Performing arts group kick off competition season

Juniors+Elijah+Mayhew+%28right%29+and+Ayraeah+Lewis+perform+at+Franklin+Community+this+past+Saturday.

Mithaya Kheat

Juniors Elijah Mayhew (right) and Ayraeah Lewis perform at Franklin Community this past Saturday.

Jordyn Kitson, staff writer

Ben Davis performing arts groups are kicking off their performance competition season. There are many exciting things to look forward to as choir, winter guard, winter winds, and winter percussion kick off competitions.

What to expect from show choir

The Ben Davis show choir competition began this past Saturday and will conclude right before spring break.

The Sounds show is called “The Evil Queen” and tells the story of the Queen’s subjects revolting and overthrowing the Queen to promote Equality. Premiers, another competitive choir, will have a show called “Stevie Remixed” which is a collection of Stevie Wonder songs presented in different styles.

The Sounds will be competing at Franklin Community, Pike, Warren Central, Avon, and Lawrence Central this year.

This past Saturday, Purple-Aires received Grand Champion at Franklin Community.

Seniors to look forward to watching are, Kyra Roquet, Zy’Raiyah Taylor, Nick Morton, and Alyssa Evans.

Show choir director Jason David is excited to see both groups compete this year.

“We have been working incredibly hard and I think we will be very competitive against other schools this season,” David said.

What to expect from Winter Guard

The Winter Guard competition also began this past weekend at Mt. Vernon High School.

The title of the show is called “Illumination,” and it is based around the dark side of the moon.

Winter Guard will be performing at Avon High School on February 11 and 12 for the Indianapolis WGI Regional! Groups from all over the midwest come and compete to start the qualifications for World Finals in April!

Performers to look forward to are sophomores Brooklyn Trumbo and Olivia Brents, and junior Haliyah Saliu.

Winter Guard director Sean Norwood says “It is always hard to judge early season how we will do compared to our competitors before actually competing. This year, Open Class is going to be tough.”

Norwood believes that Ben Davis will represent themselves and the program to the highest level they can. He says “scores and placements aside, as long as the guard can say they did their best and left zero regrets on the floor, they are winners in my eyes.”

What to expect from Winter Winds

The Winter Winds competition season starts February 18th and ends March 18th. The students have been practicing and rehearsing since early December. Our Winter Winds is the defending state champions and is entering its second season.

The Winter Winds 2023 show is entitled “Untamed”. The theme of the show is about their students unleashing their inner beast, being wild and uncontrolled.

On February 18 Winter Winds will be performing at Plainfield HS, On Feb. 25 they are at Decatur Central. Those are both Indiana Percussion Association (IPA) competitions.Then they will perform at WGI Indy regional, a national event at Greenfield Central HS on March 4. IPA State Prelims is March 11 at Westfield HS followed by State Finals at Avon HS on March 18.

Seniors to look forward to are Lauren Vescovi. Ava Hummer, and Haidyn Clevenger.

Winter Winds director Patrick Van Arsdale hopes they will do well. He says they would like to medal (top 3) in their class.

Last year they competed in Class A and won the IPA State Championship in their first year of doing Winter Winds. This year they will be moving up to Open Class. This will bring a lot of new challenges to their group, but the students are motivated and ready to face the tougher competition. They have already shown great improvement. He says they look forward to putting the show in front of an audience soon.

What to expect for Winter Percussion

February 11, the Winter Percussion will go to Owen Valley for a contest. On the 25th they go to Decatur Central.

The Winter Percussion show is called “Grit.” It’s a junkyard theme, and it’s all about grit. The grittiness of the set and props is obvious, but the show is all about having the courage, the perseverance, and the tenacity to meet any challenge.

On March 18 Winter percussion is performing at Center Grove. That is the State Prelims. The final performance of the season is April 1 at ISU in Terre Haute.

Seniors to look forward to are Didier Vohito, Kendall Holton Jakob Konz, Raymond Thomas, and Daniel Mallette.

Winter Percussion director Gary Rudolph says they are a strange mix this year. He says they have five strong seniors, and then a whole bunch of young students. Their freshmen are extremely motivated, but obviously lack experience. They have a few students from Chapel Hill and Lynhurst participating too.

The competition is always strong in Indiana, so they have a big challenge ahead. With all of that said, they are working hard and making huge strides every day.