As the competition season starts for Harrisburg High School’s Eclipse Show Choir, the group has shown dedication to this season through their preparation. Ali Hefner, who is a choir teacher at HHS, directs the group. Hefner has planned for this year’s show since last school year, starting with auditions last May. To audition for the group, students must submit a video of themselves singing and attend the try-out for dancing. Earning acceptance into this group is a great accomplishment, so those who make it in must rise to the commitment.
The group has practiced their choreography since August as the show choir is not only singing but also dancing. The practices can leave members exhausted. Beau Anderson, who is a sophomore, sings the solo for Crush Crush Crush, the second of five songs in the set; he explains why the practices require a lot of physical effort: “This year we wanted to go BIGGER on our show, so our dance moves are much more difficult.” Another member of the team, Malia Bauman, added, “You need to put 100% of your effort in.” These rehearsals happen three days of the week. On time for rehearsals is to arrive at 6pm on Mondays, and 7am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays focus on dancing, and as an alternate, Bauman, states, “At rehearsals I practice both parts of the dance.” This serves as a very important role because if a member misses a performance, an alternate can fill in for both the masculine and feminine parts. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, rehearsals focus on singing. Eclipse’s vocals consist of sopranos, altos, tenors, and bases. As the group sings, Hefner reiterates that they shouldn’t “sing louder than beautiful,” which shows that both volume and choral aspects hold importance.
These practices prepare them for their performances, which are very complex. At the show the group changes costumes and props and dances to the band, which makes show choir so entertaining to watch. The costume change is after the ballad; the partner dance is after the costume change. The partner dance is the fourth song and the only song in which those dancing the feminine dance wear tailored skirts. Similar to a celebration, the closer signals the end of their set after that the bows take place, and finally the black graduation caps get thrown up at the end of the show.
Eclipse Show Choir has dedicated many hours and an extreme amount of effort into perfecting their show, so make sure to come see them perform at the competitions they attend as well as the end of the year home show! Interested participants should keep a lookout this spring for information about auditions for next year.