Apologies! It has been a crazy few weeks for a lot of the staff and crew. Please bear with us as we try to get the rest of the competitions updated.
No problem! I understand you guys have SO much to do with so many competitions. Thank you though!
I am getting this all added at the top however when the person posted the schedule they listed just the name of schools, so for Papillion they have a few "prep" groups so I need to know which one competed and the name of the Denison prep group also.
Thanks
Papillion La Vista "Heart and Soul"
Denison "16th Street Singers"
I am getting this all added at the top however when the person posted the schedule they listed just the name of schools, so for Papillion they have a few "prep" groups so I need to know which one competed and the name of the Denison prep group also.
Awesome job to everyone here! I was able to see every group that made finals at least once! It was such an intense competition, with nothing set in stone! I'm gonna post a few things i saw from what i can remember
Hinton- You guys looked much cleaner than when i saw you guys at Ralston! Your female soloist deserved that award. The ballad sounded very balanced and it's the one that our prep group does, so i knew it all haha I loved the attitude in Heartbreaker from the girls, if anything it could still be more. Oh and by the way, the flip at the very end, was awesome. haha
Westwood- Awake and Alive was my favorite song from your show, but it felt like energy wise you peaked there, so make sure you bring it up for the last song. The ballad is a beautiful song. Someone said this was your guys' first competition this season, which you could kind of tell because there were some problems with people bumping into each other during transitions, and choreography was at times messy. However, for it being your first one, it was still a great show and in not bad shape at all when you consider that. Excited to see you guys again at your competition in two weeks!
Le Mars - I don't think there was a song in your show that i didn't like. haha Africa sounded great and the choreography was cool. I sang your ballad for my graduation song last May, so i was happy to sing along to it the whole time. "Sing" was hilarious The sound you had in that song when you were singing the beginning as a group was so strong and supported, it may do you good to have it through out the rest of show. and your Edge of Glory is the first version of it that I have seen at least that I liked. Also you guys were all very nice kids!
Pella- I was happy to see you guys perform! I meet a couple of your parents, who were really nice and humble The costume change in the second song was so cool! haha plus the dancing there was on . Speaking French was a very cute number and i really enjoyed it! Just make sure to get those words out there. The 4 girl quartet in City to City was spot on. and the closer was very good. I would just make sure you don't let it show that you guys are tired by the end.
Lewis Central- I love how strong you guys start out. The first song was great and intense. The ballad is from Hunchback right? Great song. I hadn't seen the show since Millard West's comp. You guys had come a long way since then. The choreo was on and the vocals were strong for the most part. Underground is my favorite of the set. The girl soloist in that song rocked it! She was really good! and I'd just make sure that you keep the energy up all the way through the end, because towards the end of the closer it started to come down.
Papillion LV- First of all I wanted to say how much i love you guys. The friendship and support between you guys and Ralston is so great to see. You guys are seriously some of the nicest and coolest kids around. :D Every soloist was great. Now, I know i've said this before, but you guys really do get better and better every week. You guys have a very solid show with vocals to match. The sopranos has some really shinning moments. The only thing that i wish there was was more levels visually in the show. The ballad was very well done. The second to last song is very fun. and "I Like to Dance" was stuck in my head the whole time. Congrats and great job you guys!
Ralston- What can i say that i haven't told you guys already? haha I love your show. Its such a fun, audience friendly show with a lot of variety. All soloists were really good. The energy level was through the roof in my opinion. The ballad is such a beautiful song. and I laughed throughout the whole guys song. I feel like I could gush about you guys for paragraphs haha but i won't. Congrats to you guys on back to back Grand Championships. You guys are amazing =>
And thank you to Heelan for hosting such a great competition! Very friendly kids and parents! I also saw your show and I knew almost every song so i was really excited to see it! "It Ends Tonight" is seriously one of my favorite songs ever. and the whole show was very well done. Thanks again!
Also a shout out to MidwestSingerdude who i met at the competition!
Well, here I go on my thoughts of the finals competition. They'll probably be a little vague or repetitive since this is my first competition as an audience member!
Hinton: A pretty standard Hinton show. Your overall execution of the show was good. However, your vocals were pretty quiet. I had a hard time hearing you guys and I was in the bleachers on the left side of the stage. But you had a few moments where you guys pumped out some sound and it was very nice! Your choreography is always fun to watch and I can tell you guys just love being on stage - it shows. Congrats on making finals and to the girl who got Best Female Soloist! She was lovely!
Westwood: This isn't the Westwood I'm used to seeing. I don't know what it was, but your energy was seriously lacking which, in turn, affected your choreography. It seemed like a majority of you guys were just going the motions, which is not what Westwood does. On the other hand, your vocals were pretty decent, a little quiet and hard to understand at times, but decent, and your band was great. I was overall disappointed because I know you guys can do SO well with Mr. Gerking. Just keep working this season and I'm sure you guys will improve.
Pella: Unfortunately, I didn't see you guys last night as I was talking to a few Le Mars kids before finals started and I just missed you guys. I'm sure you did fantastic though!
Lewis Central: I didn't know what to expect from you guys before this competition, your finishings this season haven't been great but I tried to keep an open mind. And you guys were fantastic! The singing at the beginning of the opener was lovely and then you just exploded with the choreography. You guys had such energy coming off of that stage, it was just wonderful! I did feel some of the choreography suffered since you guys had so much energy. Don't let your moves get messy with the adrenaline rush of being on stage. It's a hard thing to do, I know; I struggled with that all throughout my show choir career. You guys have good things happening on stage and I wish you guys the best of luck with the rest of your season!
Papillion La Vista: I have never seen you guys before until last night so I didn't know what to expect. But you blew me out of the water. I was in the back of the gym during your guys' performance and I could feel the energy hitting me, it was insane. You guys had massive vocals and your choreography was just wonderful! You guys definitely deserved to place that well and congrats on your finish! Also, another congrats to the girl who got Best Female Performer!
Ralston: Another group I have never seen. Although we competed together at this last year, I wasn't able to see you guys during prelims due to overlap and I didn't see you guys in finals since we didn't make them so I was very excited to see you guys for the first time and you did not disappoint! You immediately caught my attention by doing one of my current favorite songs as your opener, Firework. I was immediately hooked. You guys kept your energy levels in tact and had fantastic vocals and choreography. That wall of sound you throw at us right before you end the opener sent chills down my spine, it was so good. The next song, your male soloist. LOVE! Very much deserved that award. Your ballad was gorgeous and your last half baseball theme was SO fun! The guys piece was hilarious - the one guy who shouted "Ew! That's disgusting!" had me cracking up. Your show is so fun and I was very pleased. CONGRATS ON YOUR 2ND WIN (AND SWEEP) AT HEELAN!
And now, for my Alma Mater, Le Mars: I was shaking before you guys came on, I was so excited and nervous. WHERE DID YOU GUYS COME FROM?!?! I was blown away by your choreography. I don't think I've seen a Le Mars show with such clean choreography. You are all SO fun to watch. However, your vocals left me underwhelmed. Even from where I was sitting (the front row), I could tell the sound wasn't be pumped to the back and it might be hard to hear. You guys had a few moments with some awesome volume and those were the moments that made just smile. The overall quality of sound, whether loud or quiet, is good though. All of the soloists did AMAZING! The Distance You Have Come was gorgeous with a beautiful male soloist. Sing. OH MY GOD. Hilarious. Nate Irwin...I don't know what to say, you TOTALLY deserved Best Male Performer for that solo. I haven't been so proud of a Le Mars show ever! You left me just smiling and smiling and I hope you guys could tell when I talked to you in the gym that you made this alumni a proud one.
A final results list with captions are:
GC: Ralston (BV, BC, BB, Best Male Soloist)
1RU: Papillion La Vista (Best Female Performer)
2RU: Lewis Central
3RU: Pella (Best Stage Crew)
4RU: Le Mars (Best Male Performer)
5RU: Westwood
6RU: Hinton (Best Female Soloist)
(There was a scoring error here. It seems like we can't get through one weekend without at least one scoring error!)
This competition was spectacular and I'm so glad that this was the first competition I went to as an alumni of show choir. It was weird being on the other side, but I had so much fun screaming for groups and watching the groups just rocking out on stage. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE GROUPS AND FOR HEELAN HIGH SCHOOL FOR MAKING THIS AN OUTSTANDING COMPETITION!
Great job yesterday to everyone. Very competitive field. AcaPella and Dutch Divas were honored to share the stage with all of you. Thanks to all the volunteers at Heelan for making this an enjoyable "first trip West" for our groups, and a shout out to our room hosts (Ryan and the ladies....great job!)
And to everyone who joined in our hallway dance party...keep the party alive!
6ru hinton
5ru westwood
4ru le mars
Best male performer lemars
Female performer papillion
3ru Pella
Male soloist Ralston
Female soloist hinton
Stage crew Pella
Best band Ralston
2ru Lewis central
Best choreography Ralston
Best vocals Ralston
1ru papio
Gc ralston
GC: Ralston
1RU: Pella
2RU: Westwood/Papio LV
3RU: Papio LV/Westwood
4RU: Lewis Central
5RU: Le Mars
Ralston will be fighting to keep defend that GC spot the got last year, so they will be giving it their all. Pella could give them a run for their money though from what i've heard.
Papio and Westwood will be fighting for the next two spots for sure. Papio's show is solid and gets better each week, but westwood has always been strong. They will both not be too far from the GC and 1RU though in my opinion.
Lewis Central and Le Mars will be competing too and shouldn't be that far behind the other groups either. Lewis Central has struggled a bit this season, but they had a good show and should be working to get better every practice. La Mars is gonna wanna do well here to, and i dont doubt that they will have a good show. Unfortunately i haven't seen/heard about the other schools here, so i can't really comment of them.
It really could be anyone's game. No "for sure's" here.
Not sure if i'll be able to make it out to this one now. Complications with how i was going to get there. So in case i can't make it out, good luck to all groups here! Preform your hearts out! =>
Bishop Heelan Quad-State Showcase 2012
