The 41st annual Swing Sing brought together all of Kanawha County's high school show choirs under one roof to "do their thing."
It took place Nov. 15 on a warm afternoon at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Charleston. It isn't a competition, instead it's an opportunity for schools to showcase their students' talent and to see how they compare to other choirs.
To kick off the afternoon of costumes and songs, Capital High School's VIPs led off. Their gold costumes sparkled and shined in everyone's faces as they danced around the stage. The first song was "Speak Life" by Toby Mac, the team had several soloist in this song.
Their next song, "Where I Need to Go," brought together the whole team. After showcasing their power players in the first song, the second really developed the sense of team and control they had singing as one. Finally, they finished out strong with a mash up of "Firework" and "Speed of Light."
Sissonville High School's Touch of Class performed after the Capital show choir, and presented their theme of "Game of Life." The overall theme was to show the significant days that you experience in life, from graduation day to getting married. Their costumes were a classic red and white that helped stitch together the idea of growing up. A "Play the Game" and "Graduation Day" mashup began the performance with high energy.
"Lessons to be Learned" showed the part of life where you have to learn from your mistakes and grow from them. "Game of Life" was the third song. It brought the group's theme to the pulp of their story as they danced on the stage to act out life's journey. Lastly, "Bow to the House of Swing Recap" ended their compilation of music with a strong finish and showed the grand finale of life.
The St. Albans High School show choir, Classix, followed with their theme of "Bring Me to Life" that showcased the revival of a person through song. To begin was the obvious choice of "Bring Me to Life" with soloist Bayli Johnson. She harmonized and helped the group get off to a strong start.
The next song brought energy. The choir members wore all black and danced around with "Bad Case of Lovin' You." This song was the strongest and most powerful the choir did to represent their theme of energy and life. To complete the mix of songs was "The Scientist" with soloists Gabriel Gorby and Margret Cantley.
Up next with a twist and exciting mashup was the George Washington High School Unaccompanied Minors. The group started and finished strong. An all-acapella group, the Unaccompanied Minors really drew the audience in with their unique approach.
The lead beat boxer Jordan Dyer provided supporting background beats, which allowed the singers to unleash their voices. The choir's classic black and gold costumes matched their energetic and harmonious acapella sound.
"Man in the Mirror" was taken on by the choir, and showed the beautiful power of their vocals. To finish off their part of the show, they performed "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. This absolutely captivated the audience. The skills that Jordan Dyer exhibited in the background beat shined through and Yasmine Tolliver powered through the upbeat song.
Following the Unaccompanied Minors was South Charleston High School's show choir, Chorale. They chose a Greek theme. Their kick off was very soft and beautiful with "Heart of the Moment."
Afterward, they dramatized a battle between two Greek fighters. The choir members returned to the stage after the battle ended. They had a powerful return. They entered with fog and dancing and even a costume change.
The girls wore a beautiful gold and black dress that has a goddess-like fit. The boys wore gold jackets that gave them a god-like look. Continuing through the motions and powerful ballads, the group chose the second to last song to be "The Final Countdown." Entering the third song, the South Charleston choir began with a power player that should be watched in the future.
Nakkia Ayers was the opening soloist in one of their final ballads. Her angelic voice filled the auditorium with warmth before the other members joined in. The way she sang each word captured the audience's attention.
Herbert Hoover High School's High Impact show choir came in with their take on Greek mythology and Greek life. The stage was decorated very well. It showed an artistic talent even before the group began to sing.
The choir even had decorated members that played on the theme of their Greek mythology. From basic citizens to gods and goddesses to Medusa, the students graced the stage in costume. "Kings of the World" was a very commanding ending for the choir.
Riverside High School's Melodic Fusion performed with a theme that represented the popular show "Glee." This show choir embraced the stereotype of typical show choir kids. The performance began with anticipation as the stage was a ghost town and nobody spoke waiting for the members. The choir had a great high school type of background set up and even ended the first song with a cheer stunt. The next song was a fantastic and energetic duo between two seniors, Jessie Johnson and Shiloh Perry.
They performed "Hate on me," a female empowerment song. All of the women in the group showed off their moves in one fluid motion. The lead soloist, Desiree Willis, showed command and control in her voice while performing the song.
The last mashup song "Don't Stop Believin'" and "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger," brought together two, well-known numbers performed on the popular Fox show.
Swing Sing's closer was Nitro High School's Showcats. They went with a 1950's freakshow theme. From the bearded lady to the woman with 1000 tattoos and even the strongest man in the world, all of the "freaks" were out. They pranced in front of fellow show choir members dressed as pin-up girls, families, and greasers. They had a very intricate and gorgeous set up to use as their background. The "People Are Strange" number completed the best representation of their freakshow act.