Sometimes I think about how this was the last "normal" weekend before the COVID pandemic took off and the nation went into lockdown on March 13th. It's so surreal now... I remember Daniel Hand's staff wiping down surfaces with sanitizing wipes, trying their best to combat a virus that would change life as we knew it for a period of time just a week later. Nobody knew what was on the horizon, nobody knew the magnitude of what was to come. We were just there to support each other and enjoy great show choir.
I was fortunate enough to get to bring my boyfriend to this competition for him to experience competitive show choir for the first time. He was in a non-competing group at his old high-school, never seeing groups of this caliber, and was absolutely blown away by the level of performance that every group brought. We still talk about it every now and then. I am so glad that I took him to this competition. It was a milestone moment for us, because after this, it would be four months before we were able to even see each other again. We are still together, and he is super excited to go to more shows with me during the 2022 show choir season!
Also, Brio, your show is still one of my all-time favorites. "When love takes over" plays in my head totally unprovoked at random times and I can thank you for that! ;P
Delaney Wilson was Somersets best female
Ryan Christopher was Waltham’s best male
Single gender: 4th was Scranton
5th was a tie between Lowell and T-Tones
Gavin Tarnowski was T-Tones best male
Middle school results:
4th maestros
5th boom
6th Pc
I had an awesome time getting to see so many new show choirs! All of the shows were super creative and fun and everybody was soo nice. The atmosphere was so friendly and welcoming. Avery already mentioned this but our hosts were incredible. From the beginning they were just so nice and accommodating. They worked so hard to make sure our group had a great experience and we did! Getting to hang out and play games and just get to know kids from the other choirs was so much fun. Thank you Daniel hand for an awesome competition and a very memorable day!
I am a huge fan of this competition. We got greeted before the competition began with our hosts, Jack, Lexi, and Hannah, already wanting to get to know each other and asking what they could do to make our competition experience better beforehand. After traveling far from Indiana, it was great to see all of these incredible groups. Everyone at this competition was very nice to me and I did not have one bad encounter. Our hosts fit in with our group quickly and we got to know each other throughout the day.. it was great to feel a sense of community between our groups!! I know there was a time issue with running behind, but there is no competition I would rather be at until 3:00am. Huge shoutout to the people behind the scenes moving all of the riser configurations because that has to be tough with each group doing something different. I am so used to all groups having the same risers that I never even thought of this as a potential time problem. All of the Daniel Hand volunteers worked hard to keep us updated with time and get us from place to place in as little time as possible. They gave out a little Fairfield Crystal Classic vibe to me with the cool group name announcement before each performance and it not only made the groups super excited to perform, but it also made the audience pumped to see what the group was about to perform. Thank you to everyone involved with this event for a great, long day. I am thankful we got the opportunity to attend this year, and if it was my choice, I would go every year!!!
One more thing.. Daniel Hand “VIBE” 2020 is the most incredible show. I could see the emotion in all of their moves and words. They put all of their passion into everything they did, even if they were performing at 1:30am. They move risers during their show which I have never seen happen and I think they did it perfectly!! I loved the simplicity of some of their costumes because that allowed the story and the performers to speak for themselves. The moving boat on stage made me lean forward and want more. I was sooo into every little detail of their show. Huge shoutout to all of those students for working all day and finding the energy to perform that high energy show at 1:30am. I am so proud and I hope to see y’all again soon!!!
As one of the judges, I just wanna tell the groups we saw yesterday that it was a mind-blowing day (and night.....and MORNING!!!!) of fantastic entertainment!! The Daniel Hand parents, staff and students could NOT have been better hosts, and all of the judges were wowed by your kindness and hospitality.....and your Noah's Ark!!!!! So many moments I won't forget from the contest, and the excellence never stopped....even with a group taking the stage at 1:10 a.m......it was still epic!! Cannot recommend this competition highly enough to those of you wishing to go to a top-notch event that treats you well. I have a MAAAAAAAAJOR show choir hangover this morning as I fly back to Indiana, but it's worth every single Tylenol!!! Bravo to all who were there, and thank you to those of you who took part in donating $1,608.44 to give 64 people in the African nation of Eswatini clean water for life......you have modeled the power of show choir to change the world!!!!!