Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Last Saturday, Nov. 5, Kimball High School's show choir, New Dimension, competed at the Old West Choir Fest, held in Alliance.
Generally held in Scottsbluff, the competition was moved to Alliance due to construction at the Scottbluff High School.
New Dimension, under the direction of Jacob Hoffman, began with "Can't Stop the Beat" with solos from Nicholas Thomas-Lewis and Kiersten Anderson.
Leisha Casimiro followed up with a solo during the second set, "Bring Him Home," during which she sang the entry into the song, and again towards the end.
The crowd favorite seemed to be the third set, "Ghost Busters," because it included fun choreography and audience involvement.
To encourage this audience involvement, junior high students circled the auditorium telling everyone to shout "Ghost Busters" following the phrase, "Who you gonna call?"
What began as quiet participation, soon became quite exuberant.
Ryan Soper wowed the crowd following "Ghost Busters," with his bass solo during "16 tons," with a quartet comprised of Thomas-Lewis, Sebastian Portillo and Connor Moore. Nearly everyone was cheering and clapping.
New Dimension closed with "Proud Mary," including a duet with Kennedy Lewis and Soper.
Then it was time to wait. Some students passed the time watching other show choirs, while others finished homework.
When New Dimension was awarded the silver trophy, Lewis, Thomas-Lewis and Casimiro represented Kimball by receiving it.
In this, their third year of competition, the entire team held hands hoping for the announcement that Kimball would be called for Best of the Fest and a chance to take home the big trophy.
The team was not disappointed, when New Dimension was called, the Kimball team, and fans, went wild – shouting, hugging and shedding tears over their smiles.
Following their performance, the team watched their competition in the auditorium. Sadly, they didn't place in top three.
Though there will be no big trophy this year, the district is proud of the team and their performance.
After asking the singers what their favorite part was, they said the beginning of Ghost Busters because they made funny noises and walked around crazily. Overall, the performers had a great night and many said they cannot wait to perform again next year.