The ETC show choir kids traveled in a giant charter bus on their way to a compeititon. Surely enough the electric feeling was alive in the large vehicle full of teens all with a passion for theatrical singing. Show choir is a group of musical performers who combine chorus singing and elements of hip hop dance. ETC is a community show choir including many Revere students who compete and practice regularly.

Bryan Detweiler, a show choir director, joined the ETC in 2003. Detweiler described the experience of a show choir competition.

“Typically there are 20-30 groups that perform during the daytime competition starting at 8 am which runs until about 5 or 6pm. Those 20-30 groups are usually put into different classes according to school or group size. Then, there are Preliminary awards that take place around 6:30 pm where the results of the daytime competition are announced. The top 6 scoring groups will then compete again in the finals which starts around 8 pm and goes until 11 pm, sometimes midnight or later. After finals, the host group will perform and the final awards will be announced,” Detweiler said.

ETC members practice in different groups. One of these groups is Rouge, the advanced women’s group, who practice on Tuesdays. The other All Americans, the advanced mixed group, practice on Sundays. Detweiler described show choir practices.

“It takes a lot of work to get the show to the competition caliber. At the end of each rehearsal we will do a run of our whole show so the kids can get used to performing it in one piece,” Detweiler said.

The ETC show choir is at the height of their season and Detweiler encourages anyone with a passion for singing and dancing to join.

“ETC and show choir in general are so much fun to be a part of. At first glance, it can be intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it is hard to stop. Being a part of this group has been a huge part of my life and I am not sure where I would be without it,” Detweiler said.

Sophomore Molly Oldham has been apart of the ETC show choir for seven years. Her older sister Jordan and her younger sister Lily have been involved in show choir as well. Oldham explained the nature of show choir, stating that it is drastically different from the popular TV show Glee.

“We learn about five songs and we learn hip hop dances to them, then we put them together and we compete,” Oldham said.

Oldham comes from a musical family and plays the piano, guitar and ukulele. Oldham describes how her musical background helps her within the ETC world.

“It helps with sight reading. Sometimes you have to learn music really fast,” Oldham said.

Oldham enjoys the atmosphere of ETC and claims it is like a second family to her.

“It is really nice. I am friends with people from main street, I am friends with people from new generation [ETC subgroups]. You all come together with a passion for music,” Oldham said.

Oldham has tried to integrate show choir into Revere, but has had no luck so far.

“I tried to talk to Mr. King [saying] ‘We should perform!’ We performed at a talent show at Prom, which was really fun,” Oldham said.

Freshman William Marchetta has been apart of the ETC show choir for four years. Marchetta moved out of the middle school group, meaning the level of talent increased and competition increased for him. Marchetta shared his thoughts on how the most recent show choir competition went.

“Everyone was pretty upset that we barely made it to finals, but everyone really stepped it up and put on an incredible performance in finals,” Marchetta said.

Marchetta has high hopes for the future of ETC show choir and also encourages more people to join.

“I hope that many talented individuals come and join the group, and allow ETC to be just as successful as it can possibly be,” Marchetta said.

The next ETC end of year show will take place on May 7 at Kent Roosevelt High School.