Dancing through the decades with EC’s choir

Posted on by ECHSnews

By Mia Randall, Editor in Chief

On Feb. 11, El Camino’s choir program put on their yearly themed cabaret with this year’s theme being Do You Wanna Dance?, where their performance featured several dancing songs from throughout the decades. 

While the main event was the choir concert, a raffle also took place where the audience purchased tickets before the concert and during intermission to win prizes. All of the proceeds from the raffle go back into the choir program and fund many different things including festivals, trips and tours for the students. 

Several students in small ensembles performed while people from the audience came up and danced along in the orchestra pit. 

Some of the songs that the students sang were “Jump, Jive an’ Wail,” “Macarena,” “Shut Up and Dance,”  “Footloose” and many others. 

Carson Russell (’23) performs the song “Footloose” during EC Choir’s Themed Cabaret in the Preforming Arts Center. Photo by Nathan Calhoon (’23)

The groups that performed consisted of the Madrigal Choir, Concert Choir and the A Cappella Club. All students in the Madrigal Choir were required to do a solo, whether it was in a group or on their own. 

Choir Council President Carson Russell (‘23) helps plan and oversee all EC Madrigal Choir events. 

Russell explained that about a month and a half leading up to the concert, students had been rehearsing nearly every day in their ensembles and practicing their solos. 

He believes that the hard work put into this concert paid off and the choir students were able to provide the audience with a fun time. 

“Everyone was supporting each other and having a good time, no one was really nervous about dancing, and everyone was feeling like they could be themselves,” Russell said.

Choir Council Vice President Tiana Stimpson (‘23) also plays a big role in running all the choir functions, making sure everything goes smoothly. 

Concert preparations started back in December before Winter Break when the students began putting in requests for songs. When a student chooses a song it has to be approved by the choir director to make sure it’s appropriate for the theme. Then after getting the sheet music, students dedicate hours of their time inside and outside of class for rehearsals. 

“Our goal was to spotlight each individual singer and I think we overall did a really great job—we got to hear multiple different varieties of music and we also had fun,” Stimpson said. 

She explained that the favorite songs among the crowd were the most popular ones that people knew the dances to. 

On Mar. 15 at 7 pm, the EC Madrigal Choir and Concert Choir are performing in San Juan Sings! at Arcade Church. Additionally, there’s also a Dinner Night Out Fundraiser at Panda Express that same night where 20% of the proceeds help fund EC’s Choir program.