22 SPRING SING Harding moves 2020’s Spring Sing to 2021. In March 2020, campus was abuzz with excitement and anticipation for the Spring Sing show “Once Upon a Time.” When COVID-19 reached the U.S. and the world was put on hold, that excitement had to be delayed as well. A year later, students and faculty wanted to revive “Once Upon a Time,” while embracing the changes necessary to make it happen. From that, 2021’s “Twice Upon a Time” was born, and with it came a slew of new challenges and joys. From the perspective of the performances, one of the biggest changes was the incorporation of new performers into an existing show. Thanks to club week being pushed to spring semester, new pledge classes helped compensate for the loss of members due to graduation and scheduling conflicts. “With the new members, my show is roughly the same size as last year,” sophomore Jeana Wilsom said. “It’s the same length and we’re doing all of the same songs.” With show sizes remaining the same, every group had to follow COVID-19 guidelines to ensure safety in large group settings. “Doing rehearsals in a COVID world is, well, I wouldn’t say more stressful than normal, but it is tedious,” Omega Phi and Delta Gamma Rho spring sing director Valentino Warren II said. “Everyone is so used to connecting and getting close to each other,” Warren II said. “Trying to maintain social distance when everyone is so relationally close to each other is difficult, and that is the aspect that everybody looks forward to in Spring Sing.” To make sure social distancing was encouraged and enforced, every show assigned at least one member to be a COVID-19 officer, whose job was to keep the director and members safe. “Trying to maintain a good, steady pace while also making sure everyone is socially distanced and taking breaks is very hard as a choreographer, so the COVID officers are there to keep me on track,” Warren II said. “Usually we break every 15-20 minutes, and the COVID officer keeps up with that, as well as enforces social distancing.” While the rules may have affected the closeness that Spring Sing is known for, students were still glad to be involved. “They come in with a smile, they put in the work, and they’re having fun,” Warren II said. “Once you begin working together, the whole process is going to be so much more fun.” “I’m still having a great time, and I think other people are too,” Wilsom agreed. As club shows navigated a new process, the Spring Sing ensemble and the Harding Jazz Band adapted as well. “We try to do rehearsals in sections, rather than having all of the ensemble in one room all the time,” ensemble director and Spring Sing coordinator Dottie Frye said. “We’ve always rotated groups around, but we especially did this year to be safe.” Significant changes to the choreography were made to help with social distancing as well, and the audience capacity was extremely limited. “It’s nice to have a giant audience, but it’s obviously not safe right now,” senior ensemble member Nick Stevenson said. “I’m actually less nervous because there’s less people in the audience.” The Jazz Band, an ensemble that has been a part of the rich tradition of Spring Sing since its inception, was not physically present in “Twice Upon a Time.” “We’re not going to be playing in person; we’re doing the tracks and then recording them,” sophomore band member Braydon Letsinger said. “We’re playing songs that are associated with story and imagination, magic and mystery, to complement the theme of Twice Upon a Time.” Through all the changes, one thing remained the same, and that was the talent and hard work of everyone involved. “The talent that we have all came from God,” Frye said. “We didn’t do anything to deserve it, so it is our responsibility to use it the best we can to glorify Him, entertain others, and build each other up. So as for the rehearsal process, lets make it positive. Lets make it fun. Let’s grow, and then we have something to share with an audience.” story by Zach Bishop T W I C EUPON A S P R I N G S I N G
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