On Feb. 16, the annual Pow Wow Show Choir Competition was hosted by AHS Chanteurs at the Performing Arts Center. The original competition dates back to more than a decade ago, and because of how fun and inspiring the performance ended up being, it has become a tradition. It now continues to be one of the most highly anticipated events for both choir performers and audience members.

During this whole-day event, many high school choir groups from across the country performed full-fledged show sets that included singing, dancing, and acting in front of judges with the hopes that they will end up placing or winning an award in their respective divisions—Women’s/Mixed/Men’s Intermediate, Women’s/Mixed/Men’s Advanced, and AAA Advanced Mixed. These performances are judged on multiple aspects: the creativity of the dancing or acting, quality of the singing, and how engaging it is, so being able to win an award definitely requires a lot of talent and hard work. This year, five mixed choir groups and six women’s groups competed. For the mixed division, the Masquerade of Brea Olinda High School won 1st in Tier 1, and the Royal Stewarts of Glendora High School won 1st place in Best Musicianship and Sweepstakes for its Tier 2 performance. Meanwhile, for the women’s division, Spellbound of Brea Olinda won 1st in the Tier 1 division, and the Tiffanys, who are also from Brea Olinda, won 1st in the Tier 2 division.

Senior Mikayla Hwee, who is a member of Chanteurs, states that the Pow Wow Show Choir Competition is “based on a slightly different and more classical grading rubric than other usual competitions.” At other schools, “scores are divided evenly between musicianship and showmanship,” but at Arcadia, judges “aim to retain the originality and musical strength of show choir by weighing musicianship at 70% and showmanship—visual effects, choreography, and design—at 30%.”

Congratulations to all the groups who participated and put on breathtaking performances this year, we can’t wait to see what new acts will await us at the competition next year!