By Sofia Williams, Managing Editor
And Elizabeth Goldman, Editor-in-Chief
Costa dance team’s annual Lip Sync competition took place in the Costa auditorium on Nov. 17
from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. to showcase various clubs and organizations.
The Lip Sync competition is an annual fundraiser for Costa’s dance team. Advanced Drama won
first place with the dance “Advanced Drama Snatches Your Wig, Mama.” Drama 2, which
performed “In 2 the Frat House,” received second place, and 5th period Associated Student
Body (ASB) received third place for the dance “Wonka’s Workshop.” Advanced Drama also won
the “Best Choreography” award and 5th period ASB won for Best Costumes. The “Most
Creative” award was given to 4th period ASB for the dance “Senior Citizens.”
“We were up against some re- ally good competitors, so we put our best foot forward, and it felt
re- ally good [to win],” said senior Advanced Drama member and Drama Department auxiliary
lead Ashley Calza. “I feel great about [our performance], and I think everyone else in Advanced
Drama thinks we did pretty spectacularly.”
According to Calza, Advanced Drama’s routine was mainly cho- reographed by her and seniors
Jack Searer and Ariel Dupin. Juniors Natalie Ramirez and Ellie Penczar also helped with the
choreography. They rehearsed twice during the class period in addition to many more
rehearsals outside of class, ac- cording to Calza.
“We had to make choreography that everyone could do at all skill levels,” said Calza. “I really
enjoyed choreographing, and I enjoyed performing even more; I think Lip Sync is such an
underrated event that happens at Costa.”
Costa alumni Shelby Jaems, counselor Brittney Oystrick, Loyola Marymount University dance
teacher Maureen Gonza- les, and dancer Jacie Scott judged the competition. In addition to the
performances during the show, the routines were also considered for accolades during the Nov.
16 dress rehearsal. Each judge individually scored every dance number for each category,
which were then added together to determine the winners.
“It’s so hard to choose [a winner] because everyone is so creative and fun to watch,” said
Jaems. “The choreography, the costumes, and the lip syncing were top notch and really made
the judging job difficult.”
To support the event, each mem- ber of the dance team was required to sell ten tickets to Costa
students, parents, or other community members. Tickets cost $5 for students and $7 for adults.
“One of the biggest challenges in planning the event was convinc- ing programs that have never
participated before,” said Dupin. “We hope for sports teams to participate in the future, but they
do have busier schedules.”
According to Jaems, Lip Sync is a fun way to unite clubs and groups of students across
campus. In addition to the performers, Costa’s Tech Department was involved in the production
process of Lip Sync and facilitated lights and sound in ad- dition to constituting the backstage
crew and ushers.
“Tech does everything behind the scenes for the entire show,” said senior tech president Elsa
Rochelson. “Lip Sync is a big event, so there are a ton of people on the crew; tech runs lights
and sound and has crew backstage and in the front of the house.”
At the competition, 11 total organizations participated. The event opened with a dance
performance by combined varsity and JV dance teams. Senior emcee Searer and Ben Orroth
announced the winners of the competition directly following the JV and varsity dance teams’
final performances.
“I was extremely happy with how the event went,” said Dupin. “Every year all the pieces get bet-
ter and better, and everyone had a great time. A lot of people attended the event to watch their friends perform.
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