Here are my personal critiques of the groups I saw.
Island Northwest "14 Karat Gold Singers"
Congratulations on making finals. I wasn't overly impressed with your show, It's still early in the year. Maybe work on more dynamics. Your choreography wasn't very impressive. Your vocals were decent, but nothing special. Nothing to write home about.
Omaha Westside "Amazing Technicolor Show Choir"
You are my new favorite group. Amazing Job! I thought you should have recieved GC, but that's just me. I loved the guy's number, the choreography was amazing. You had a few tempo issues. I would have liked to see another costume change. Good Luck in the future!
Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline"
Congratulations! Your show was very, very clean. The choreography was great, but I don't think some of it fit the song that well. Amazing solo by the girl in the ballad. I was sorta getting blinded by the vibrant color of the womans dresses. Neon Green and Pink aren't really my colors. I would have liked to see another costume change and more solos. Good Job!
The Lied Center was a great place to perform and was very well run. Probably the smoothest competition I have been to so far.
last time i checked, we don't have a guy's number this year at all.
sooooo i'm not sure what you saw there.
1st- Omaha Westside "The Amazing Technicolor Show Choir"
2nd- Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline"
3rd- Davenport North "Northside Establishment"
4th- Grand Island Senior High "Islander Prestige"
5th- Lewis Central "Lewis Corporation"
6th- Ankeny "Perpetual Motion"
Ok how many groups did you see. I think your last post was uncalled for. What a wonderful name you are making for yourself and your group. I know you didn't see lewis central because they went right before you. Did you get to see Ankeny PM through Papillion LaVista cuz they were all in the time where most people get ready and the director talks to them before warmup. Did you just take what I had and mixed up the groups to put yourself ahead?
I should've mentioned that after seeing the groups in finals, it was pretty obvious why the groups that didn't make finals went home. Everyone that was in finals was EXCELLENT. It is definitely not cool to bash on the groups that made finals over you, especially when you did not see your performance live. Also, I don't really have the credentials to judge, and I didn't have a score sheet so you can't base what I thought would happen and just be like OOOOO some groups got screwed over. Look, Jay had these three groups in finals and not these three so the ones he had in finals must've deserved it and got screwed! I just placed groups (which is SOOOO much harder in my opinion). Everyone except Ankeny and Omaha Westside were VERY close in quality and how prepared they were.
Davenport North- another thing you could do would be work on male vocals. I know there aren't a lot of you, but if you choose to have guys on stage they need to be heard. Because up until the ballad I did not hear a male sound. (Probably a reason why you didn't make finals).
Ok 2 things. First, April James had no score at all. She did a video critique which schools had the choice of having a few of its members watch in a room after their performance. And 2nd, ATSC was not tied with Ankeny PM during the prelims. When the directors of the finalists went up to the stage and met with Lester there were no score printouts with placements because of the last minute tabulations. But when our director went to get a score sheet later, he saw one and ATSC and PM were not tied.
Congrats to Ankeny thought on strong showing by both groups. I was really impressed by the vocal power by both groups. And those VA guys can dance. Congrats and good luck on the rest of the season.
QUOTE(juliofrommississippi @ Jan 21 2007, 12:00 PM) 375921
apparently Davenport North was in 7th place a few points off finals.
This is what I had for prelims:
1st- Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline"
2nd- Omaha Westside "The Amazing Technicolor Show Choir"
3rd- Grand Island Senior High "Islander Prestige"
4th- Davenport North "Northside Establishment"
5th- Lewis Central "Lewis Corporation"
6th- Lincoln Southwest "Resonance"
7th- Ankeny "Perpetual Motion"
8th- Papillion LaVista "Free Spirit"
9th- Grand Island Northwest "14 Karat Gold Singers"
Obviously I was way off.
Ankeny- Everything was wonderful. Amazing Energy. WONDERFUL sound. Clean awesome choreo. Fantastic soloists (especially Dani and Ben!!!!) Killer closer! The tap solo was so cool in the finals. Completely caught everyone off-guard!!! You alone could've gotten a standing ovation. Everyone almost leaped out of their chairs. I'm really glad I got to meet a lot of you yesterday. You'll see me at Mt Pleasant this year and i'll be stalking you next year a lot (with Dani). The people I met watching PM and at supper were wonderful. Whoever the redhead is- I love watching you and I forgot to tell you. Nikola- I also loved watching you and I forgot to tell you! ARGH! You were all so wonderful- I wish I could've taken y'all home!
Omaha Westside- I like this year SOOOO much more than years past. The vocals are definitely down from past years, but I enjoy the emphasis on choreography. The show is pretty boring up until the closer, which isn't that entertaining anyways. It's all good. Just not exciting.
Grand Island Senior- Your vocals blew me away (before ankeny and omaha westside) You were the first group of the day to really come out and sing. I loved the show design and the costumes, although everything did remind me of Clinton and CR Jefferson combined. There were HUGE troubles with the set, and looking back I think that is what killed you guys. The closer was SOOOO boring. There was no band. It was not exciting. You definitely did not end with a bang. Everything just went downhill at the end, and that is another thing im sure they docked you on. This has the potential to be an awesome show once the kinks get worked out.
Davenport North- The opening soloist was so good! The first few songs were REALLY boring and sloppy. The show ended 10 times better than it started. I think y'all had a lack of energy because there was really no one there to cheer for you, but you CANT LET THAT HAPPEN! I guess I knew what to expect from North and no one else there really did. You did a good job, though.
Lewis Central- You were the first group to wow me. The show was so much fun! You guys were so entertaining and it was a treat to watch you guys. I also REALLY liked the costumes in the show, although some guys were having trouble with their shirts falling down in the closer. The opener was strong (although it was obvious where you got the arrangement from :-P ) VERY high energy throughout and definitely one of the more entertaining shows.
Lincoln Southwest- Ok Your day performance was REALLY sloppy. YOUR BAND WAS AMAZING!!! Give props to your director and your combo performers. WONDERFUL. I was sort of bothered by your show, mainly because it seemed SO influenced by Dr. Eklund and the old CR Jefferson style. Of course I know why- your director, arranger and one of the choreographers were involved with that program. I really loved the SHOW. I was yearning to see more of a classy style right before you came onto the stage, so thank you for that! I loved "Almost Like Bein In Love". The ballad was wonderful. I can't believe Mr Dyrland composed it. Obviously the end reminded me of CR Jeff's ballad from 1997 (because it was the same ending) You had SOOOO much power at the end of the ballad. Where was the vocal energy throughout the whole show??? The tone and volume was so great, and I'm sad I only got 30 seconds of it. I Got Rhythm was very entertaining. All of my friends loved the tapping. It was very flashy and very fun. Pretty much I loved the show, but the choreography was ALL over the place during the day (much better at night) and the vocals were very immature.
Ankeny PM- I was very impressed by you guys. I thought it would be close between you and Lincoln SW, but I gave it to them because of their band and their closer. Your ballad was BEAUTIFUL!!! The balance and musical nuances were AMAZING and Cameron was wonderful too!!! The whole show was very fun, but the day lacked facial and body energy. The night was so much better!!!
Papillion LaVista- OK I didn't think you guys would make finals. It was all very clean, but it was really boring. The vocals were not impressive in the day round (in the night everything was rocking and you definitely deserved 3rd place). Your show was very fun, but the last 3 songs were just vocaly and choreographically weak, and that's why I didn't have you placed high. I loved the male soloist in the ballad (I thought you would win) The choreography was great in the finals. Your female soloist was very good, too. Congrats on the solo award.
Grand Island NW- Honestly, I couldn't understand a word you were saying in either the opener of the closer. You had two wonderful performers (the short haired blonde girl and the curly redhead) Vocally I thought y'all were the weakest of the day. I'm a very vocally oriented guy and that's why I had you so low. I'm also not a huge fan of everyone having individual costumes, so I didn't really like the closing outfits. Y'all were very nice and supportive in the competition. Everything was much better in the night round also.
I agreed with the way finals went (excepting captions). Everyone that was weak and sloppy stepped it up for finals. Papillion LaVista and Grand Island NW definitely surprised me in finals with their performances. I could've switched Papillion and Ankeny PM. Definitely finals was 14x better than day round. I thought some of you were lucky to make finals, but then you definitely proved you were meant to be in finals with your last performances. Good job everyone.
*edit to talk about the fire and snow*
ok so the fire was crazy. I was at Applebee's eating with Dani Cisna and her dad and suddenly there was a ton of smoke and fire trucks everywhere. Apparently someone's car caught fire in the parking garage. Traffic was stopped for a WHILE on a pretty major road (especially since it was right next to the Lied Center)
so no one bothered to tell me there was going to be snow last night, so I definitely wore flipflops to the competition. I heard in finals there was some snow and I was like oh well. Yah there was A LOT!!! and I had a 7 minute walk/ 3 minute sprint back to my dorm. It sucked. I'm pretty sure I got frostbite.
hehe. Thank you so much jay! Day time was something else.....to us anyway. Night time i thought that everyone was more focused.
Good job to everyone, and good luck with the rest of your seasons. I really would like to say thank you to the hospitality that we recevied in Nebraska, y'all made the stay a really great one! It was worth the 4 hour bus drive! " border="0" alt="happy.gif" />
QUOTE(juliofrommississippi @ Jan 21 2007, 02:00 PM) 375921
apparently Davenport North was in 7th place a few points off finals.
This is what I had for prelims:
1st- Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline"
2nd- Omaha Westside "The Amazing Technicolor Show Choir"
3rd- Grand Island Senior High "Islander Prestige"
4th- Davenport North "Northside Establishment"
5th- Lewis Central "Lewis Corporation"
6th- Lincoln Southwest "Resonance"
7th- Ankeny "Perpetual Motion"
8th- Papillion LaVista "Free Spirit"
9th- Grand Island Northwest "14 Karat Gold Singers"
Obviously I was way off.
Davenport North- The opening soloist was so good! The first few songs were REALLY boring and sloppy. The show ended 10 times better than it started. I think y'all had a lack of energy because there was really no one there to cheer for you, but you CANT LET THAT HAPPEN! I guess I knew what to expect from North and no one else there really did. You did a good job, though.
I agreed with the way finals went (excepting captions). Everyone that was weak and sloppy stepped it up for finals. Papillion LaVista and Grand Island NW definitely surprised me in finals with their performances. I could've switched Papillion and Ankeny PM. Definitely finals was 14x better than day round. I thought some of you were lucky to make finals, but then you definitely proved you were meant to be in finals with your last performances. Good job everyone.
Couldn't agree with you more.
We have only had 3 practices with the Band. There's is a lot of cleaning to happen.
Here are my personal critiques of the groups I saw.
Island Northwest "14 Karat Gold Singers"
Congratulations on making finals. I wasn't overly impressed with your show, It's still early in the year. Maybe work on more dynamics. Your choreography wasn't very impressive. Your vocals were decent, but nothing special. Nothing to write home about.
Omaha Westside "Amazing Technicolor Show Choir"
You are my new favorite group. Amazing Job! I thought you should have recieved GC, but that's just me. I loved the guy's number, the choreography was amazing. You had a few tempo issues. I would have liked to see another costume change. Good Luck in the future!
Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline"
Congratulations! Your show was very, very clean. The choreography was great, but I don't think some of it fit the song that well. Amazing solo by the girl in the ballad. I was sorta getting blinded by the vibrant color of the womans dresses. Neon Green and Pink aren't really my colors. I would have liked to see another costume change and more solos. Good Job!
The Lied Center was a great place to perform and was very well run. Probably the smoothest competition I have been to so far.
apparently Davenport North was in 7th place a few points off finals.
This is what I had for prelims:
1st- Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline"
2nd- Omaha Westside "The Amazing Technicolor Show Choir"
3rd- Grand Island Senior High "Islander Prestige"
4th- Davenport North "Northside Establishment"
5th- Lewis Central "Lewis Corporation"
6th- Lincoln Southwest "Resonance"
7th- Ankeny "Perpetual Motion"
8th- Papillion LaVista "Free Spirit"
9th- Grand Island Northwest "14 Karat Gold Singers"
Obviously I was way off.
Ankeny- Everything was wonderful. Amazing Energy. WONDERFUL sound. Clean awesome choreo. Fantastic soloists (especially Dani and Ben!!!!) Killer closer! The tap solo was so cool in the finals. Completely caught everyone off-guard!!! You alone could've gotten a standing ovation. Everyone almost leaped out of their chairs. I'm really glad I got to meet a lot of you yesterday. You'll see me at Mt Pleasant this year and i'll be stalking you next year a lot (with Dani). The people I met watching PM and at supper were wonderful. Whoever the redhead is- I love watching you and I forgot to tell you. Nikola- I also loved watching you and I forgot to tell you! ARGH! You were all so wonderful- I wish I could've taken y'all home!
Omaha Westside- I like this year SOOOO much more than years past. The vocals are definitely down from past years, but I enjoy the emphasis on choreography. The show is pretty boring up until the closer, which isn't that entertaining anyways. It's all good. Just not exciting.
Grand Island Senior- Your vocals blew me away (before ankeny and omaha westside) You were the first group of the day to really come out and sing. I loved the show design and the costumes, although everything did remind me of Clinton and CR Jefferson combined. There were HUGE troubles with the set, and looking back I think that is what killed you guys. The closer was SOOOO boring. There was no band. It was not exciting. You definitely did not end with a bang. Everything just went downhill at the end, and that is another thing im sure they docked you on. This has the potential to be an awesome show once the kinks get worked out.
Davenport North- The opening soloist was so good! The first few songs were REALLY boring and sloppy. The show ended 10 times better than it started. I think y'all had a lack of energy because there was really no one there to cheer for you, but you CANT LET THAT HAPPEN! I guess I knew what to expect from North and no one else there really did. You did a good job, though.
Lewis Central- You were the first group to wow me. The show was so much fun! You guys were so entertaining and it was a treat to watch you guys. I also REALLY liked the costumes in the show, although some guys were having trouble with their shirts falling down in the closer. The opener was strong (although it was obvious where you got the arrangement from :-P ) VERY high energy throughout and definitely one of the more entertaining shows.
Lincoln Southwest- Ok Your day performance was REALLY sloppy. YOUR BAND WAS AMAZING!!! Give props to your director and your combo performers. WONDERFUL. I was sort of bothered by your show, mainly because it seemed SO influenced by Dr. Eklund and the old CR Jefferson style. Of course I know why- your director, arranger and one of the choreographers were involved with that program. I really loved the SHOW. I was yearning to see more of a classy style right before you came onto the stage, so thank you for that! I loved "Almost Like Bein In Love". The ballad was wonderful. I can't believe Mr Dyrland composed it. Obviously the end reminded me of CR Jeff's ballad from 1997 (because it was the same ending) You had SOOOO much power at the end of the ballad. Where was the vocal energy throughout the whole show??? The tone and volume was so great, and I'm sad I only got 30 seconds of it. I Got Rhythm was very entertaining. All of my friends loved the tapping. It was very flashy and very fun. Pretty much I loved the show, but the choreography was ALL over the place during the day (much better at night) and the vocals were very immature.
Ankeny PM- I was very impressed by you guys. I thought it would be close between you and Lincoln SW, but I gave it to them because of their band and their closer. Your ballad was BEAUTIFUL!!! The balance and musical nuances were AMAZING and Cameron was wonderful too!!! The whole show was very fun, but the day lacked facial and body energy. The night was so much better!!!
Papillion LaVista- OK I didn't think you guys would make finals. It was all very clean, but it was really boring. The vocals were not impressive in the day round (in the night everything was rocking and you definitely deserved 3rd place). Your show was very fun, but the last 3 songs were just vocaly and choreographically weak, and that's why I didn't have you placed high. I loved the male soloist in the ballad (I thought you would win) The choreography was great in the finals. Your female soloist was very good, too. Congrats on the solo award.
Grand Island NW- Honestly, I couldn't understand a word you were saying in either the opener of the closer. You had two wonderful performers (the short haired blonde girl and the curly redhead) Vocally I thought y'all were the weakest of the day. I'm a very vocally oriented guy and that's why I had you so low. I'm also not a huge fan of everyone having individual costumes, so I didn't really like the closing outfits. Y'all were very nice and supportive in the competition. Everything was much better in the night round also.
I agreed with the way finals went (excepting captions). Everyone that was weak and sloppy stepped it up for finals. Papillion LaVista and Grand Island NW definitely surprised me in finals with their performances. I could've switched Papillion and Ankeny PM. Definitely finals was 14x better than day round. I thought some of you were lucky to make finals, but then you definitely proved you were meant to be in finals with your last performances. Good job everyone.
*edit to talk about the fire and snow*
ok so the fire was crazy. I was at Applebee's eating with Dani Cisna and her dad and suddenly there was a ton of smoke and fire trucks everywhere. Apparently someone's car caught fire in the parking garage. Traffic was stopped for a WHILE on a pretty major road (especially since it was right next to the Lied Center)
so no one bothered to tell me there was going to be snow last night, so I definitely wore flipflops to the competition. I heard in finals there was some snow and I was like oh well. Yah there was A LOT!!! and I had a 7 minute walk/ 3 minute sprint back to my dorm. It sucked. I'm pretty sure I got frostbite.
It was terrible driving home, the snow was so heavy. Then one of the tour bus's windsheild wipers broke, and the other wiper kept getting ice all over it so we had to stop every 15 minutes so the driver could get the ice off of it. It was sorta scary seing cars in the ditch and accidents every five minutes. I "heard" that our bus got stuck in a parking lot (Well, I was sleeping). The 6ish hour drive turned into a 8-9 hour drive.
It felt wierd not making finals, because last year we made finals at every comp.
Well, we did our best.
If you didn't hear from someone else, there was a big fire in the parking structure next to the Lied center. There were a lot of firetrucks and emergency vechiles.
QUOTE(juliofrommississippi @ Jan 21 2007, 01:23 PM) 375896
No, there were no critiques this year. April James was a REAL judge. She had 3 groups in finals: Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline", Ankeny "Perpetual Motion", Lincoln Southwest "Resonance", and also had one other group in the day- Grand Island Senior High "Islander Prestige". I'm pretty sure she judged fairly though. I know Ankeny PM was tied for 2nd during the day, but it was another judge who bumped PM up.
Hmm, thats cool. I am not saying she would judge unfairly. I think having your choreographer as a judge would be harder. Just because they know your show better than anyone else!
No, there were no critiques this year. April James was a REAL judge. She had 3 groups in finals: Ankeny "Visual Adrenaline", Ankeny "Perpetual Motion", Lincoln Southwest "Resonance", and also had one other group in the day- Grand Island Senior High "Islander Prestige". I'm pretty sure she judged fairly though. I know Ankeny PM was tied for 2nd during the day, but it was another judge who bumped PM up.
There was no live critique, just a taped one, and I haven't heard it at this point, so I am not really sure. But at least 2 people have assured me April was a critique judge.
I think I have the names for the soloists, based on what my mother managed to scribble down.
Best Male Soloist was John Calahan (from Lincoln Southwest)
Best Female Soloist was Kayla Mitchell (from Papillion La-Vista)
UNL Midwest Cup 2007
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