Top 10 Drum-Corps Performances

As in cheerleading — another halftime diversion that's become a serious competition — participants at the annual Drum Corps International Championships in Indianapolis in August must have precision, drive and spirit. TIME takes a look at 10 of the best

Spirit of Atlanta — 1980

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Drum Corp International — a league of student drum corps that bills itself as Marching Music's Major League — has come a long way since its founding in 1972 (just check out the uniforms). But the Spirit of Atlanta's 1980 performance proves that solid drumming fundamentals and choreography are timeless, as is song selection — the drum line shreds through an arrangement of the Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" while the color guard demonstrates that a flag can be just as versatile as the more elaborate props and costumes used today.

See "The Making of a Deaf Drummer."

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