Strong Leadership

          In show choir, there are two main forms of leadership: the teacher and the dance captains. Let's start with the role of the teacher. A teacher needs to be a magnificent musician and conductor. The saying that "those who can't do, teach," could not be farther from the truth. To be a good teacher, you not only need to be the best at your profession but you need to be passionate about it, because if you are passionate about something you will be eager to share your knowledge with others. Teaching show choir can be a very stressful job but if the teacher truly loves music and sharing it with others then teaching show choir should be a joyous blessing. A teacher must be firm but understanding and needs to show that they know what they are doing. In show choir, the teachers abilities need to be evident to the students. When they are, the student will trust the teacher's direction and efforts and will be excited to learn from the teacher. It is also important for the teacher to be encouraging. Cruelty and harshness Do Not work well in a classroom, especially in one full of sensitive high school students who are putting themselves in a position that will either bring them praise or embarrassment. The teacher must be structured and firm but they should carry themselves in such a way that the rules are understood and no one will test their boundaries simply because they respect their teacher. A teacher should never, under any circumstance, tell her students that she is "disappointed" in them. It is proven that this single word sticks with people, especially children and teens, for a very long time and is far more devastating and hurtful to their confidence and emotions than if someone were to say they were angry with them. Students can handle the anger but they can not handle the permanent effect of being called a disappointment. Lastly, the teacher needs to expect the utmost from his/her students. More often than not, students will rise to expectations when they are held to a high standard if the students feel that someone believes in them and will accept nothing less than their best.
          Dance captains are the second type of leader in show choir and, quite frankly, it may be the harder job. Dance captains are students chosen to be in charge of helping the class learn or perfect choreography.  I have been a dance captain for two years and I know that, to be a dance captain, you must take a breath before every practice because you are stepping into a potential line of fire. I feel responsible for preparing my class and making sure that I do everything I can to help the class as a whole and each individual student reach their full potential. Dance captains must present themselves in a tricky manner. We must be firm and make ourselves seem in charge but we do not want to give off a sense of superiority. We know that people will not like us on certain days, that they will be frustrated with us, and that they will talk behind our backs. We know that we will face endless chatter, blatant attitudes, laziness and distractions. We are responsible for the performance of our choirs and we try our hardest to make every instruction we give count. We do not enjoy being harsh or repetitive; we do not enjoy the comments and conflicts that may arise, but there is no words to describe how proud we are of our group when they begin to scratch the surface of their potential. When they do well at a competition and feel good about themselves walking off of that stage, that is the greatest reward and blessing to us and we beam with joy and pride of their accomplishments. We know that at times we must be harsh or strict, or make everyone drop and give us 20 push ups for talking too much at rehearsal, but we are right there beside every classmate doing the push ups with them and we will never ask anything of the student that we would not be more than willing to do ourselves. Strong leadership helps a group stick together and form a team no matter how long it make take to turn individual performers into a cohesive show choir.
         As a quick personal note, I just want to say that LJ, BB and I are extraordinarily proud of how far Sudden Image has come this year. They are truly stepping up their game and proving to themselves that they posses the talent and potential that we saw in them from day 1. I am extremely excited to perform with them at our last competition next weekend and blow expectations out of the water once again.