By Samantha Alzate, Yasmin Hasan, Victoria Kuzma, Georgia Malo, Amanda Renzi and Julianna Zitron, staff writers
This year, the Freshiors were victorious in the annual SING! competition, marking this their third win during their time at THHS. With their unique take on this years theme, _____ like it’s 1999, the Freshior team, directed by Sarah Deonarain and Jacqueline Valenti, stole the hearts of the judges and the entire audience.
Freshior directors and performers were left with emotions of excitement, pride and relief when their win was announced. In a message to their team and the audience, directors Sarah and Jaqueline state, “We have never felt a stronger bond with a group of people, and we are so grateful to be leading our Freshior family.”
Following the story of a forbidden love connection between a rich upper east sider and a poor lower east sider, the Romeo and Juliet-esque storyline captivated audience members. Sophomore, Emily Tan, explains the “dramatic feel” of the Freshior performance stating, “I liked how the Freshiors incorporated the breaking down of social hierarchies between the rich and the poor.”
Singing and dancing to 1990’s hits, such as “Poison” by The Backstreet Boys and “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” by Destiny’s Child moved the judges and the crowd went wild when a lit-up rendition of “Iris” by the Goo Goo dolls was performed.
Dance director Alyssa Nepumoceno adds, “Dancers have improved so much since the beginning of SING!, and I feel that they really move the show along and entertain the audience. Hopefully the audience felt just as in the moment as the dancers were on stage.”
Junior and singing director, Dawa Sherpa shares, “We love SING! to death and we have made it our number one priority. Our work as directors began right after last year’s SING! ended. All those long days and sleepless nights… really have paid off.”
Dr. Brewer, an advisor for the Freshiors, states, “When I read [the script] this summer I was really excited because it seems like Sarah and Jacqui deliberately created a script that had lots scope for inventiveness. I thought that the boxing setting was brilliant because… I started imagining all the things they could do with dances with that subject, inventive dancing.’”
Despite their loss, the Semores performed an exciting and praise-worthy production. Senior actress Aliana Brkanovic states, “[Our] show was perfect. We gave it our all.”
Senior Agatha Turula, who took part in her final SING! this year, adds, “It’s a tremendous amount of work, but it’ll definitely pay off once you see all of it come together. Love what you do and do what you love.”
