Junior Jessica Campos could have been seen jazz dancing her way through the hallways practicing for her first variety show performance. Campos practiced 24 hours a day, seven days a week, singing the song during school and throwing in little parts of her routine as she walked down the hallway.
Campos used to dance, but had to stop because school demanded too much of her time.
“The variety show was an opportunity for me to start dancing again,” said Campos.
Campos was only one of the 25 performances in the 2012 Huntley High School Variety Show. Along with the performers, new directors Ann Knipp and Ange Malmquist have been preparing diligently for the show. They have to start planning six months in advance because the Performing Arts Center is in high demand, making it difficult to attain a spot for the variety show.
Each year, a crowd of parents, students, teachers, and Huntley civilians sit in the plush seats of the auditorium watching and enjoying the variety show. The show moves through the performances with ease and keeps the audience captivated. The audience leaves the show eastounded at the talent that Huntley contains. The directors of the variety show as well as the performers put in a lot of time in order to make the show successful.
About 45 people auditioned for the variety show on Dec. 13 and 14. The panel of four judges had to decide which performances were the best and eliminate the rest. Only 25 performances secured a spot in the variety show. According to Malmquist, the hardest part of organizing the show is picking out the best performances.
“I’m always surprised by how much talent there is in this school,” said Knipp.
Knipp and Malmquist decided to take over directing responsibilities of the variety show when Kim Skaja resigned. Skaja taught the two the basics of directing last year. She resigned at the end of last year, allowing Knipp and Malmquist to start this year. The two took over because they both have musically-talented children and have been involved with the show for years.
Knipp and Malmquist wanted to make sure that this year the variety show featured all aspects of fine arts, not just singing and dancing. The show ranged from beat boxing 101 to multiple piano performances to magic tricks.
“I think [the variety show] is going to be really interesting,” said early 2012 graduate Taylor Haayer before the show.
Since moving to Huntley in the middle of 2010-2011 school year, Haayer had not performed anything yet. She decided to make her first performance at the variety show by exquisitely singing “I Found a Boy” by Adele.
Haayer diligently practiced singing “I Found a Boy” every day up until the show. She hoped that the variety show would help her to gain confidence and experience.
Like Campos, Haayer also performed for the first time at the variety show. There are also many performers who are veterans to the variety show.
“I always have enjoyed performing and getting the opportunity to sing,” said senior Christian Aldridge.
Aldridge performed “Everything” by Michael Bublé with senior Zach Polentini on guitar. Aldridge has been performing for as long as he can remember.
Overall, the variety show gives students a chance to get up on stage and show the public their talents. Students perform in the show because they want to pursue a career in fine arts, entertain people, or just have fun doing what they love.
“I think that [the variety show] is an awesome way for kids to showcase their talent without judgment and with community support,” said Malmquist.
