As the guys take the hands of their dance partners, the girls are twirled in elegant circles around them. The girls are then held by the waist as the guys hoist them into the air first to the right, then to the left. Standing in as the audience, assistant choir director Whitney Wilson sits and watches as the dance she choreographed comes to life.

When Wilson joined the faculty at the beginning of the year, she made it her top priority to bring show choir into her next work place.

“I was always in show choir throughout high school and college and that was really what I wanted to do,” Wilson said.

Wilson first introduced show choir to the choral department to see how students would like the idea of a better-than-“Glee” club.

“I used ‘Glee’ to get people interested,” Wilson said. “When I pitched the idea to the kids I told them it would be very similar but it would be better. And we wouldn’t just do [songs by] Journey and Queen.”

Junior Jasmine Hart said she thought show choir would be “really fun” and “different than regular choir.” Alongside Hart, sophomore Connor Denton decided to audition with knowledge that it would be nothing like the television show, and that it would serve as a social event for him and his choir friends.

“I felt that we were going to get work done and be very productive,” Denton said. “We all get along really well…[and it’s] more club-like. It’s awesome.”

The show choir’s first performance is at Lakeland Elementary on Thursday, May 19. Sophomore Michael Atkins said he feels that the set-list Wilson picked to present is going to make people “want to get up and dance.”

However, Denton said he feels that show choir has an unusual approach to singing and dancing, which isn’t a part of regular choir. He also said he feels that the performance will appeal to more people outside the choral program.

“[I think] it’s going to inspire people to join show choir,” Denton said.

The group will perform five songs total. The girls and boys will sing three songs together including “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire, “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and “Broadway Boogie” by Kirby Shaw.

The girls will perform “Fever”, originally sung by American jazz singer Peggy Lee, and the boys will have their own song “On Broadway” from the Tony-nominated play “Smokey Joe’s Café.”

“We’re really giving [the audience] a taste of good music,” senior Annette Ginigeme said.

In the traditional choir class, the students mainly perform classical folk pieces, which can come in various languages like Latin, French or German, sung in unison. However, when there are only 10 singers, it’s everyone for themselves.

“When you’re in choir, you have to blend with 30 other people,” senior Rachel Lugendo said. “But in show choir, your personality shines not only through your voice, but through the dance moves and the look in your eye.”