"Please Shower" (415)

“Please, take a shower.” I’ve had to hear this sentence three or four times over the past few weeks. Not about me (I hope)! But about other people in my show choir. Weather you believe that show choir is a sport or just a physical activity you have to know that we sweat. We sweat a lot. Some people worse than others. And there are some that smell quite awful. Like B.O., bad breath, and like they haven’t showered in a few weeks, which, in some cases, might be. Ew, Gross!

            “Wow you smell great,” and “you smell yummy,” Are, in my opinion, some of the best compliments to get, although you probably won’t be getting any of those types of compliments after a six hour long practice.  There are some people who smell before practice though. Add six hours of sweating to that and you are left with someone you couldn’t pay me to smell.  

            Now these people may be perfectly nice people, with loads of talent, they just don’t know how to take a bath. Which literally stinks for their poor partner.

            So I have some tips to not smell so bad, in general. (Feel free to use these tips even if you don’t think you smell, they are just kind of common sense anyway.)

1.      Shower daily. This may seem like a dumb think to put on this list. You’re probably thinking “Well, duh. Who wouldn’t shower every day.” And I’m here to tell you; some people don’t.

2.      Use soap and sprays. The kind of soap isn’t important, as long as it takes dirt of your body and makes you smell better, that’s good soap. Sprays like perfumes and body mists help cover the smell, but you should start with a clean slate any way.

3.      Make using deodorant a habit. You should be using deodorant at least once a day, at the very least! There will be days when I put deodorant on like four times. When I wake up, during school, before show choir, and after show choir. Fun fact! Sometimes doctors say that if you sweat or smell a lot, you should put deodorant on before going to bed to let it sink into your glands.

4.      Change your underwear. Just one thing about underwear: that’s were all your “business” goes so change it.

If you fallow by these few rules you should be smelling clean in the time it takes for one shower, probably about 15-45 minutes, not a long time to get that compliment!

"Beauty" 562

Every society has its own interpretation of what is beautiful, and when you are singing and dancing on stage, in front of hundreds of people you want to be seen as beautiful as you can be even if it is dangerous to your health.  A few aspects of being pretty, today, include being tan, having long, non frizzy hair, being skinny, having long eyelashes, and having white teeth. These are not all someone would look at but they are a few aspects that people can change about themselves.  

Changing your eye lash length is probably the least dangerous on that list, because it isn’t an actual change. Fake eye lashes are used in my show choir at almost every opportunity, even I use them.  They are not harmful to your health unless you somehow poke your eye or get glue in your eye.

Whitening your teeth isn't particularly dangerous either. There are a few ways to whiten your teeth, by brushing with whitening tooth paste, with mouthwash, with whitening strips, or, if you are one to go tanning, some places have special teeth whitening treatments.  Whitening your teeth also does close to nothing to your health. I have heard that it can sometimes wear down the enamel on your teeth but so does coffee.

Having long, non frizzy hair is also not dangerous to your personal health but the heath of your hair is at risk. Hair is an inherited trait, whether it is red or blond or brown, frizzy or silky smooth, straight or curly. There are many styling tools that use heat that can be unhealthy for your hair, and during show choir season you have to use at least one to get the perfect hair style. When your hair starts to get unhealthy it starts to get stringy and grungy looking. Most hair stylists suggest getting a hair cut ever four to six months to keep it in tip top shape.  Another way to style hair is with teasing, also known as back combing; this is how to get that signature show choir poof but it also very bad for your hair because you are literally just tangling it into itself.

Being skinny is not bad for you if you are just naturally thin. It is unhealthy if you are skipping meals, or making yourself throw up to be thinner. Although these are extreme cases there is a large pressure to look your best because so many people will be watching you. If you do want to lose weight you should do it the healthy way, with a clean diet and exercise, when you’re in show choir exercise isn’t hard to come by!

Tanning is the only thing on this list that can be extremely dangerous to your health. We have all heard stories about people getting skin cancer from tanning beds. Now I don’t want to sound hypocritical because I have been tanning in a bed before and I am planning to go soon, but I also want people to know that I am doing it the safe way, only going once a week, and not for any amount of time that would be enough to burn my skin. It wouldn’t be that hard to be tan if show choir season were in the summer, but it is in the dead of winter and that means no sun.

Is show choir a sport? (467)

            In my high school career there has been one topic that, it seems, no one can agree upon; is show choir a sport or not? Even within my varsity show choir, Happiness Inc., there is some debate. I would have to agree with people who say that it isn’t a sport.  Now before I get shunned from my group I would also like to say that although I wouldn’t consider it a sport I think it should get just as much recognition as any other sport such as basketball or football.

            Okay, first I think sports like basketball are obvious sports because they are played against another team, head to head. The officials of the game also have to keep score. I don’t think that we should classify every athletic activity a sport though. Like doge ball, no one is going around clamming that as a sport except maybe extreme dodge ball players. It is most obviously a game, even though it can be very athletic and high energy. For this same reason I don’t think we should classify show choir as a sport. If you compared the energy levels and amount of hard work put into an activity show choir would probably be up there with football though. That’s not saying football players don’t try, the opposite actually, it is saying that show choir is just as athletic as football.  In practices we sweat, need water breaks, and do the same eight count dozens of times.

            Although I don’t classify show choir as a sport, more as an athletic activity, I still believe that is should still get a sport waver. At my school, sport wavers make it so you don’t have to take a gym. I believe that it should get a sport waver because we do more exercise in our show choir class than people do in gym classes. In gym they walk around the track a few times and then play a game or sit out of it. To me that sounds a lot more leisurely than performing a high energy, cardio working show for 25 minutes, or practicing that same performance for three hours. Another reason show choir should get sports wavers is because of golf. I’m not saying golf isn’t a sport but it’s not a work out. “But you have to walk from hole to hole, that’s a work out,” some golfers might say. Yes that’s an activity but the actual sport of golf isn’t very demanding. If golfers get sports wavers then the show choirs deserve them too.

            So all in all my stance is that show choir is not a sport, but a physical activity. It is more athletic than some of the activity’s that are now considered sports, and therefore should get the same respect as one.

 

 

Boys and Dance (400)

Last year, when I went to watch my friends dance recital, I was overcome by the adorableness of the younger kids’ dances, but I was also drawn to watch the boy dancers of all ages.  I was watching the boys because there were only a few of them in the whole show. The ratio of boys to girls was at least one to fifteen. The younger boys danced just as well as the little girls doing kick-ball-changes and turns when they were told. The older boys, all teenagers, were very good! They were better than some of their fellow, female dancers I believe.  This raised the question, why? Why are there so many less boy dancers?

Dance is generally looked upon as a “girly” activity. Generally ballerina decorations are hung in girls’ rooms and footballs and basketballs in the boys’.  I think this is because when parents look upon their young son they would like to see a great football player in his future, not a young man in tights. Even if they do think that it is “unmanly” to let their son dance they would be taking away an opportunity to make him a better football player.  Dance helps with flexibility and dexterity, which would help any athlete not just a football player. I think it is unfair that young boys do not have the great opportunities to be dancers.

Boys are built differently than girls; this can be a positive and negative attribute. Their hips specifically, are more functional for toe touch jumps, making it easier for boys to do.  They are also more muscular, which makes it harder to be graceful.   

If boys later in life feel like they want to pursue a career in dance or theater or performance, basic dance skills are necessary and advanced dance skills would be something to catch people’s attention. It would be better if they had attained these skills at a young age so they didn’t have to learn it later in life. Learning a new skill later in life is harder then when you are very young, “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks,” as some people say.

Dance class is also not just a learning situation but also a social one. Some people make lifelong friends at dance classes. Dance also gives you a way to express yourself which could keep some kids away from violence or rebellion. 

solos (270)

Solos are very scary times. In any performance there can be a solo. Band, choir, show choir, acting, dancing, color guard…all of them, they can all have solos. But I know for dance, as in dance team, and color guard solos are an actual performance of their own.

You cut any song you like so that is has no bad words and fits under two minutes. Then you write work to it. The writing work part is the most difficult part because I know that when I did my solo I just wanted to fill it up with random work that didn’t go with the big hit points of the the song, or with work that was so simple it was boring. At  my school it’s YOUR solo you can do with it what you want, write your own work and put in your own flare, but at some schools they have their color guard coach write their solos for them. Don’t get me wrong, in our guard friends help out and tell you to change a move her or there, and so do coaches but they don’t write the whole solo for you. In a way I kind of feel like that is cheating. 

After you write all the work you also get to pick out an outfit and a flag to perform with. You also get to choose your hair and makeup.

After you get everything ready the actual performance takes place. The call the number and the performer comes on and does her thing and after that two minutes she’s done. The awards come later that day.

Speech (575)

            Well speech season Is coming up and I think that’s it’s about time to explain this type of performance art, which might take a while because speech is actually not just standing at a podium, talking to a lot of people. There are all kinds of categories for acting and singing to being totally silent. 

            Ensemble acting is when a small group does a small play, their only props being a table and some chairs. They are not allowed to wear costumes but are expected to look nice. In one school you can have multiple ensembles doing different shows.

            Musical Theater is kind of like ensemble acting in the way that there is a small group of performers and they put on a show. In musical theater though they have very little lines to speak it is mostly the song they sing that keep the show going.

            Choral Reading is a little more difficult to explain. It is a bigger group of students, with more speaking and singing then ensemble acting and musical theater. The lines are spoke either as solo lines, duet, a small group within the larger group, or the whole ensemble speaks as one. The whole choral reading show can be fifteen minutes long. Now and then the ensemble sings songs that go with their theme.  They also put on a show, but with more of a mystery to it. They are allowed to wear costumes and have multiple props; they also have to have their script on stage with them.

             Now Mimes. I think everyone knows what a mime is. The creepy people who wear white face paint and pretend to be trapped in a box on the streets of Paris right? No? Oh. Well in speech mime can be a group performance or a solo event. You have to act out a scene, either serious or funny, while not using any props or any words. Just facials and your body. You’re not allowed to have costumes, in fact our director makes us wear all black so we don’t distract from the performance.

            Now the competitions you take all these performances too,(I didn't talk about all of them by the way, if you would like to read more about the different categories click here, http://www.ihssa.org/) the first competition is called Districts. This competition is held in a high school, the gym is the “homeroom” for performers from all schools to warm up, or relax, or meet up with coaches. It is also where many props are stored. The performances take place in classrooms and the auditorium. There is one judge per room who will rate the performance. After districts if you get a one rating the performance will move on to state competition, held on a different day at a different high school. The premise is the same, the gym is the homeroom and the performances go on in class rooms. There are more judges per room and it is harder to get a one rating but if the performance does, and it gets recommended for it, it moves on to the highest competition; All State. All State is held at Iowa State University and the performers still have to perform in smaller spaces but they are bigger then class rooms. The top performance, chosen by one critic, is given the banner to hold on to for the rest of the year. The banner is the top prize from all state.  

Winter Guard (414)

If you have read my blog before you will see a lot of show choir, color guard and marching band, but there is also one activity that gets a lot less recognition; winter guard. Winter guard is just like color guard in the way that you dance some and spin flags and it’s a performance for people to watch. The differences are that there is no band any more, just a recorded track to play, they also perform on a big “floor” set in the middle of a gym. The winter guard performs just as the dance team would, like in a gym or arena to a short song, about a minute to two minutes long. At my school participants in winter guard have the choice of performing a solo at state or MA solo drill competition.  In their solo participants can wear and perform whatever they want as long as it abides by the set rules.

            I believe that winter guard doesn’t get as much recognition as it should. The people on the teams practice a lot, but if you ask any random student if they like it they might react with “What’s winter guard, bro?” Winter guard performs at some basketball games at half time. Basketball is not as big of a spectator sport as football games though so not as many people see it.

            Their performance starts with them and their helpers (coaches and parents) bringing out the mat and equipment. After everything is placed the announcer presents them and their performance starts. Judges give points for performance, technique, and overall presentation. They also take away points for moves not being together, bad technique, if you break the rules, etc. Some rules are pretty normal like, no curse words in the song, but some are odd like, no roller blades, no pole dancing and so on. Once the performance is over the performers pull their mat off the performance area and the next group would come up or the basketball game would restart.

            When we performed winter guard for the student body two years ago, you could say it wasn’t our best performance, we missed our beginning cue, no one was performing, and we were all nervous for our peers to be watching us.  Yet we still got a standing ovation. From this reaction I think that if people could see more of winter guard that they would enjoy it and then the performers would get more recognition for their hard work.