The FMHS Pop Show officially arrived at the Donna and Clark auditorium on Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31 at 7:30 PM. For the past weeks, choir students of all grade levels rushed to perfect their choreography, costumes, and overall performance.
This year, a total of eighteen songs were included in the performance. Jaguar Chorale, the highest-level choir in FMHS, performed Let Me Be Your Star by Smash and Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. Women’s Chorale sang Brighter than the Sun by Colbie Caillat, Shark in the Water by VV Brown, and Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. Born This Way by Lady Gaga and Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri was performed by Azure, a group of FMHS’s top female singers while Shades of Blue, a group of FMHS’s most talented male singers, performed two versions of Just the Way You Are from Bruno Mars and Billy Joel. Mixed Choir performed ‘N Sync’s Bye-Bye-Bye, and Treble Choir sang Survivor by Destiny’s Child and Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine.
All of these songs reflect the show’s theme for this year: “A Night in Gotham.”
“The idea of NYC, or any big city for that matter, is a place where you go to make a name for yourself and ‘make it’,” FMHS choir director Mark Rohwer said. “That’s the goal of any performer.”
When they planned the Pop Show, the FMHS choir teachers made sure to pay attention to what order each choir goes in.
“We start with a big production to get the audience excited,” FMHS choir teacher Adela Martinez said. “Some songs, however, are pretty chill, so we need to balance fast and slow songs while also taking into account the kids who need costume changes after singing in songs back to back.”
On the weekends, dance instructors Brandon Harvey and Shonna Chaney were enlisted to aid students with their dancing skills. During school weeks, students learned to produce a healthy sound while dancing and singing all the different parts to their assigned songs, and class dance captains created and taught original choreography.
“We drew inspiration from the original music video to create choreography for Survivor,” freshman Hannah Gleason said. “When we’re teaching it to the rest of the class, we try to address and solve any issues that come up during the dance.”
Students who tried out for a solo were chosen based on the quality of their performance and the fit of the song for the Pop Show. Soloists of all grade levels contributed to the overall success of Pop Show with their hours of dedication and effort to their songs.
“Being a soloist is extremely stressful because you have to put aside time to get all the dancers together, put together dance moves, and go to dance rehearsals,” soloist Hannah Marcoe said. “Shake it Out turned out pretty amazing, though, because of all the hard work we put in.”
Finishing off the night’s performance was Finale B (No Day but Today), which was chosen by Rohwer himself. The song is from the musical Rent and is sung at the musical’s close.
“It’s a good choice for a finale,” Rohwer said. “The words address the importance of living each day to the fullest.”
A montage featuring videos and pictures of dance rehearsals from students of every choir at FMHS was played during Finale B. Also, sign languages, not dance moves, were used to add a special touch to the show’s conclusion.
“Our choreographers thought it was cool to send the song’s message twice–once with our words and twice with our actions,” Martinez said.
Pop Show made a great finish to the end of the school year.
“The show has a ‘come together as a whole choir’ type of feel to it, and we ended up with a positive experience that has lots of energy to it,” Martinez said.
Hours of dedication from both students and teachers alike to choreography, costumes, and singing made Pop Show a huge success this year. FMHS looks forward to attending and enjoying next year’s variety of performances.
