A message from Miss O’Neill, Batavia HS show choir director:
Show choir this year is going to look a lot different. Until there is a vaccine readily available, it just isn't going to be safe for large groups of people to be together, which means that competition season as we know it is not going to be possible. Please know that I am just as heartbroken about this as you are, but that your safety and wellbeing is way, WAY more important to me than going to competitions.
Show choir in person is also going to be really challenging. Singing together in one space is already risky, but adding in the element of dancing, which makes you more out of breath and requires you to breathe even harder, is much more risky.
That being said, I still think it is very important that we try to do something. I am working hard with Brian and Ellie (our arranger and choreographer) to come up with a way for us to still have a show, and I have been talking to other schools/directors about ways that we can still get to know each other virtually and share musical experiences together - even if they aren't competitions.
Our show choir experience is likely going to be completely virtual this year. My promise to you is that I will work as hard as I can and do whatever it takes to make sure that you get to learn new choreography, new music, and that you get time to spend together socially and make new and stronger friendships. I strongly encourage you to still participate in whatever we are able to do this year.
I am open to hearing from any/all of you about what you'd like to see/do for virtual show choir this year. The good news is that without competition season we don't have such a hard deadline to finish things, we won't need to spend so much time cleaning, and we can start right at the beginning of the year if we want to!
My imagination right now is that we'll have maybe 1 night/week all year and maybe we'll do one new song each month. We can provide you with resources to help you learn the music on your own a little, and I will teach some virtually. We will also be able to bring Ellie in virtually to teach new choreography (we might also even get to meet some other choreographers this year, depending on what we're able to do with other schools!).
If all goes as well as possible and there is a vaccine or something available in the Spring and it becomes safe for us to get back to show choir as we know it - WE WILL ALREADY HAVE SO MANY SONGS LEARNED!!! :-) We'll be able to jump right back into singing and dancing together like we know how!
I promise you to continue to be in touch with the rest of the community regarding what we're doing and what is safe, and if we're able to adjust what we can do or how we can do it, I will do everything in my power to give you the best experience I can while keeping you AS SAFE as I can.
Again, I understand the sadness and frustration you're feeling at reading this. I promise you I have felt all the same things and I continue to feel them. Plenty of tears have been shed on my end over how much I miss you, how worried I am about you, and what I can do to keep you safe. But I hope that you remember this: as much fun as it is to sing and dance with you, and as much as I love the talented performers you are, I love the human beings you are even more, and it is way more important to me that you're all healthy and safe than that we get to hang out in the choir room together.
Please, PLEASE feel free to reach out to me with questions/comments/concerns/suggestions.
I am very much wanting to start a dialogue here about what you all feel happy and comfortable with and what I can do to best facilitate this situation. We're all going through this for the first time together, and I want you to be a part of it, too. You can reach me by email at melmoneill@gmail.com, by phone at 630.421.3845 (call or text), or on the Band app groups from this past school year.
Melissa O'Neill
Director, BHS Show Choirs
Show choir this year is going to look a lot different. Until there is a vaccine readily available, it just isn't going to be safe for large groups of people to be together, which means that competition season as we know it is not going to be possible. Please know that I am just as heartbroken about this as you are, but that your safety and wellbeing is way, WAY more important to me than going to competitions.
Show choir in person is also going to be really challenging. Singing together in one space is already risky, but adding in the element of dancing, which makes you more out of breath and requires you to breathe even harder, is much more risky.
That being said, I still think it is very important that we try to do something. I am working hard with Brian and Ellie (our arranger and choreographer) to come up with a way for us to still have a show, and I have been talking to other schools/directors about ways that we can still get to know each other virtually and share musical experiences together - even if they aren't competitions.
Our show choir experience is likely going to be completely virtual this year. My promise to you is that I will work as hard as I can and do whatever it takes to make sure that you get to learn new choreography, new music, and that you get time to spend together socially and make new and stronger friendships. I strongly encourage you to still participate in whatever we are able to do this year.
I am open to hearing from any/all of you about what you'd like to see/do for virtual show choir this year. The good news is that without competition season we don't have such a hard deadline to finish things, we won't need to spend so much time cleaning, and we can start right at the beginning of the year if we want to!
My imagination right now is that we'll have maybe 1 night/week all year and maybe we'll do one new song each month. We can provide you with resources to help you learn the music on your own a little, and I will teach some virtually. We will also be able to bring Ellie in virtually to teach new choreography (we might also even get to meet some other choreographers this year, depending on what we're able to do with other schools!).
If all goes as well as possible and there is a vaccine or something available in the Spring and it becomes safe for us to get back to show choir as we know it - WE WILL ALREADY HAVE SO MANY SONGS LEARNED!!! :-) We'll be able to jump right back into singing and dancing together like we know how!
I promise you to continue to be in touch with the rest of the community regarding what we're doing and what is safe, and if we're able to adjust what we can do or how we can do it, I will do everything in my power to give you the best experience I can while keeping you AS SAFE as I can.
Again, I understand the sadness and frustration you're feeling at reading this. I promise you I have felt all the same things and I continue to feel them. Plenty of tears have been shed on my end over how much I miss you, how worried I am about you, and what I can do to keep you safe. But I hope that you remember this: as much fun as it is to sing and dance with you, and as much as I love the talented performers you are, I love the human beings you are even more, and it is way more important to me that you're all healthy and safe than that we get to hang out in the choir room together.
Please, PLEASE feel free to reach out to me with questions/comments/concerns/suggestions.
I am very much wanting to start a dialogue here about what you all feel happy and comfortable with and what I can do to best facilitate this situation. We're all going through this for the first time together, and I want you to be a part of it, too. You can reach me by email at melmoneill@gmail.com, by phone at 630.421.3845 (call or text), or on the Band app groups from this past school year.
Melissa O'Neill
Director, BHS Show Choirs
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