High School Dancing for Geeks & Jocks - SHOW CHOIR!

Satin Stitches | Mar 25, 2008 | there are 0 comments

La Crosse Central HS Show Choir "In Action" in Reefer Madness Satin Stitches Costumes

I LOVE musical theater! I love watching talented young men and women singing and dancing their hearts out. Where can you find this interesting blend of music and choreography? Possibly right in your local high school. I am sure the popularity of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL on the Disney channel will only increase the popularity of high school show choirs, where all the talented girls showcase their skills, but also, boys are enlisted to join the ranks. Of course all the high school music geeks join, and in the most competitive organizations, this activity is also popular with the high school jocks.

Being from the Midwest, and in the costume business, I am well acquainted with the high school and collegiate phenomenon of SHOW CHOIR. Last weekend, I traveled to a national high school show choir competition in Orlando, Florida. FAME Events is one of a handful of companies that stage these competitions. Satin Stitches has been sponsoring this organization for several years, including setting up our booth which showcases our custom work, annually, at a national venue.

Dance teachers and choreographers, this is an additional venue where you can share your expertise!

If you are not familiar with this activity, show choir generally involves 20 to 60 singers who also dance on stage, performing a 15-30 minute medley of music. They are accompanied by a live backup band of several musicians, also from the groups high school or college. There are generally several costume changes during the show, which is where Satin Stitches come in. Our first show choir costuming was done for Bloomington Kennedy High School in Minnesota in the late 1980s. Styles have obviously changed since then, but the format of singing and dancing on stage has not.

There has always been extensive choreography during most of the lengthy show choir performance. All the high school varsity and collegiate groups try to include a similar number of boys and girls, while junior varsity may have only girls. New this year, at least to me, are all-boys groups. Some groups send their singers to local dance studios for specialized dance training, while some other groups will hire dance teachers to come in to the high school rehearsals for training, during the school year, and during their special summer show choir camps for maybe a week of choreography.

Songs are picked, costumes thought out, and dance choreography is planned. And yes, professional choreographers are brought on board for their choreography. Are you missing out on this additional professional opportunity? No, not every high school, in every region has show choirs, but check into your local high schools. In addition to helping out with choreography and dance training for high school and community centers musical theater productions, show choir can also use your services.

Show choirs supposedly started in the 1960s with the young and wholesome touring groups such as Up With People. Because these groups were youthful and exuberant, they caught on in Middle America. Today, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and my home state of Minnesota have many exceptional high school show choirs. Reaching to the west and east coasts and southern states, California, Virginia and West Virginia along with Mississippi and Alabama also are a hotbed of talented high school groups. Satin Stitches has had the pleasure to work with high schools from just about all of these states, in addition to a youth organization show choir from Hawaii. We have also worked with a huge Sweet Adelines womens chorus here in Minnesota, which exhibits similar styles of performance, although on a smaller scale, with choreography and costuming.

Nothing better than watching boys and girls singing and dancing on stage in fabulous costumes! Who knew that high school boys could actually dance? Well they can, and do, in SHOW CHOIR! And these are just regular boys, not those with older sisters who have taken dance for years, or with moms who teach dance, these are music geeks and sports jocks that take to the stage to work hard and really have a good time!

Are there specialized costume requests? YES! Costume quick changes are a staple in show choir. The entire show includes many songs, and goes from fast to the requisite ballad and then back to dramatic and exuberant. The more competitive show choirs will change costumes with the moods, never leaving the stage empty. Half the group may run off the stage while a partial group enthralls the audience, and suddenly the group has a brand new look on stage.

Our specialty with show choir costuming seems to be with themed costuming. We can create some fabulous dressy looks, making the girls look pretty. But I guess we do themed costumes better than anyone else. We have interpreted various Broadway shows such as Will Rodgers Follies with cow-printed fur sleeved cowboy outfits, Thoroughly Modern Millie with fringed flapper outfits, A Chorus Line with tapestry vests, 1930s outfits based on the made-for-tv musical entitled Reefer Madness, and created countless other fun costumes! The BEST part is we get to do boy costumes! I LOVE to bring out the peacock in guys. One of my favorite feedback stories is from a show choir from Iowa where we did bright fuchsia jackets for the boys. Yes, a bit LOUD! Well, when we asked how they liked them, we were told that the director had to stop all the boys from sneaking them out of school to wear for prom, which is what they wanted to do. Next week my blog will address mens costuming, and how to keep mens costuming masculine. That is the key in dressing boys and men in pink colors and other seemingly unnatural stage costumes.

We are still waiting for MTV SHOW CHOIR, a reality show to run on cable, but not sure when or if it will happen. A few things have happened that could put the cabash on it. You can see the Promo on YouTube. We have link on our Home Page, if you would like to see it. It was videotaped during the 2006-7 season, showcasing the high school show choir from Morgantown High School, in West Virginia. Satin Stitches costumed Morgantown. Also featured on the Promo, our A Chorus Line costumes for Albertville High School. You can watch our Satin Stitches costumes in action!

So, catch your local high school to see if they have a show choir. If they do, support them with your expertise and, or your enthusiasm! It is a very worthwhile activity.