Five choirs danced the night away at Pops on May 16 and 17.
The annually anticipated show brought tears, joy, and laughter to people watching and those involved.
With songs from ‘Taylor Swift’, ‘ABBA’, the ‘Barbie’ movie, and so much more, the pop-cultural relevance drew people in.
“I try to pick music that is upbeat and exciting. I also pick music from different eras so that our entire audience will know the selections,” choir director Tyler Morris said.
The singing, dancing, costumes and visuals were all essential elements in making the performance run smoothly.
“My favorite song to perform was probably the ‘ABBA’ medley because I have loved ‘ABBA’ and ‘Mamma Mia!’ as long as I can remember,” junior Annabelle Rippstein said. “I also loved the hippie costume because it was just how I dress normally so I was really in my element for that one.”
Rippstein is known for her contagious energy.
“I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again, everything is so much more fun when you really put some energy into it and learn to love what you are doing,” Rippstein said. “If you’re in choir, you have no choice with Pops. You have to do it, so you might as well make it fun. I’ve just always loved performing and being on stage,”
Coming to support her friends, sophomore Makayla Gonzalez admired the creativity.
“My favorite part was the dances, they were super creative and it was something that the whole crowd loved,” she said. “Something else that was cool was definitely the outfit changes. Some of them changed super fast so that they could match the theme of each song. All the outfits were so unique and cool,”.
A huge part of Pops is the dancing. It is the only choir concert each year with dancing involved.
Students choreographed each song and most of the show is run by students.
“I got to choreograph for Bel Canto and I got to see my vision come to life,” sophomore dancer Carly Berglind said. “I get to see what I created on stage and getting to be a part of it is really fun too,”
Morris loves seeing the show come to life with all the arrangements.
“I enjoy seeing the students perform pop music with a different energy than we have for traditional choral concerts. I thought the choreography was the best it’s ever been this year,” he said.
All grades are involved, so it can be a little nerve-wracking for freshmen.
Freshman Sophie Segelke was more nervous than most; she sang a solo.
Although it was scary, she pushed through.
“I’ve made a lot of friends that I probably wouldn’t have made otherwise,” Segelke said.
The support system in choir is essential to her and many, who rely on their peers for the joy of choir.
When it comes to graduating seniors, sophomore Wyatt Goodin got a little sentimental while reflecting on the past year with his friends.
“I’m going to miss them. I’m going to miss Quenton Taylor. He’s my best friend, my buddy,” Goodin said.
The two became good friends when Goodin joined Madrigals, the top choir this past year.
The stage is no stranger to senior Megan Leidy, who lives to do choir and theater.
“It’s very stressful, but it’s very worth it because I just love choir. My passion is there. I get my school work done and just focus on choir which is my whole life,” Leidy said.
After all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears, Pops will always be the most exciting event of the year for choir.
