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Members of St. Louis U. High’s choir and dance programs took the stage this past Sunday, May 10, to perform in the annual spring concert for friends and family of all ages. As this was the senior class’ final concert, there were many emotions running through the audience, which contributed to a good energy in the theater.

The concert started off with the choir portion, featuring all of SLUH’s choirs under the direction of choir teacher Brian Reeves. The first song, “These Are the Good Days” arranged by Carter Datz, combined the audition Varsity Choir with Zero Hour and Concert Chorus. Each choir member walked out onto the risers from backstage, giving way to a picture-building effect to start the concert. Following the opening song, the departing seniors stepped up and sang “Ave Maria” by Feargal King, backed by all the other choirs, including the freshman Survey groups. 

After this, the Varsity Choir stepped down from their risers with arrogant faces, preparing to dance their hearts out to “I Want it That Way” by Backstreet Boys.The action of the stage: over-the-top dancing in sunglasses, an expressive solo from junior Joe Talleur, and the stylistic vocals of the group wowed the crowd.

The next song, “What We Think When We Sing,” arranged by Reeves himself, featured out-of-pocket one-liners from juniors Brendan Goldsborough and Eddie Doty, senior David Chakvetadze, and junior Brendan Hunt.

“(The performance) went along with what we’re trying to do in Varsity, which is to sing high-level music and then also be able to turn around and do just as much entertainment as possible,” said Reeves. “I thought they did a great job.”

 The mood became more genuine when the group sang “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and then surprised mothers in the crowd with roses with their last song, “House of Gold” by Twenty One Pilots.

All choirs reunited on the risers at the end of the concert to honor the seniors by name, recognize the All-District and All-State choir members, and distribute awards for the SLUH All-Stars, a group of students who sang for multiple choirs throughout the year. For the final song of the night, all three of SLUH’s choirs sang “The Awakening” by Joseph Martin, a powerful song about the transition from somber music to a song of joyous feeling.

“As a singer, I love that feeling when you have a group of people making this sound together that you can’t recreate on your own,” said Reeves. “Having 100 guys onstage is just unique. There’s a sense of occasion with that that I love.”

Following the choir concert, SLUH dance took the stage, featuring 11 dances from groups of all grade levels, from freshmen just getting into dance all the way to seniors with multiple years and countless hours of training under their belts. The theme of the dances was “The Magic of Motown,” which was chosen to resonate with the older members of the audience while still containing modern pop-style beats and opportunities for stylistic dancing.

“I think Motown was an important theme to highlight because of the culture and history behind it,” said Simonie Anzalone, SLUH dance instructor and choreographer for many dances performed during the concert.

Starting off the dance portion of the concert, After School Dance II and III danced to the tune of “My Girl” by The Temptations, a song with a swing-like beat and lots of opportunity for expression of dance. The dance itself was choreographed by the dancers, a process which was overseen by Anzalone to make sure the moves would work well in the concert.

”I give my dance classes the chance to choreograph their dances in part,” said Anzalone. “The veterans get to choreograph a whole number, while the beginner-level classes piece a portion of the dance together on their own. I give them rubrics and checkpoints to keep them on track with what they’re producing.”

Following the opening number, SLUH’s other dance classes, including Dance I, After School Dance I, and the three Freshmen Performing Arts Survey classes, showed off their dancing. Dance I displayed many unique moves, including jumping over each other while doing push-ups, which thrilled the audience and entertained everyone present. After School Dance I, on the other hand, had a mix of self-made and planned choreography for their two dances.

“It was really fun to choreograph our own moves in our dance,” said sophomore Joon Bautista, a member of ASD I. “We got to work with Mrs. Anzalone throughout the whole process, and the final result was just amazing.”

Ending the concert, After School Dance I, II, and III joined onstage to dance to “Do You Love Me” by The Contours, a song in which the dancers were able to capture the spirit of movement and let it flow through their bodies. This was also the final dance for many devoted seniors in SLUH’s dance program. 

“Some of these seniors have been with me for all 4 years,” said Anzalone. “It’s kind of emotional to see them go, but I’m happy for them to go out and live their lives. They’re going to be able to take this dance experience with them into college, and at the very least I hope this has prepared them for what is to come.”