At Struthers High School, Abbey Brodnan, the show choir choreographer, comes to Struthers on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Brodnan makes dances and puts together the show. Being a choreographer takes a lot of time. She has to work on new dance moves after school. She doesn’t have enough time to work on the dance moves when the choir class is supposed to be dancing.
There are some highs and lows of the job.
“At some times, it can be stressful. Since there is a shorter period for show choir this year, time is sometimes a struggle,” says choreographer Abbey.
Brodnan used to dance at SHS, making it easier for her to feel the music and the rhythm.
It takes a lot of time and effort to decide what would look appealing to the audience and how they would react. Timing is a big thing in Show Choir. If the dance moves don’t align with the music, then the dance looks bad.
Brodnan was also a member of Show Choir during her time at SHS.
“I always loved Show Choir when I was here at the high school, so it was a no brainer for me to take this position,” says Abbey.
The Show Choir has days where they don’t dance. Those days are dedicated to the students singing and making sure they know the songs. If the students didn’t know the song lyrics, then making dance moves would be difficult. The students would sing while dancing, helping the choreographer know what lyric to land on.
Coming up with choreography comes easy for some.
“When I listen to the music, the choreography just comes to me and I try it with the music and see if it works out,” says Brodnan.
Choreography takes time, and it can be easy. It all depends on how well you can connect with the music. Brodnan can feel the beat and make a move.
