The Fire Behind Show Choir
By: Carson Messick
We’ve all seen the black windbreakers, with their last names printed on the back and the calligraphy lettering on the front, telling us where they belong. But do you know the effort put into earning those jackets?
Trojanaires are talented individuals from all grades, banding together to make an amazing show. However, the singing, dancing, and overall show is a lot more work than what we see.
“Vocal is where you go to learn a lot of classical aspects of music and singing, while show choir is more of a modern, pop art culture” Senior Ashland Martin-Morrow says. “Also dancing, [which] is one of the main differences between the two.”
Trojanaires wake up at the crack of dawn every morning just to show up and put their whole lives into practicing; here they learn their notes, dance moves, and their blocking for the show. But the practicing doesn’t end there; once the music is handed out, the Trojanaires go through many choreography weekends where they spend 7 hours each day of the weekend to learn and perfect their dance moves. As you can imagine, some tension rises between them.
“Around competition season is where tension rises,” Martin says. “ But after a little while, and a lot of socials, we become very close with one another.”
A lot of the tension comes from the stress of competing; however, the comfort of the teachers, the love for their show and each other gets them through.
“Before each show, Mr.Shimp gives us a huge pep talk,” Martin says. “ It really helps as we don’t want to talk, eat, or think. It was a great motivation. "
And they had every reason to be nervous. The amount of stress and effort put into it is truly remarkable.
“There is a lot of sweat, frustration, intensity,” Martin continues.
Even before the backstage frenzies, the stress and energy is high at every rehearsal.
“Being ready to go at 7:15 during competition season was really tough,” Junior Jillian Bethel continues for Martin. “ We had to have full makeup, full voices, hair done, and going all out with dancing.”
Photo from Jenks Vocal Instagram.
Something else the Trojanaires take pride in is their leadership abilities. In the last couple of years, many things such as dance captain, spirit captain, and other leadership roles have been created to help build up the team. Without the whole team getting along, the show would not be as good as it is.
After the show is over, the team is stressing about being 3 steps away from their mark and forgetting to make that one face at the eighth count, but after the excitement of the award ceremony, their opinions change on the ride home.
“Everyone is talking about the fun of it and everyone is watching the videos taken, talking about what looked and sounded amazing “ Bethel says.
The season for the Trojanaires has just started this year, as competition season doesn’t start until next semester. However, they are still going strong with show choir, practicing every morning to get ready to represent our school. Don’t forget to check out and support the Trojanaires this season. Go Trojans!