Homecoming is a week to try something new, explore uncharted territories and discover new talents. For some students, it even represents stepping way outside of their comfort zone, for special education senior Jorrey Martin however, it is anything but uncomfortable, it is about doing what she loves – dancing.
“I have always loved dancing. Growing up I was very shy and dancing was the only thing that I could do and do it with confidence,” Martin said.
Therefore it comes as no surprise that she is taking part in the Lip Sync competition as part of homecoming and said she is very happy to not only be a part of it for the second straight year, but to advance to the finals again.
“This is our second year competing. We do it simply for the fun of it and we have a lot of love for our organization and our school, the LipSync competition is a way for us to represent both school spirit and our organization with pride,” Martin said.
The group contains eight members total and admitted that they did not have to practice in abundance because their dance moves are honed and they are all very familiar with each other.
“We had four practices in total. The first night we just brainstormed on what music and ideas we wanted to do. These are relatively the same members from last year so we know each other well and have natural chemistry,” Martin said.
Careisha Whyte, accounting and sociology senior and member of the same dance group, admitted the cost to take part this year increased since last year.
“Last year we used all of our own stuff for costumes and props. However this year, we got money from the Caribbean Students Organization to invest in costumes and props for eight people so it was a bit costly compared to last year, but worth it.” Whyte said.
Most members of the group grew up dancing at several public events in their respective home countries, therefore Martin was not too surprised they advanced to the finals, but more so surprised with the crowd’s response.
“We were more surprised at the crowd’s interaction and glow, they really supported us, even the non- Caribbean students. This year we have more competition and it is less predictable,” Martin said.
Martin said she believes homecoming week is where all bodies of the school come together and express their love for the school in different manners.
“Homecoming is special because this is the only time you will see all organizations come out in full swing to share and celebrate the festivities, whether it be the boat race, Lip Sync competition or the football game,” Martin said.
The LipSync competition garnered about five hundred people and Mario Ramirez, assistant director of student development and orientation, said he believes Homecoming is the week where students attend the most events and was very pleased with the turn out at the first night of the Lip Sync competition.
“We had to turn some students away because we were over limit so that was unfortunate, however this is the kind of crowd we want to generate at an event like this during Homecoming week. I was very pleased,” Ramirez said.
The LipSync finals resume Oct.27 at 9:15 p.m in the parking lot after the bonfire.
