Alina Yu

The Accents rehearse in the evening and wait for instructions on blocking choreography. Accent and senior Semanti Naiken said this week the Accents began rehearsing with costumes for their first show choir competition on Feb. 16.

On Feb. 16, the Accents will travel to Center Grove High School for their first show choir competition of the school year and will perform their set at 11 a.m. According to director of choirs Kathrine Kouns, the Center Grove High School competition is a very good contest that provides a great facility, always runs on time and serves as a great starter contest.

Kouns said, “It offers a really good category for the Ambassadors, Accents, and New Edition. So, there is really good competition in all three categories.”

This year, the Accents will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival that occurred in 1969, according to Kouns. Their competition set is thus named “Live Wild, Flower Child” to commend those who embraced peace, love and harmony during that time period. Songs include “I Wish I was a Punk Rocker,” Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” and Beyoncé’s “Freedom.” When put all together, the show is around 17 minutes long.

Accent and senior Semanti Naiken said, “(My favorite song) is our ballad. It’s by Pink called ‘Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken.’ It was arranged by JB, who is a former choir director.”

Regarding preparation these next few weeks up to the competition, Kouns said she likes to compare it to baking cake: the choir has all the ingredients measured out and now they need to put them all together. As a whole group, she said the Accents will be rehearsing with costumes, props and the band, making sure all the little details get figured out.

“I think it is really important that all of us work on our music and our choreography in in-class rehearsal and after-school rehearsal because we do a lot of changes in class and it’s hard to break habits. So, it’s important to go home and go through your music and mark through your choreography for the next rehearsal,” Naiken said.

Overall, Kouns said she hopes the Accents can be unified and driven throughout the entire show while bringing joy to their audience and give an inspirational performance in the competition.

“This is my first time competing with the Accents and with a group of all girls. I think it’s really important to work together to form bonds to show the audience that we are a tight-knit group and it’s not just about getting that trophy but about forming those bonds,” Naiken said.