PFC competed in the ICHSA Quarterfinals on Feb. 22, at Madison High School, where they won 1st place as well as all the other awards, which include outstanding choreography, outstanding vocal percussion (sophomore Abcde Llanes) and outstanding soloist (senior Moiz Rehman).
“I love that we continue to grow and excel, “ Mr.Woodward said. “The competition is not our goal. The work that we do to achieve what we do is what’s most important and that we are doing it together.”
This victory didn’t happen overnight. The Acapella group rehearsed twice a day for about an hour everyday. They rehearsed with microphones, with choreography, and even talked about the meanings of the songs. They also brought in clinicians to polish what needed to be polished.
“The preparation has taught me the wide range of their own abilities and their own depth of effort,” Mr. Woodward said. “Kids that hadn’t done this before are coming in extra early, they are calling in when they are sick, [and] they’re making extra efforts to come in and be part of this group, which is wonderful.”
Something that Mr. Woodward is focusing on is purpose and intention. He wants to make sure that every note and every movement has a clear purpose. Co-captain Virginia Aaron is learning how to convey that.
“I really wanted to do all of our choreography with purpose and to really get our message across to the audience and I think I personally achieved that,” Aaron said.
This Saturday, PFC will travel to Dallas to compete in the Semifinals. Senior Julianie Gonzalez has a clear vision of the outcome.
“My goal is to get 1st at [Semifinals] so that we can go to New York and go to Finals and hopefully win that, but also to grow as a group and as people by the end of the year,” Gonzalez said.
Mr. Woodward has the same goal, but to him, the process for success is more important.
“We got to New York last year and it’d be good to go again,” Mr.Woodward said, “but more importantly, we want to continue to perform at our best.”
