Editor’s note: Here is your chance to tell your story about your team, your school or your favorite player. If you’d like to join The Gazette’s growing list of high school contributors, contact J.R. Ogden at jr.ogden@thegazette.com

By Brooke Bockenstedt, Western Dubuque sophomore

EPWORTH – Sports are a big deal at my school.

Students get excited for home games and we have pep rallies to support the teams. It makes me smile every time I see the whole school come together to cheer our players on.

But are we forgetting the other athletes? Are we forgetting our show choir performers?

Show choir is tough work. We sing and dance all while looking nice. We have no bench, only one stage where we become a united team.

Our season is long – eight months of singing and dancing the exact same show. We come in during the summer and learn our choreography. We dance the same material over and over again until the choreographer deems us fit. After that, we continue to practice with our director until the end of our season.

We have practice once a week, plus our in-class rehearsals every other day.

Going through a show choir rehearsal is not easy, either. We leave with sweat dripping down our faces. You are probably thinking show choir is not that hard. They just sing and dance. Yes, that is exactly what we do, but last time I checked, athletes were not singing while they dribbled around their basketballs.

As performers, we must dance while singing on pitch and listening to the others around us. We must smile and draw in the audience and judges. On top of that, we must change into an entirely different outfit in a minute.

Have you ever seen athletes do that?