Annual Cabaret returns with high-energy performance
By Gary Djajapranata,
HUB Staff Writer–
A stream of anticipant people filter into the dimmed hall of Emerson Commons just before 5 p.m. for the Feb. 12 Sunday show of DHS Jazz Choir’s 24th Annual Cabaret Dinner. They quickly find their candlelit tables and sit down. They chat amongst themselves, wondering how the performers of this year’s Cabaret can top a long tradition of successful sold-out shows.
The chatter dwindles down as host Tom Moore takes the stage. The curtain falls back, and the 39-member choir welcomes the audience to Cabaret with song and dance.
After the opening number, Jazz Choir members performed in solos, duets or ensembles, serenading the audience members as they feasted on a dinner provided by Woodland caterer Cracchiolo’s. A brigade of choir members waited on the audience as their fellow performers took the stage in turns.
According to veteran choir members Hayato Kawaguchi and Chiara Moore, Jazz Choir began planning for Cabaret in October. Rehearsals began in November and gradually picked up intensity until February, when choir members rehearsed four hours daily the week before opening night.
“It feels really good because we became like family,” Moore said. The third-year senior says “it’s hard to believe that I’m going to be leaving next year.”
Acts for Cabaret were chosen on an audition basis. Moore joined voices with sophomore Kelly Ragsdale to sing “Landslide” by Stevie Nicks, a performance that earned riotous applause. Other popular acts included seniors Eddie Buchanan and Jack Davis, who drew delighted laughter from the audience as they sang and danced to “Friend Like Me,” taken from Disney’s “Aladdin.”
Audience members were stunned when junior Sibel Alpedemir performed her original composition “City Girl.” Onstage alone with just her guitar, Alpedemir sang the soulful lyrics of her own song: “She’s a city girl, with her head in the clouds.”
The young songwriter says that the lyrics are “really personal.”
“I’m afraid that I won’t end up where I want to be in life,” Alpedemir said in explanation of the song’s meaning. “I have so many dreams in the art world.”
The night ended with the full choir onstage singing George and Ira Gershwin’s “I’ve Got Rhythm,” a song that was identified as the theme of Cabaret 2012.
The music of Cabaret was directed by choirmaster William Zinn, and the dances were choreographed by Cara Rains. A seven-member jazz combo comprised of Jazz Band musicians provided instrumentals for the choir.
The show also included a raffle, a silent auction and a live auction. Big items that sold included a two-night package to Disneyland.
