Students perform at homecoming halftime show

Homecoming+prince+Michael+Larian+and+princess+Amelia+Teschner+ride+around+the+track+in+a+convertible.

Pariss Chami

Homecoming prince Michael Larian and princess Amelia Teschner ride around the track in a convertible.

Kaia Lopez, Staff Writer

The homecoming halftime show, one of the most exciting performances during the year, takes a lot of hard work and hours of practice. Students part of each team or group practiced for weeks before the show (Sept. 23).  This year the Band, Madrigals, Dance Company, and Cheer performed. 

The performances at the pep rally were the same as the performances at the halftime show, giving students a preview of the show. However, the official show included several new additions.

At halftime, the homecoming court was paraded around the track in convertible cars and escorted down the field. This year the homecoming queens were seniors Emily Gorin and Mika Pomerantz.

At halftime, the homecoming court was paraded around the track in convertible cars and escorted down the field. This year the homecoming queens were seniors Emily Gorin and Mika Pomerantz. 

“Being in a convertible at a homecoming game and cheering that night just felt very ‘high school.’ It was super cool; it felt like a very full circle moment, too, for my friend and me because we’ve been best friends for so long,” Gorin said. 

Along with the homecoming court ceremony, the halftime show included general performances. The Band played in the stands throughout the entire game, but during halftime, they performed directly on the field. 

“Band prepared for the homecoming game performance for about three to four weeks,” junior Georgia Carlson said. “We did that by practicing our music every day in class and also practicing the marching whenever we could.”

This year, the Madrigals sang Abba and Bee Gees to fit the homecoming disco theme. They combined “Dancing Queen” and “More Than a Woman” into one song, adding harmonies to top it all off. The Madrigals spent hours preparing for their performances.

“We had been practicing during class and whenever we could. Olivia Green arranged the song,” junior Hayden Radonsky said. 

Madrigals wowed the crowd, between their voices and the popular song selections.

“I thought the Madrigals were amazing and made the game different and special compared to all other games,” freshman Izzy Kadz said. 

The halftime show wouldn’t be the same without the dance performances. Their songs and moves went along with the disco theme, and their dances had everyone clapping and dancing along. Each dancer complimented the next, and they were perfectly in synch. 

“I really enjoyed Dance Company’s performance at the halftime show,” sophomore Diya Tuli said. “It really set the mood for [the] homecoming [dance] the next day. I loved their outfits and their facial expressions during the whole dance. It seemed perfect to me.” 

Although the dance was only minutes long, the learning of each move took hours to perfect. It required thorough planning and long practice days. 

“We started learning the choreography during the second week of the school year,” sophomore Bradyn Prisand said. “The seniors and Mrs. Findley came up with the disco masterpiece. We had homecoming rehearsal once or twice a week and during the week of homecoming we had a rehearsal every day. We had so much fun learning this disco mashup.”

Lastly, the cheerleaders put on another show for the crowd. They cheered for the Norman football team on the track throughout the whole game. During the halftime show, they threw spinning girls into the air and caught them successfully.

Cheer performs at the homecoming game halftime show. (Pariss Chami)

“We had a dance that we had learned prior to the halftime show, which we incorporated into the performance,” sophomore Chanel Anooshian said. “We stayed a couple hours at practice perfecting it that Thursday, the night before. We also used some of second period Friday morning making sure it was ready for everybody to enjoy.”

The performances got everyone ready for the homecoming dance the next day. The spirit was there, and the performers helped the audience preview the disco theme for the dance. The halftime show was a great break during the game to revamp students and get them excited for the second half of the game.