Recently, there were multiple showings of the Verrado Arts Program. The program included choir, show choir, band, and dance performing on stage. Sometimes the groups combined to throw together a fun production with different themes. On both sides of the stage, there was also a constant slideshow showing the drawings of many art students and sculpture and ceramics builds. The main attraction showcased many different young talented students performing for an impressive-sized crowd. The entire auditorium was filled with people and they even had to set up extra pull-out chairs in the back. During the production, some people in the crowd were yelling names, at those who were performing, multiple times during the show. While maybe shouting out the name of one friend may slide to show a little love and let them know someone who cares for them is watching, please be considerate of the rest of the audience.

The sequence of the events performed actually changed during the different showings, likely the teacher testing out different orders to see what works best. The first showing with the Christmas songs played first and the tribal fighting music last seemed a better order. The tribal event also had a booming drum opening before the rest of the instruments joined, which seemed fitting for the finale. Back to square one though, the first event played some wonderful Christmas music in preparation for the holidays, Tis the Season to Be Jolly, and Jingle Bells. There was also one woman in the front baton twirling, and two on the sides of the flag spinning. The second event catered to Game of Thrones fans, which had the choir perform an acapella theme song of the show’s intro. The entire audience surely had tu tapa tu tapa tapa tu stuck in their heads the rest of the day. The acapella definitely had to be the favorite event for some, hearing everyone harmonize together is so delightful. In the third event, the dancers performed a precisely choreographed show for the audience, with special props to the desirable lone wolf Garren Garcia. For the fourth event, the show choir performed a classic song from the 80’s Running up That Hill which recently has made a return due to the popular Netflix Original Stranger Things using the song as one of the main characters’ theme songs. Show choir especially killed it with this production using the lyrics to match their motions and flow through the choreography in an entertaining way. The 3 main girls in the chairs, with no microphones, also did a great job amplifying their voices well enough for the audience to hear.

The fifth event before the finale had the advanced dance class come in to perform to the song Seven nation army. Following the song’s music video, the red and black shirts the dancers wore were excellent color choices. The red hidden under black dress shirts really popped on stage too once revealed. 

For the finale, some selected percussion instruments including row drums, a bass drum, and a set of 4 marching tenor drums came out for a booming introduction to the final song. The finale really had it all, with baton twirling, flag spinning, and special LED-lighted guns showcased. While the band was going haywire in the background with amazing-sounding tribal fighting sounds, there were two people with sticks sort of resembling “ribeye” meat in sword form. They had a makeshift battle and a special shoutout to Boden Noel on the Xylophone, looking very impressive holding two sticks in each hand to play the instrument. The Verrado Art Show was an amazing showing of Verrado’s talent and all the stunning Vipers should keep up the good work!