鈥� By Matthew Abrey
麻豆精选 Secondary School鈥檚 famous 鈥楢irband鈥� competition was back for its 37th straight year on Thursday night, and the long-running spectacle once again, did not disappoint.
The judged competition, which was taken in by approximately 1,200 spectators, has evolved over the years from a typical air-guitar and lip-sync competition, to a full-fledged display of synchronized dance numbers, hilarious skits, video introductions, and the use of glow-in-the-dark props, such as airplane replicas and giant Chinese-style dragons.
The entire production is student-run, with KSS鈥� 鈥楲eadership鈥� classes making everything happen, from the lights and sound, to the staging and advertising. Of course, they have a bit of help from Leadership teachers Fane Triggs and Tony Sodaro, who together have been guiding and growing 鈥楢irband鈥� for well over a decade.
For Triggs, the total involvement and commitment from the students is what keeps him going.
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鈥淎 lot of kids are involved,鈥� says Triggs. 鈥淎 lot of kids from different walks of life at KSS are involved, and that means a lot to me because we have backstage people, we having lighting and sound people, we have people performing on stage, we have people watching, we have people creating props, and we all work together in a big group effort every year to put on this show.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly amazing,鈥� says Grade 12 student, Yvette Muteera. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so nice that we鈥檝e kept such an amazing tradition alive that has gone on for so long and I鈥檓 so honoured to be a part of it.鈥�
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The ten groups performing ranged in size from a one-man-band to a 30-person supergroup.
At the end of the night, the all-boys Grade 12 group, 鈥楢nchormen鈥�, took home the top prize, with two other Grade 12 groups, 鈥楤usiness Class鈥� and 鈥楾he Seniors鈥�, taking home second and third respectively.
The competition also takes on a different theme every year, with this year鈥檚 theme being 鈥楲ate Night鈥�. As a result, the night鈥檚 emcees dressed up as late night TV hosts such as Jimmy Fallon and James Corden, and sportscasters Jay Onrait and Dan O鈥橳oole, who provided comedic skits between acts.
The school is already starting to plan next year鈥檚 spectacle, and if it is anything like this year鈥檚, audiences will not be disappointed.
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