In recent years, thanks to the coast-to-coast National CineMedia network, DCI competitions have received more exposure and publicity than ever before. DCI is the governing body of the North American drum and bugle corps circuit, a league of sorts that features 13- to 21-year-old musicians who have devised elaborate and electrifying marching band routines.

The annual drum corps championships in August draw crowds from across the country, and in recent years screenings of those championships have proven so popular that NCM as decided to expand its 2011 programming.

The first 2011 competition takes place this weekend in Saginaw, Texas, pairing eight of the top teams from 2010. Near the top of the list are the La Crosse Blue Stars, who will be competing against the Panthom Regiment of Rockford, Ill., the Cavaliers of Rosemont, Ill., and five other teams from across the country.

The program offers a first look at the closely guarded 2011 routines - sprawling works of musical performance and intricate choreography that are meant to make full use of a football field.

Newcomers are in for the real treat. The tempo, creativity and electricity of a DCI competition is truly something to behold. NCM programs offer the sort of vantage points - balancing the wide shots with the up-close details - that have led many drum corps to drive tens and hundreds of miles across the South, to reach a theater that will be broadcasting the spectacle.

NCM has announced plans to screen more 2011 DCI competitions, leading up to the grand finale in August. But if you’re anything like me, growing weary of the superhero franchises slathered in special effects and imaginary planets, there’s something refreshingly gritty and real about the DCI events. All about talent and practice, steeped in sweat and muscle power and precision, this is a spectacle rooted in reality.