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Show Choir sees its strongest senior class in 2011-12 — Reed
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · August 10, 2011
Flanked on each side by a couple dozen long closet-door mirrors, choreographer Audrey Henning shouts out numbers.
Those West Branch High School show choir students whose numbers were called remain standing for the “Bon Jovi number,” the big “Ta-da!” song that will wrap up the show.
“Show some attitude!” she calls out.
The mirrors help the students see how well they move in sync, as they try to look past the mix of muscle shirts, gym shorts and wildly colored ankle socks to picture themselves in the contrasting blacks and shimmering greens that will make up their costumes.
Some 54 students signed up for show choir in the 2011-12 season, accompanied by a 12-member band.
Director Chris Reed said the 39 girls and 15 boys practiced eight hours a day Thursday and Friday to get down the fundamentals of the choreography. After that, he carries it on and tries to smooth out the rough edges. The group has until the end of January — about 4 1/2 months — to get it down.
While that may seem like ample time, show choir is competing against schools with vastly larger student populations, and far more resources: Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Dubuque and a contingent from Nebraska are all Class 4A. West Branch is 2A.
During the two-month competition season, West Branch will perform a set of five songs selected to demonstrate the team’s wide-ranging talent:
• Skillet’s “Hero” (hard rock)
• E-Type’s “Eurofighter” (techno)
• Anthony Callea’s “Per Sempre” (ballad)
• Marc Anthony’s “I’ve Got You” (Latin salsa)
• Bon Jovi’s “Have A Nice Day” (rock)
Reed said the energy of the songs makes him wish he could fire off some pyrotechnics, but would not go over well in public buildings.
“We’ll have something,” he said, when asked if the group would disengage fire extinguishers like in previous years.
Show Choir lost several “strong” dancers to graduation, he said, but last year’s underclassmen stepped up to fill the void.
“This is the strongest senior class I’ve had,” he said. “And we’ve got a really good freshman class with some dance experience.”
The juniors and sophomores are also making impressive strides as well.
“I’m thanking the stars,” Reed laughed. “They’re really excited about it.”
The show choir student band this year is made up of three trumpets, three saxophones, two trombones, a bass guitar, two synthesizers and drums. There will also be a pianist, but not a student, Reed said.
Reed said practice is just that, as the final outcome is always up to the judges that day.
“Our show is much more aggressive this year,” he said. “The dancing is really intense.”
Thankfully, the director said, the students are picking it up quickly.
This year, the costumes will largely be the same as last year, though the boys will be wearing different shirts and ties. Also, the boys will have the tear-off costumes unveiling a second costume underneath, a flip from last year.
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