An Inside Look into Synergy Show Choir

Feb 1

Feb 1 An Inside Look into Synergy Show Choir

Photo of Synergy Show Choir after finals at Milton. Photo from Ms. Schmidt.

Shannon O’Dwyer

This past weekend, January 22, 2022, Hamilton’s Synergy Show Choir attended Milton’s “Rock the Rock” competition. Not only did we compete, but we also made school history by making it to finals at that competition for the first time in our nine competitive seasons; we managed to win 4th runner-up in the competition. In addition, junior Kathryn Lamm was the first Hamilton member to place in the solo competition held at “Rock the Rock” by grabbing 3rd. Synergy was also awarded the ‘Spirit Award.’

You may be wondering, “What even is show choir?” Show choir is a competitive musical ensemble that combines singing and choreographed dancing, typically following a theme. If you have ever heard of the show Glee, it’s basically the same thing (only with no awful autotune).

Our typical show choir season begins with auditions. In these, everyone learns a section of a choreographed dance, which you then have a part of the audition to practice. The purpose of this is to test your dance abilities; in addition, it also tests your ability to learn and pick up a dance quickly. The next section of the audition follows the vocal aspect of show choir. Each person chooses a voice part to sing (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass) and you then learn a section of a song. These songs are typically simple and in a 4/4 time signature, such as “Amazing Grace.” Following that, you then sing the song in a group to test your ability to blend, and if you can hold their own part. Finally, all of those auditioning are then gathered together and must perform the dance you learned in rotating groups. Then, that’s it. The team list is usually posted two days later following school.

Once you make the team, a team meeting is held where the theme of our show is revealed. The theme is chosen by our director and each song follows this overarching message. Our theme for this year is “Heroes and Villians” and features songs such as “Renegade” by Styx, “Heroes” from Wonderland, and “Feel Invincible” by Skillet. Our theme follows the path of a villain who knows nothing but wrongdoings, who is then transformed into a hero with the pivot in the ballad. Each set is composed of one opener, a guy/girl split song, a ballad, and two other songs including the closer (with the exceptions of mashup numbers). Some of the other themes we have had in the past include “Our Time is Now,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and “Just Be.”

Our next big event is choreography camp. This is a five day long camp typically held in the first week of August in which we learn all of the choreography for each song. Our set this year and past five plus years has been choreographed by Ellie Jordan. This is the most intensive week of the entire show choir season as we are dancing every day for multiple hours. However, we also couple this with team bonding, singing, leadership building, games, and other activities to break up the routine of the day. At the end of camp, we then perform everything we have learned for our ‘parent preview’ in which our family members get to see what we have been working on. Camp is personally one of my favorite aspects of show choir because it is when the show feels the most fresh and exciting.

Once the school year begins, we begin our regular rehearsal schedule. We hold rehearsals on Monday night’s from 6:00 to 8:00 and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 4:30. To start off, Mondays typically consist primarily of running choreography and cleaning (perfecting our moves). These rehearsals are led by our dance captains: a dance captain is a leader who is chosen during camp to help clean and lead the team.

On Wednesdays, we learn all of our music and are led by our director along with our section leaders. Section leaders are similar to dance captains, only they focus on helping each voice part learn their music when we break off into what are called sectionals (each voice part breaks off to learn music independently). However, as the season progresses, we begin to blend the vocals with the choreography and complete full show runs with combo. A combo is essentially our band that plays all of the instrumentals behind our vocals. Our combo is incredibly important to the team not only for their excellent instrumentals, but also for their ability to support our singing.

Then comes competition season: what we have all been waiting for. Competitions are the absolute tests of our team work, our skill, and our limits. These competitions begin as early as 6:00 am as we meet in Hamilton’s band room to load the bus. On the bus, we wait in anticipation, ready to perform. Prior to each competition, we are told at what time we perform and that is our determining factor as to what time we leave for school. Once we arrive at the school, members of the host team lead us to our home room where we have time to get ready; we strip the rollers from our hair and cake on makeup. In between or before our performance, we have time to get food in the lunchroom or watch other teams perform.

The host school’s gymnasium is set up like a theater with chairs covering the floor, a full stage, costume booths, a plethora of lights, and the judges stand in the back. Hanging out in the gym is one of the most fun aspects of a competition. We watch team after team perform and show our love and support. In between sets, the gym is adorned with colorful lights and loud music. Our team is huge on spirit, which means we never let the games and dancing stop between sets.

Finally, our performance time arrives. Our team is led to a room with pianos, mirrors, and a dance floor to warm up our bodies and voices. Team talks are utilized to amp us up and reign in our focus before performing. Once we are fully warmed up, we march to the stage with our heads held high, ready to take on the competition. Performing is electric, every single second of it. Each of us push ourselves to our absolute limits and let the music take over. Despite minor hiccups or malfunctions we may face, we always keep our chins up in the face of adversity. Not only is performing a thrill, but it is incredibly uplifting to be on stage with a group of people eager to support you.

After our performance, we head to a critique that does just that: give us advice on how to improve upon our show. One of the recurring comments a judge has given our team is that they feel as though we pull them into our show by the amount of fun we are having on stage. They feel as though they are having fun with us. Post critique and changing out of our costumes, we head back into the gym and eagerly await the final results. Each team is graded out of ten points on a select number of categories/requirements. Such requirements include professionalism, vocal balance, instrumental technicalities, etc. These points are then combined to give an overall performance score. How well we do in the preliminary round determines if we are going to compete in finals.

Six teams are chosen for finals, and as each of these teams are announced, we tightly grip our hands together in anticipation. One team is called, we cheer for them. Two teams are called, calm, there’s still opportunity for us. Three teams, we begin to get anxious. Four teams, we wonder if we’ll be next or not. Five teams, we hold on hope as our heart rates soar. Finally, the last team to be called. “And from Hamilton…”

We burst out of our seats in a fit of excitement, we made it to finals! Finals are even more exhilarating as we are fighting for the title of grand champion along five other spectacular teams. No matter how we place, we rest easy knowing that we put our heart and soul into our finals performance and left it all on the stage. Each competition brings a new challenge, a new place. While we may take 5th in one, we have potential to place anywhere in the next.

Once all is said and done, we gather our equipment and load back on to the bus, exhausted. After a long day of trying work, we have done our best and come out with a trophy.

Above all of the challenges, we choose to be in show choir because we are passionate about performing. Show choir is about connecting with those in your team, building communication skills, the love of performance, and meeting new people. I wouldn’t be who I am without show choir. It is a one of a kind experience only available at a high school level. It’s challenging, but it is also incredibly rewarding to work for something and have it pay off.