Music has been memorized, choreography has been cleaned, costumes have been altered, and Xhilaration is ready to take the stage for the 2018 show choir season. Xhilaration is Xavier’s varsity show choir and is made up of 48 auditioned members, 10 techies, and 16 combo members. Auditions were held last spring, and practices began in July for choreography clinics. The group practices two afternoons and one evening every week.

Xhilaration’s theme for this year’s show is “The Sky’s the Limit.” The show includes “Fly,” with junior soloist Kristen Hovda; “Shining Star;” “Send Me the Moon,” with senior soloists Tristen Perreault and Gennavieve Pieper; “Sun Is Never Going Down,” with senior soloist Grace Miller; “Angel on Each Arm,” with senior soloist Nolan Pithan; and “Fly away.”

“Our show really talks about persevering and knowing that you still have a chance to just let go and enjoy life,” senior dance captain Ellen Welch said.

Last season, Xhilaration won two Grand Champion awards, and the group is determined to keep working towards that goal by doing what they love on stage. They opened their season at “Viterbo 101” in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they were named fourth runner up. They will compete at four more competitions this year. Xhilaration will also perform exhibitions at “Xtravaganza,” a middle school competition hosted by the Xavier show choirs, as well as at “Fab Five,” along with other show choirs from Cedar Rapids.

“We have a great show this year with lots of returning talent and new talented people coming into our group,” senior Andrew Millsap said.

As a group, Xhilaration has many goals for the season and many things they wish to improve. Some of those goals include making progress at every rehearsal, connecting with their audiences, bonding as a group, carrying on Xavier show choir traditions, and performing the best show they can.

“The goal is to share the story of our show, to make the audience feel like they are truly a part of our performance,” director Matt Walker said.

As exciting as show choir season is for the members of Xhilaration, it can be bittersweet for the seniors in the group. Many of the senior members have been performing together for years.

“It is hard to think that this will be my last time performing, but I think this will be a really fun and great year for us. I can’t wait to see what happens,” Welch said.

Xhilaration is looking forward to an exciting competition season, and has already put in hours of hard work to perfect their show. The group is determined to defend their winning titles and pick up some new trophies for the choir room. Xhilaration will compete next at Davenport North’s “The Big Dance” on January 27. They will also perform at the “Fab Five” showcase at the Prairie Concert Hall on January 29.

Nicole Hassenstab

A&E Writer