Yesterday we had another show choir competition. The day started in the usual way, if not a little later than usual. I woke up and cruised my way to school ready for another exciting day of show choir. When I got to school it wasn't long I had to wait before the bus was loaded and we headed off to the competition.
When we arrived at the school we had missed the entry level show choir (which had been expected). But we all feigned disappointment at having missed them, and congratulated them (genuinely).
All of the late comers went to the cafeteria to fill their grumbling bellies. The breakfast pizza was delicious, and once everyone was content it was time to watch some show choir!
the show choirs were really good. And soon, even though I was competing against them, I had picked out my favorite group. People were getting worried that the acoustics of the auditorium were really bad. Personally I thought they were all high on crack. But then again I've never had an ear for that kind of thing.
When it was our time to go, everyone was ready. We basically knew that we were going to make finals, but our director told us that we shouldn't perform to win something. We should do our show for the sole purpose of entertainment.
The show was great and we got the first spot coming out of the day awards. But that didn't matter because it was an all new judging panel.
Just before our finals performance, we got everyone together and talked about how we didn't want to be the group that had the reputation of being good in the day round and sucking at finals.
Our show went off without a hitch, I messed up once (I would have blamed myself had we lost). But we didn't lose. It was so amazing. When they called our name we screamed, and screamed, and screamed until our throats were hoarse. It was so awesome. It was the perfect ending to everyones day.
It's not even that we won that mattered. We all had fun and agree that if we would have come in second we still would've remembered the competition as one of our favorites.
Showing posts with label showchoir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label showchoir. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Show!
We left the vocal warm up with gleaming smiles on our faces. All of us were nervous as hell, but with each step the nervousness was replaced with unimaginable excitement. The walk to the waiting area was an intense blur of clapping and people wishing good luck, we got a few dirty look from the groups that wanted us to suck.
We got to the pre-show-run-through-room and the excitement was oozing out of us. Whispers went up and down the line to quite down and listen to the pep talk that was to be given. Standing in a circle we were wished good luck by the instructor, and told to do our show. That nothing else mattered anymore. The only thing left to do was go out and DO OUR SHOW! We broke it down and took our places to carry on our designated items. When we took the stage I was swept by an eiree calm I knew what I had to do and so help me God, I was going to kick ass.
When I hit the final pose, I had nothing left to give. I had spent all of my energy and the show had been amazing. We left the stage feeling awesome, but now we just had to make finals.
The time until the announcement of day awards was a lot, so we just had time to change and then we had to go.
At the before-award party, an intense air of waiting for the results. That, however, didn't stop people from dancing on the floor to the up-beat music they had blaring on the loud speakers.
When the MC, after making us wait for at least a half an hour, finally showed up everyone was on the edge of their seat, hanging on his every syllable. He was very elusive when it came to announcing the names of the the finalists. We wouldn't know who won until our instructors told us who won later.
He started announcing the names of the finalists in alphabetical order. Everyone in the group silently recited the alphabet to themselves to make sure that we were not being skipped over. When we heard our name called it was ecstasy. We jumped around and cheered as loud as we could.
Later, in the room we found out that that we had gotten first in the day round scores!
Finals were amazing. We did even better then we had done in the day round, but alas it wasn't enough. we ended up getting second, losing by only three point! Everyone was super happy with how we did, and our stomachs were already churning in anticipation for the next weeks contest!
We got to the pre-show-run-through-room and the excitement was oozing out of us. Whispers went up and down the line to quite down and listen to the pep talk that was to be given. Standing in a circle we were wished good luck by the instructor, and told to do our show. That nothing else mattered anymore. The only thing left to do was go out and DO OUR SHOW! We broke it down and took our places to carry on our designated items. When we took the stage I was swept by an eiree calm I knew what I had to do and so help me God, I was going to kick ass.
When I hit the final pose, I had nothing left to give. I had spent all of my energy and the show had been amazing. We left the stage feeling awesome, but now we just had to make finals.
The time until the announcement of day awards was a lot, so we just had time to change and then we had to go.
At the before-award party, an intense air of waiting for the results. That, however, didn't stop people from dancing on the floor to the up-beat music they had blaring on the loud speakers.
When the MC, after making us wait for at least a half an hour, finally showed up everyone was on the edge of their seat, hanging on his every syllable. He was very elusive when it came to announcing the names of the the finalists. We wouldn't know who won until our instructors told us who won later.
He started announcing the names of the finalists in alphabetical order. Everyone in the group silently recited the alphabet to themselves to make sure that we were not being skipped over. When we heard our name called it was ecstasy. We jumped around and cheered as loud as we could.
Later, in the room we found out that that we had gotten first in the day round scores!
Finals were amazing. We did even better then we had done in the day round, but alas it wasn't enough. we ended up getting second, losing by only three point! Everyone was super happy with how we did, and our stomachs were already churning in anticipation for the next weeks contest!
First Show Choir Contest
Last weekend was my show choir's first contest of the season. I'm just writing about it now because I haven't had free time since then.
The day started out at 7:15 when I woke up before my alarm went off. I was so excited I rushed to get ready so I could leave. In my hurry I almost forgot my brother who was just waking up. I was forced to wait impatiently while he got ready to leave. It was a short drive there, and it was fairly easy to find a parking space right away.
When we got inside you could tell it was going to be a busy day. There was a line at the check in table with at least twenty people in it, and it was even the main door. Feeling a little guilty I by-passed the crowd and went straight to the desk, because it was separate check in for members of the show choirs.
My brother, who is in the lower level show choir (they had performed the day before and got grand champion), and I found the homeroom for the day. This room would serve as a meeting place, a place to keep your things safe, and also a hangout.
Our time in the homeroom was short, he found people he knew and went to the auditorium to watch the freshman show choir of our school. I found some of my friends and we went to the cafeteria for a quick snack before watching the show.
The auditorium was fairly packed, and we were all excited for it to start. Twenty minutes the MC came out and announced the start of the contest. He introduced the choir and they took the stage to perform. They were pretty good, after they were done were cheered wholeheartedly, but not too much, because we had to conserve our voices for our show later that day.
I watched seven shows before I finally decided to leave and check out the rest of the school. I went to the room to see if anyone was there and found out that they were all in the cafeteria. I found them sitting at a table enjoying some breakfast and I sat down having already eaten.
The rest of the day went pretty fast, and as our show approached I started to get really nervous. I had watched several good show choirs that day and I felt horribly unprepared for what was coming. The time came to get dressed, and we departed the room with smiles on our faces sreching from ear to ear.
I'm going to put the rest in another post because I really want to focus on all of the details and everything that makes it fun.
The day started out at 7:15 when I woke up before my alarm went off. I was so excited I rushed to get ready so I could leave. In my hurry I almost forgot my brother who was just waking up. I was forced to wait impatiently while he got ready to leave. It was a short drive there, and it was fairly easy to find a parking space right away.
When we got inside you could tell it was going to be a busy day. There was a line at the check in table with at least twenty people in it, and it was even the main door. Feeling a little guilty I by-passed the crowd and went straight to the desk, because it was separate check in for members of the show choirs.
My brother, who is in the lower level show choir (they had performed the day before and got grand champion), and I found the homeroom for the day. This room would serve as a meeting place, a place to keep your things safe, and also a hangout.
Our time in the homeroom was short, he found people he knew and went to the auditorium to watch the freshman show choir of our school. I found some of my friends and we went to the cafeteria for a quick snack before watching the show.
The auditorium was fairly packed, and we were all excited for it to start. Twenty minutes the MC came out and announced the start of the contest. He introduced the choir and they took the stage to perform. They were pretty good, after they were done were cheered wholeheartedly, but not too much, because we had to conserve our voices for our show later that day.
I watched seven shows before I finally decided to leave and check out the rest of the school. I went to the room to see if anyone was there and found out that they were all in the cafeteria. I found them sitting at a table enjoying some breakfast and I sat down having already eaten.
The rest of the day went pretty fast, and as our show approached I started to get really nervous. I had watched several good show choirs that day and I felt horribly unprepared for what was coming. The time came to get dressed, and we departed the room with smiles on our faces sreching from ear to ear.
I'm going to put the rest in another post because I really want to focus on all of the details and everything that makes it fun.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What Fix You Means to Me
We are singing a song in my show choir class called Fix You. We got an assignment to write a story about what the ballad means to us, and I just want to share it with you.
When I was six or seven years old I had a dog named Babe. Babe was a golden retriever, and she was my world. I loved that dog so much. But then she got sick. She ruptured two disks in her back, and was diagnosed with some disease I can’t recall. She couldn't walk, and she was getting worse every day. At this point in my life I was not quite familiar with death, and this was a very hard way to learn.
She spent several weeks in the pet hospital, and as a kid I thought the doctors would just fix her up and I would have my dog back. Then one day my dad walked in the door, and I asked him, as usual, if Babe was coming home soon. He gave me a look of profound sorrow and said, “I told them to end her suffering today.”
At first I didn’t understand, “So she’s alright?” I asked
My took me into my bed room and sat me down, looked into my eyes and said to me, “Robert, Babe isn’t coming home, she’s dead.”
My world no longer existed. She was gone. I sat there for the rest of the night until I fell asleep crying for my dog. I think I knew deep down that she was going to die, but I kept telling myself she would be alright. I wish I would have spent more time with her in the end, because I know it would have made her feel better to die with a friend.
I’m going to sing this song to myself back then, as an innocent child that was thrown into a situation that required a level of maturity far exceeding his own, and also to my dog Babe who I thought would be alive forever.
When I was six or seven years old I had a dog named Babe. Babe was a golden retriever, and she was my world. I loved that dog so much. But then she got sick. She ruptured two disks in her back, and was diagnosed with some disease I can’t recall. She couldn't walk, and she was getting worse every day. At this point in my life I was not quite familiar with death, and this was a very hard way to learn.
She spent several weeks in the pet hospital, and as a kid I thought the doctors would just fix her up and I would have my dog back. Then one day my dad walked in the door, and I asked him, as usual, if Babe was coming home soon. He gave me a look of profound sorrow and said, “I told them to end her suffering today.”
At first I didn’t understand, “So she’s alright?” I asked
My took me into my bed room and sat me down, looked into my eyes and said to me, “Robert, Babe isn’t coming home, she’s dead.”
My world no longer existed. She was gone. I sat there for the rest of the night until I fell asleep crying for my dog. I think I knew deep down that she was going to die, but I kept telling myself she would be alright. I wish I would have spent more time with her in the end, because I know it would have made her feel better to die with a friend.
I’m going to sing this song to myself back then, as an innocent child that was thrown into a situation that required a level of maturity far exceeding his own, and also to my dog Babe who I thought would be alive forever.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Show Choir
I'm in the varsity show choir at my school, and last night was our premier concert. The order that the choirs perform is: freshman group, then the junior varsity or prep group, and finally us/the varsity show choir.
Months of intense practices from 6:30 until 9:00 every Monday, and the occasional camp days from 3:00 until 9:00 have prepared the group for this night. The moves have been pounded into our brains twice over and those who thought they were unready to perform were pleasantly surprised to find that they could do all the moves with expert precision. We have cleaned the choreography so that no a single person's arm is off a tenth of a degree.
When the freshman choir took the stage it was the usual. Some kids (mostly the girls) were smiling and looking confident in themselves. The others though looked very scared to be there (your first concert tends to do that to you). After a prolonged session of applause to give encouragement the band started. The scared looks on the faces were no more, the kids were now as excited to be there as I was. Their show went off with only a few mess ups in choreography, but then that's to be expected.As they were bowing the JV choir shuffled out of the auditorium and into the hallway to congratulate the young 'uns on their way out.
When they took the stage their director came out to introduce them, and tell us what a wonderful talented group he had this year (the usually premiere concert speech). Then it was time for the show to start. They were very good, and I enjoyed watching them very much. You could really tell the difference in age between the two groups. Between the singing and difficulty of choreography the gap was immense. As I watched their performance I began to get anxious for our turn. I was so excited to get up on stage that their show seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. It was our turn!
Standing outside of the green room as they walked off stage we cheered and hollered the names of our favorite members to let them know they did a good job, but everyone was already focused and ready to go.
Standing on stage in front of a thousand people is an extraordinary feeling, and it never ceases to amaze me at the profound sense of pride that you get standing up their knowing that you worked hard to be up here and you definitely deserve being there. The song started a chill ran through my whole body as adrenaline coursed though my veins. I turned around to face the audience with a huge smile on my face, and so very excited that it was finally our turn. The show was over too quickly (we only had three songs, but still). Thunderous applause slapped into you as the miniature sonic boom expanded outwards. It's going to be a great year!
Months of intense practices from 6:30 until 9:00 every Monday, and the occasional camp days from 3:00 until 9:00 have prepared the group for this night. The moves have been pounded into our brains twice over and those who thought they were unready to perform were pleasantly surprised to find that they could do all the moves with expert precision. We have cleaned the choreography so that no a single person's arm is off a tenth of a degree.
When the freshman choir took the stage it was the usual. Some kids (mostly the girls) were smiling and looking confident in themselves. The others though looked very scared to be there (your first concert tends to do that to you). After a prolonged session of applause to give encouragement the band started. The scared looks on the faces were no more, the kids were now as excited to be there as I was. Their show went off with only a few mess ups in choreography, but then that's to be expected.As they were bowing the JV choir shuffled out of the auditorium and into the hallway to congratulate the young 'uns on their way out.
When they took the stage their director came out to introduce them, and tell us what a wonderful talented group he had this year (the usually premiere concert speech). Then it was time for the show to start. They were very good, and I enjoyed watching them very much. You could really tell the difference in age between the two groups. Between the singing and difficulty of choreography the gap was immense. As I watched their performance I began to get anxious for our turn. I was so excited to get up on stage that their show seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. It was our turn!
Standing outside of the green room as they walked off stage we cheered and hollered the names of our favorite members to let them know they did a good job, but everyone was already focused and ready to go.
Standing on stage in front of a thousand people is an extraordinary feeling, and it never ceases to amaze me at the profound sense of pride that you get standing up their knowing that you worked hard to be up here and you definitely deserve being there. The song started a chill ran through my whole body as adrenaline coursed though my veins. I turned around to face the audience with a huge smile on my face, and so very excited that it was finally our turn. The show was over too quickly (we only had three songs, but still). Thunderous applause slapped into you as the miniature sonic boom expanded outwards. It's going to be a great year!
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