Encore! Show Choir prepares for upcoming performance

By RACHEL MARTIN

Staff Writer

Three times a week, the group of twelve students that make up Encore! Show Choir get together to practice singing and dancing.

“It’s been a rewarding experience,” said senior Tori Power as she reflected on her time in Encore! Show Choir.

Show Choir is a musical ensemble that both sings and dances simultaneously, which looks and sounds easy but can be rather difficult due to certain things like breath control and how to face so you can be heard by the audience. Being in Encore! myself, I can vouch for the fact that all the hours we put in are worth it in the end. There’s nothing like watching your hard work pay off in the eyes of the audience.

A lot of practice goes into the performance to reach such abilities. Encore! practices three times a week on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Sunday is half dance and half vocals, practicing in DuPont. Monday is all vocals in DuPont, and Tuesday is all dance in the Fitness Center. Aside from the rehearsals at the beginning of the week, there are “officer meetings on Wednesday and all of the extra performances we do during the semester, normally on Fridays,” said sophomore Justine Purdy. With all that time spent practicing, the people in Encore! grow close. “It feels like one big, crazy, sassy, talented family,” said sophomore Kimberly Fulco.

Outside of practice, the ensemble has various tasks. The choreographers work on dances, the musical director works on music arrangements, the publicist and treasurer coordinate fundraisers and other events and the president and vice president oversee everything and help look for costumes and opportunities. Everyone else practices the choreography and music whenever they can.

When asked how many hours they spend on Encore! outside of rehearsals, Fulco said she spends “maybe 10” hours on extra work. Those hours aren’t always the most spectacular. “It can be hectic sometimes, barely having time to eat and then running to rehearsal,” said sophomore Lauren Priddy. With practices being later in the day and overlapping normal dinner time on Sunday, the ensemble turns to restaurants, leftovers, dorm snacks or eating unrealistically early for dinner.

Currently, Encore! is in the middle of preparing for their show on Apr. 13. The show has a one-hit wonder theme and includes songs such as  “Eye of the Tiger,” “Africa,” and “Never Gonna Give You Up.” There will also be senior solos by Tori Power and Grace Foust.