The end of the day bell did not phase the students in the choir room. Instrumental music consumed the scene, the stereo bass shook the walls as poised singing and dancing made the room radiate with emotion and creativity. Within the space of an hour, a small group of students transformed a set of generic pop songs into a musical masterpiece.
The show choir team began with “Home” by Phillip Phillips. The team members complimented the comforting lyrics with harmonized voices and linked arms.
Choreography director Ashley Kimbrough shut off the music.
“Twelve thousand and one billion times have I told you what this song is about?” Kimbrough said. “Suck it up buttercup. Smile.”
The song began to play once again, and each singer attempted to plaster a smile on in addition to vivid facial expressions, serene voices and coordinated dance moves. Each singer’s dance moves appeared coordinated, with side-to-side hand motions, tight twirls, and motions like dolls on a string. Although their dance moves seemed intricate, the group’s voices effortlessly flowed together to create a unique, composed spin on the familiar song.
When the final notes of “Home” faded out, the students froze in position. The first notes of “Believer” by Imagine Dragons began to play, and senior Hannah Morris accompanied them with a solo performance. She stood at one end of the widened choir stand and the rest of her teammates stood at the other. When the bass dropped to lead into the chorus, she lifted up her arm and her classmates fell down in a domino effect. Her teammates’ faces contorted in pain as they fell down.
When the song stopped, choir director Josh Powell faced the students.
“I want you all to think, ‘If this was Lonestar, would I be happy with my performance?’ If you’re not doing the level you want there here, then why are you here?” Mr. Powell said.
With this renewed mindset, the performers continued to sing and dance with a sense of emotion and vivid facial expressions accompanied their gentle voices while they synchronized dance moves. With each of these moves, facial expressions and music notes, the performers exemplified a vivid story behind each set of familiar lyrics.
Again, when the song ended, the students froze in place as, “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark” by Fall out Boy, began to play. The mood in the room transformed, due to the combination of the student’s facial expressions, expressive movements and harmonized voices.
After “Rise” by Katy Perry and “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, the first song the team performed, “Home” by Phillip Phillips, played once again. The choir members plastered smiles on and ended the performance by clustering together on the far right end of the choir stand and laying down, their heads rested on each others legs. Kimborough called them together as they sat up.
“You all deserve to blow the crap off your own competition,” Kimborough said. “We should make finals so easy.”
