Bloomington Expressive Arts Training will host its 13th annual Spring Show April 21 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington. The show will include 77 young singers and dancers. The show's theme this year is One Heart BEAT, framed around love and hearts.
BEAT is a pre-professional show choir and dance program for students from first grade to 12th. Kayla Roub, BEAT administrative assistant, said that the main goal of BEAT is to create an environment for singers and dancers of all levels and ages.
Show choir is a performance art that combines singing and dancing — typically performances will be created around a theme and will often include costumes and props. Show choir differs from traditional choral performances because they typically select a range of modern pop to show tunes, while traditional choir performs more classical music.
The performance style is currently less common than traditional choir. Show choirs are usually only in schools, unlike traditional choir which can be found in communities, worship facilities, and schools. BEAT offers an opportunity for kids in Bloomington and surrounding communities to take part in the art. The organization has three different ensembles for different age groups as well as a more dance focused group.
“We will have performances from our competition show choirs, Syncopation and Amplitude, as well as Mini Sync, our elementary level group, and DanceWERKS, our dance only group,” Roub said. “We will also have a few mini showcases of kiddos singing or dancing.”
BEAT has two showcases per year, one in the fall and one in the spring, along with a holiday show. Additionally, they have two competitive show choir groups and a more dance focused group, that competes and performs in venues outside of Bloomington.
“It is truly a fun experience for all ages,” Roub said. “Getting to see a group of kids do what they love is so inspiring and is an all-around great time. It is also a great opportunity to get a look into what we are all about.”
The showcases that BEAT provides serves as a chance for the community to see the hard work put into the routines. Roub said that the Spring Show offers a chance for people to see the competition show choirs’ full routines because during the fall they haven’t learned their whole show yet. The performance given at the spring show is what the competition teams performed at competitions.
The groups rehearse weekly at Windfall Dancers, Inc. and Fairview Elementary School. Older age groups Amplitude and Syncopation rehearse twice a week at Windfall, and their Mini Sync along with their DanceWERK group rehearse once a week at Fairview. Additionally, students have the opportunity to refine those materials at home through Google Classroom.
Children naturally love music and with young children, movement can help them communicate when their language skills are not yet developed. Some of the main things that music and movement can help with are participating in a group, expressing emotions, listening skills, body awareness and creativity.
“Giving kids an outlet to do something creative that they love is very important because they get to show who they are and grow in a space that is accepting of their passion,” Roub said. “Getting to see the kids grow through something they are passionate about and seeing their love shine is like no other.”
