Show choir event to storm BHS stage Saturday
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
For the last two years, it’s been a bit of trial and error for those running the Chocolate City Showcase – a competition of top show choirs in the state.
The inaugural year, initial problems with the stage turned into a wild finals night, with the Green Bay Packers winning their playoff game while Mayville took the first-ever title.
Last year, a few schools canceled out at the last minute, leaving just five schools – all of who made finals and got to perform their show twice for a lot of enthusiastic fans.
Oh, yeah, and the Packers lost last year.
It’ll be three-for-three this year, as the Packers will play again Saturday night while finals for the showcase are taking place at Burlington High School. It’ll be just another form of fun for the showcase, BHS Choir Director Penny Yanke.
“It’s nice to be known as the fun, friendly competition,” said Yanke, who called this week – the one leading up to the showcase equal parts excitement and preparation.
After all, there will be 11 different show choirs coming to the event, with performances starting at 9:30 a.m. and running well into the evening. BHS’s B*Jazzled will also perform in exhibition at 4 p.m., and a separate soloist and duet competition will take place simultaneously with the prelim choir performances.
And for the football lovers who want to check up on the game, the televisions in the BHS commons will be broadcasting it.
Staying home
For members of the B*Jazzled group, this weekend is a chance to show off some of the home hospitality.
Mason Hawes, a four-year performer, took to Facebook to proclaim his delight at being assigned the same choir as last year – Madison East – for his duties for the event.
He had Green Bay Preble the inaugural year of the event, and each time, he’s enjoyed it.
“My groups are fun,” he said. “I always enjoy meeting them. As for Preble, “we spent half the day screaming at the television … making fun of the one Bears’ fan on their team.”
Yanke said part of the fun is getting in groups that don’t always see each other during the year. While Preble and Holmen – who were second and third the first year – haven’t returned because of scheduling conflicts, it will be the third consecutive season for groups from De Pere, Mayville (the two-time defending champion) and Madison East.
“They enjoy that everyone’s so friendly,” Yanke said. “They compete against groups they don’t normally compete against, because we’re the only showcase in southeast Wisconsin.”
The event also serves as a major fundraiser for the show choir, which has to cover expenses ranging from costumes to music each year.
Hard Work
For the 40-plus members of the choir – plus their band, which includes bass, piano, guitar and a full horn line – it’s been a run-up to an exciting time.
With a show featuring music from “Kung Fu Fighting” to “Four Minutes to Save the World,” everyone is excited about taking the stage.
“There’s so many emotions you have. You’re nervous, you’re scared, you’re excited,” said Ali Knight. “It’s just like you’re everything at once. It helps you perform the way you feel you need to perform the show.”
Knight is just a sophomore, but there are a number of four-year veterans on the squad, including Hawes – who stepped in for another student during choreography week as a freshman and then was asked to stay as part of the group.
Also in his fourth year is Eli King, who will head to either Columbia College in Chicago or the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee next year to study music composition.
He can hardly believe it’s been four years.
“I’m sure it will feel like just any other show … until it finishes,” he said about his final time on stage at the Showcase. “Whenever I step off stage, it feels different. It’s after everything’s done that things change.”
If you go…
What: The Burlington High School B*Jazzled Chocolate City Showcase
When: Saturday, with doors opening at 8 a.m. The first choir performs at 9:30 a.m., and finals begin at 6 p.m.
Cost: $10 for an all-day pass. Anyone who brings a non-perishable food item for Love Inc. will be entered in a drawing for a “Chocolate Lover’s Basket.”
Breaks: There will be a lunch break at noon and a dinner break at about 5 p.m.
Who’s here: Burlington B*Jazzled (exhibition only), De Pere Jam Session, Eisenhower Express, El Paso Gridley Hi Fidelity, El Paso Gridley Modulations, Lodi Special Effect, Madison East Encore, Mayville Cardinal Singers, Mayville Next Edition, New London Vision, Hamilton Sussex Synergy, Westosha Central Swing.
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