By Julianna Zitron and Victoria Kuzma, News Editor and A&E Editor

This past Saturday, the Semores were announced as the winners of the 2020 S!NG competition. Following some confusion about the announcement of winners, the Semores went on to capture the attention of both the audience and judges with their creative interpretation of this year’s theme: Reality TV.

The performance focused on the inner workings of a suspense game show called Escape Reality, where contestants had to solve riddles and find clues in an attempt to escape four unique rooms and win $1,000,000. Semore director Savannah Sclafani said, “‘Escape room’ and ‘reality TV’ are two phrases that wouldn’t initially seem like they’d coincide, but I’m proud of how our team managed to turn two very different things into one.” 

Dance director Faye Shemper said, “The cleverness of the plot, in my opinion, allowed for so much more creativity from each department than previous years, and that of course made for a cohesive, enjoyable show.” Audience members agreed, including sophomore Michelle Cho, who said, “I thought it was certainly better than last year; they had more freedom in this one because last year the [theme] felt so limiting and they couldn’t do much, that’s why the shows were so similar. But this year they had more creative freedom.” 

In reacting to the victory, dance director Ashley Facey said, “My team usually doesn’t focus on winning S!NG as much as we focus on enjoying ourselves and each other’s company, so the fact we got to have such a phenomenal season and win makes it all that much better.” 

Sophomore performer Amelia Wiszowaty, who played the role of Snap, expressed, “I think I was most proud of this year’s improvement. We started our first run through and we were a little scared, but the shows that we put on showed how much work that we put into every last detail.” 

The performance featured vocal performances such as “Vogue” by Madonna and a comical rendition of Sarah Mclachlan’s “Angel.” One of the vocal directors Lucas Ayala said, “It felt amazing to win this year. It’s very rewarding to see weeks of long rehearsals and run-throughs pay off. I’m so proud of our singers.” 

Unique choreography to songs such as “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish and “Forever for Now” by LP left the audience stunned. Dance director Angelina Jimenez explained, “I’m incredibly grateful that I was able to work with co-directors that both listened to me and challenged me in a way that allowed us to make the dances we did.” 

Many students agreed, including sophomore Zarif Rahman. “The Semores had really good dancers and singing, they were all very coordinated,” he said. 

Freshman Erica Jin described, “My first S!NG experience was way better than I imagined…. I didn’t think that a group of students could collaboratively organize such an amazing and creative show.” 

Although the Freshiors were not victorious in this year’s competition, the team put on a captivating and exciting performance. The show revolved around a televised singing competition called “The Star Project,” exploring the drama between contestants. It featured skilled choreography to songs like Britney Spears’ “Circus,” Ariana Grande’s “Greedy,” as well as a unique Freshior twist on the song “Another Day of Sun” from the La La Land movie soundtrack. 

Senior Betty Jin remarked that, “The step routine in [the Freshior’s] performance was [her] favorite part. It was really well coordinated and had a lot of energy.” Freshior dance director Givon Carter described, “Performing is always a rush for me because I get to show off all the hard work I put into the show. Overall, I love S!NG and wouldn’t want to trade my family for anything.” 

Semore faculty advisor Yvette Reyes reflected on her second year as an advisor stating, “Seeing the sophomores interact with the seniors and seeing how the seniors take them under their wings is awesome to watch. They really came together as a family and a community, and that was fascinating to see.” 

Ashley concluded by urging all underclassmen to “treasure this club. Keep the love alive and do not forget that you should be enjoying yourselves every step of the way… Strive for excellence and let your imagination take over.” 

Photo Courtesy of Jasmine Shum