To send off the second, and arguably toughest, six weeks of the semester, I attended the two night performances of the choirs’ Follies on Friday and Saturday. After hearing excited comments from choir students and watching choir girls dancing and singing in the band hall last week, my expectations were high for the show themed “Reel Music” which featured songs from popular movies. The final performances did not fall short in the least.

There were many aspects of Follies that left me with an overall great experience. The large acts, which were the same every performance, were full of energy and excitement. Many small groups or duets lived up to the movie theme well and entertained the audience including myself. As for the solos, I was blown away by the talent that I never knew existed in our school.

The large acts of Follies, featuring either one or all choirs, added energy to the show and kept the attention of the audience. The opening act of “We Go Together” from Grease was loud and energetic, along with impressive choreography. The finale from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gave a similar feeling. Both of these performances revealed the family bond that choir students have and spread a positive feeling around the auditorium.

Performances featuring only one choir which impressed me were the Chamber Choir performing to the James Bond theme and Rhapsody singing and dancing “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” from The Great Gatsby. The costumes and choreography of the spy-theme reminded me of the movies and went with the harmonies of the music. Rhapsody’s performance was one of my favorites of the whole production. The dancing skills impressed me and the amount of sass in the performance put a smile on my face as other audience members whistled and cheered with excitement. This fun-filled performance made me proud of my friends in choir.

My favorite duets of Follies were performed by seniors Haley and Hannah Peeler, seniors Cody Dosier and Amanda Lipscomb and senior Justin Stamps with junior Nikoli Hernandez. The Peelers put on a humorous performance of “Sisters” from White Christmas. The red dresses with white fans made of feathers went along with the Christmas theme and the light feeling of the song. I thought the song choice was clever and revealed the bond of the twins and the voices of the sisters were both clear and talented. The performance of “Magic” from Smurfs 2 by Hernandez and Stamps was energetic and spread excitement throughout the audience. The performance by couple Dosier and Lipscomb was lighthearted and contained pleasing harmonies. Each duet at Follies exposed a real relationship which allowed the performance to be that much more successful.

There were many impressive solos in Follies as well. Seniors Emily Ramsey, Stamps, Tyrone Wright and Casey Wall all put on excellent performances. Ramsey and Wall showed a star quality in their voices and productions. Stamps put on an amazingly emotional performance of “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables, displaying a wide range of talent, while Wright used his smooth voice to interact with the audience in his solo “Sway” from Shall We Dance. All of these solos were the outcome of years of hard work by these seniors and in my opinion, it all paid off.

There were also solos performed by underclassmen which blew me away. Sophomore Peije Fincher and freshmen Aubrey Cobern and Aubrey Crow showed a maturity in their solos as well as advanced talent in their singing abilities. These young performers gave me reason to look forward to future Follies performances.

All of the great performances put together created one impressive production. The 2013 Follies was successful in my eyes with entertaining and impressive content. I thought the choir maintained the movie theme with most of the performances and the singing talent was pure and developed. This year’s choir made my first Follies experience one to remember, and I look forward to future performances from the choir.