CHS Show choir – Q&A with Olivia Walke

Senior+Grady+McDermott+shows+emotions+through+choir+during+rehearsal.+This+is+McDermotts+4th+year+in+show+choir.

Hanna Dupre

Senior Grady McDermott shows emotions through choir during rehearsal. This is McDermott’s 4th year in show choir.

Steven Hughes, Writer

 What is show choir? What makes it different than other choir groups at CHS?

“Show choir uses a set of songs that tell a story to the audience using singing and dancing to get their message across.”

Are there specific skill sets one should have to join Show Choir? What are they?

“You need to be able to sing or at least match pitch. You don’t have to be a super good dancer, but it helps. If you are able to understand beats and rhythm, you’ve got a pretty good start.”

What attitude should someone joining show choir have?

“It’s a group where you can’t be afraid to look stupid. You are going to mess up at some time or another, and that is okay. People usually find themselves having to do things out of their comfort zone, so going in with an open mind is really important.”

What kind of commitment is this choir?

“We put in a lot of after school hours all year long, so if you’re not willing to work hard and be at all/most rehearsals, show choir is probably not for you. We start with a dance camp before school in August and continue to work at least one day a week until the end of spring.”

I’ve heard that there are competitions. What is a choir competition? What is it like?

“Competition season starts in February where we go and compete our set against other schools. A set is a group of songs (usually about 5-8 songs) which last about 20 minutes. We use these songs to tell a story and make sure they understand the message we are trying to send. Its super exciting and nerve-racking to perform something you have been working for months on, praying that the judges understand what you are trying to show them and that they can see your showmanship.”

What is class time like? What is involved in learning a new song?

“We start out by dressing into our dance clothes. We start by going through a run through of our set and then, begin cleaning our dances, singing, and facials, or acting — making sure we are all on the same page, doing things correctly and all together as a group.”

What are the steps someone should take if they want to get involved with the choir?

“If you want to be a part of choir, at the end of the year, we have auditions where you get a small part of a dance to learn and perform. Then, you have a song you need to perform in front of the teacher.”

I’ve heard there’s a sort of family mentality in that class. Would you say that’s true? How so?

“We are definitely close in choir. We spend a lot of time together and really have to know each other in order to perform to the best of our abilities. We all have show choir in common and the fact that we love singing, dancing and performing. It’s really fun hanging out with people that share common interests with you.”