Linn-Mar High School’s varsity show choir 10th Street Edition performed a magical show this past season. The show was a recreation of the popular children’s book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.

Diction and projection are at their finest in this show. Near perfect choreography makes the show hypnotizing to watch and it’s hard to believe that the performers aren’t professional dancers. 

The choreography is elementary at times, with simple movements during parts of the show, but the group always comes back with a fast-paced dance break or insane trick. 

Beautiful vocals show the audience why the dances are more rudimentary. Running a mile and singing at the same time would be hard, so for them to be able to sing like they do they also need to have easier choreography. 

Many choirs lean on sopranos during harder music because sopranos often sing the melody, but Linn-mar doesn’t even come close. Their vocals are always clear and the sections blend perfectly to create an enchanting sound. 

Energy levels are at an all time high with this choir. Their movements are full of intent and life that no other choir has. 

Linn-Mar’s show is far away from the ‘traditional’ show choir. Instead of a mixture of different soloists and songs that follow a vague theme, Linn-Mar’s show is closer to a short musical. 

Instead of showcasing multiple different soloists, 10th Street has two main vocalists who are the leads of the story line. For many songs the choir is just singing backup vocals while the two leads sing a duet. 

The story relies on dialogue to help get the message across. This used to be unheard of in show choir since the whole point was singing and dancing, not talking. 

As you walk around a competition after the Linn-Mar show you hear grumblings of them changing show choir, while others chime in with they are not a show choir.

Character shows with dialogue and leads have become increasingly popular over the past few years with Waukee Northwest’s Eos and Ankeny Centennial’s Spectrum. 

While traditional show choir is beloved and creates shows that you can watch over and over again, this new approach makes shows only interesting to watch once. Though the shows may be incredible, the story line means it’s only shocking the first time. 

10th street is fantastic at every aspect of show choir and their show is memorable, it just can’t be called show choir. 

The performers do a wonderful job singing, dancing and creating a work of art. The show was breathtaking the first time I watched it and it is clear why they were undefeated this past season. 

Marion High School’s varsity show choir “New Creation” is the model for classic show choir. Their 2024 show is full of fun choreography, popular songs and a remarkable band. The traditional costumes bring a timeless feel to the show as well. 

The costumes are standard beginning with short dresses for the girls and suits for the guys. Not only reflecting a classic show choir but also giving a blank background for the group’s incredible choreography. 

Energy is brought to the show through New Creation’s clean and fun choreography. Performers have tremendous talent and are able to make the choreography look easy with how sharp and together their movements are.  

The choir sings many songs from the recent pop charts including “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and “Blinding Lights” by Abel Tesfaye. The use of popular songs allows the whole crowd to have fun and dance along.

Band members also do a wonderful job playing songs cleanly and musically. They bring life to the choir with their instrumentals.

New Creation starts off the show with great vocals between the girls and guys although volume during songs was a struggle. After the costume change, only half of the choir is on the stage and many times you could barely hear what they were singing. 

Their best performance is during the ballad. The choir comes together to create a beautiful song with impressive vocals that send chills to the audience.

Some choirs lose a lot of energy during their ballads but Marion uses the emotion to their advantage and brings heightened feelings to the show. 

Senior Hannah Andreasenn performs a breathtaking solo during the ballad, bringing raw emotion to the show. 

Overall the choir does a tremendous job with choreography and bringing a new life to traditional show choir. 

New Creation placed second at West Branch Saturday Night Jive. They then placed third at Anamosa’s Sadie Street Showcase and Des Moines Christian Illumination. 

Marion’s show choir knows how to entertain the whole audience and I can’t wait to see what they do next season.