization in the early 1980s, the corps became one of the most consistent corps in Division II/III (now "Open Class") history, never placing lower than 5th in the respective division from 1987 to 2005, and winning Division III titles in 1989, 1993, 2001, and 2003. The 2006 season marked the Blue Stars' return to Division I (now "World Class") competition.

Return to Division I

2003-2005

Following an undefeated season and championship year in Division III in 2003, the corps saw growth in membership that it hadn't seen in years. In 2004 and continuing through 2005, the corps began a plan to expand to the then-maximum drum corps size of 135 members, and return to Division 1 competition. In 2004, the corps placed 5th in Division II competition, and then achieved 3rd in 2005.

2006-2007

In 2006, the Blue Stars returned to Division I competition for the first time since 1982. Presenting a program entitled "The Gift of Freedom," their comeback was well-received at quarterfinals and semifinals in Madison, Wisconsin. The 30,000 member audience was said to have cheered so loud that the corps members could not hear their own playing. Unfortunately, the elation of the fans was not enough to push the corps to finals that year, but it did receive 14th place.

In 2007, the corps debuted a more contemporary uniform design. Gone were the cross-straps and buckle that the corps used for the majority of its existence, though the trademark helmet design was retained. The new uniform featured a split color on the pants, where the right half of the right leg was white, and the rest of the pants were blue. The jacket featured a silver north-star symbol, and the helmet donned a white plume. The corps would have a solid white appearance when marching toward the side-2 endzone, and solid blue when marching toward side-1. This color contrast was incorporated into the "Power & Grace" program.

For this year, the Blue Stars placed 14th at DCI Semifinals at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, with the drumline achieving 12th and the hornline placing 11th musically.

2008 Season

2008 marked the rebirth of the Blue Stars, as well as the rise of the new age of the corps. The new Blue Stars uniform featured a return of the blue and white split jackets. However, this year the pants were completely white. Halfway through the season the corps brought out a change that brought shock into the drum corps world. Going into the Atlanta regional, the corps changed from their helmets to new shakos. The shakos are Navy Blue with a silver North Star in the center with white plumes. The corps made this change after thirty years of using the helmets. This change brought mixed feelings among the corps members.

In 2008, the Blue Stars presented a program entitled “Le Tour: Every Second Counts”, with visuals intended to exemplify the passion, intensity, endurance, and teamwork required to compete in the Tour de France cycling event. The musical repertoire featured original material juxtaposed with familiar melodies by the French composers Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Widor, and Ravel.

Le Tour proved to be a highly competitive program. The Blue Stars placed 9th at the 2008 World Class Quarterfinals in Indiana, in close contention with three other corps. Some 8/10s of a point separated the Blue Knights in 8th and the Glassmen in 11th. All four moved to semifinals, where the Blue Stars provided a spectacular performance that propelled them to 8th place with a 90.575, nearly a full point ahead of the Blue Knights in 9th. This score was the highest in Blue Stars Division 1/World Class history. An equally strong finals performance cemented the Blue Stars at 8th place to finish the season with a 90.425. This was the first time the Blue Stars had competed in Division 1/World Class finals since the 1979 season.

Alumni Corps

The Blue Stars Alumni Corps has been in existence since 2005, and marches annually in the Oktoberfest parade in La Crosse.

External links

* [http://www.bluestars.org/ Blue Stars homepage]
* [http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpsdet&corps=2&corpstype=Junior Blue Stars Repertoires at Corpsreps]
* [http://fannetwork.dci.org/index.cfm?corps_id=256a065c-6a4f-47f4-86b1-1b499aac3d6e Blue Stars Fan Network]