ABOVE: Shelbyville High School Synergy performs in Breck Auditorium last night.
Fifteen talented show choirs from across Indiana competed at Shelbyville High School yesterday, with the home team closing the evening with a riveting exhibition performance. The SHS Singing Sensation is the choral department’s largest fundraising event and offers an opportunity to show off the SHS show Choir, Synergy.
Despite a long day working the event - Synergy members and several parents arrived hours before the 9 a.m. competition start - they came out on the Breck Auditorium stage at 8 p.m. with characteristic enthusiasm to the opener, “Do You Love Me?”
“That song has so many cool, quick and smooth dance moves,” freshman Ben Cox said. “The fast singing makes it more interesting.”
Ryker DeWitt, a senior, had a hard time settling on a favorite. “It’s either ‘Love Everybody,’ because it’s a rock song, or ‘Give a Little More,’” he said. “I like the choreography a lot this year. It’s very high energy.”
Synergy, directed by Mr. Joel Kenemore, wears blue sequin dresses to start the show, and switches to red during a Chloe Dillman solo.
“That’s my favorite outfit,” sophomore Gillian Slaughter said of the latter wardrobe. “I like dancing the rest of the show in them.”
Performing aside, much of the day for Synergy members is devoted to running the event: setting up risers, supervising rooms and meeting cohorts from other schools. After a one-year hiatus, Singing Sensational’s return was met with anticipation.
“I’m eager to see how our school hosting a competition looks compared to other schools that we have traveled to,” Edith Wainscott, a sophomore, said early in the week.
Arya McNeely, also a sophomore, agreed. “I am looking forward to being able to see the multiple amazing groups perform and being able to socialize with them and get to know them,” she said.
It was a whirlwind.
Sophia Wainscott, a sophomore, said just hanging out with her show choir mates in between tasks was rewarding. “Not necessarily even performing together, but especially in our down time, when we can laugh and joke around.”
Coda Roque, a senior, has experienced the joy of show choir and resulting memories for four years. She recalls befriending show choir performers from other schools, watching movies on the bus ride to shows and even burning her cheek with a curling iron.
“But if I had to choose, I think my favorite Synergy memory so far is competition season,” Roque said. “It is really where we as performers get to see our hard work pay off. The adrenaline of being onstage and hearing cheers from the crowd is exciting. It’s like fuel that drives me to keep performing.”
Synergy performs next in competition in Mooresville at the Spotlighter Invitational, Saturday, Feb. 24.