Protégé Enters The Danger Zone

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Madisen Maxa

Protégé soloist performing the show’s opener during a dress rehearsal.

Kennedy’s junior varsity show choir, Protégé, is taking place in the auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. for the Kennedy Premiere Concert. They will showcase three of the five songs in their lineup in preparation for their upcoming season.

The theme this year is based on the movie franchise Top Gun. The opening song is the instrumental “Top Gun Anthem” followed by a “Mighty Wings,” “Playing With the Boys” and “I Ain’t Worried” mashup. Their ballad is a “Hold my Hand” and “Take My Breath Away” medley. Continuing with “Great Balls of Fire,” the choir closes with “Danger Zone”. 

“I wanted something fun, something that the kids would love doing,” said director Ann Brunson. ”The music from the movies is really good so I thought it would just make a great show.” 

Protégé started practicing in August with a choreography camp led by Damon Brown. Once school started, they began in-class rehearsals and practicing after school.

“We’ve had after-school practices, practices during the day and multiple choreographers come in to teach more songs,” Brunson said. “We just started working with the band last week, so we’ll continue doing that and building up so we have everything ready for January.”

Members of Protégé are excited to showcase what they’ve been working on. Their competition and showcase dates and locations are listed on the Kennedy Protégé instagram.

“We work hard so I think the show will look really good,” sophomore Srinidhi Kompella said.

This year a new change was implemented to Protégé. It is the first year incoming freshman girls were allowed to audition and the group became co-ed, reverting to its original composition.

“We have freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors in this group, so it’s a very eclectic group of kids. From kids who have no show choir experience to kids who have done show choir for five to six years,” Brunson said. 

The diversity of the group has helped members meet new people and form new friendships. 

“I enjoy the people, the dancing and singing, but most of all the community,” Kompella said. “I’m most looking forward to spending time with my friend at the competition