I know I am not supposed to be blogging diary type posts, so this post will be more of a review/reflection then a recounting of everything we did. Anyway, the reason why I am prefacing this post with that statement is because my show choir that I play in the band for, Happiness, Inc., recently, as in like today, got back from Nashville, TN where we competed against the top groups in the nation, coming out in 6th and winning best tech crew. It was actually my second time at nationals, the first being when I was a freshman two years ago.
Even though there were no groups from Nashville, or to my knowledge, TN, it was still the perfect place to host such an event. All of the performances were in the Grand Ole Opry, which could not be a better choice for the performances. It is a gorgeous concert hall, with excellent acoustics and big-name celebrities, at least in the country music world. The seating is also great, with it seating over 3000 people and having an expansive balcony. All in all the perfect performance venue for show choir.
The hotel, Gaylord Opryland, was similarly amazing and memorable, with just the size and amount of activities to do for a bunch of high-energy teenagers. It is about the size of the Mall of America, but without a giant roller coaster in the middle to help you navigate. Instead, it is split into four sections: Magnolia, Delta, Garden, and Cascades, each of which contains a major feature of the hotel: the shopping/restaurants, a river, the indoor garden, and waterfalls respectively. We stayed in the Garden freshman year, and this year in the Delta. I personally like the Cascades. The hotel as a whole is unbelievable and your entire vacation could be spent in the hotel and you wouldn't get bored. It's that big. I do have a couple complaints, though. First, the prices were way too high, but that's to be expected for a fancy hotel. Second, the rooms were rather small, but the rest of the hotel more than made up for the lack in the rooms. Finally, there were a bunch of other people that weren't very pleasant and talked behind our backs, but that's not under the hotel's control. Overall, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel was very memorable and easily the greatest hotel ever, at least of the ones that I have stayed at.
Opryland also includes a mall, known as the Opry Mills Mall, and is a large mall that includes an I-Max theater and sections based on what the shops are. Since I have been to Mall of America many times, I can't say it is the best mall ever, but it definitely tops any in Iowa.
We also attended the Wildhorse Saloon, which personally, I would find a lot more fun if I even in the slightest enjoyed dancing. Because I don't, and since I've already been there, I mostly just people watched, which is fun- its a bunch of hyped-up, showy teenagers. The food was great, though.
In terms of the actual competition, I found the results to be very fair. Of the shows that made it to finals, I agree with their placement, although I feel like some choirs need to be given a price limit. The winning group, who was from CA but I won't name because I can't spell the name to save my life, was the same group that won when we were there before. They did Edward Scissorhands before, and this time, a space-themed show. Yes, they were amazing, but the story was extremely difficult to follow.
What makes me the most excited and happy, however, is that show choirs mainly come from 3 places: the South, California, and the Midwest. California show choirs spend a ridiculous amount of money and are turning into Broadway productions, and the South is doing the same, but to a much less extent. The Midwest (this is the part I like), however, is the only place where show choir is still traditional and more focused on the singing and dancing, not the theme. In fact, many Midwestern shows don't even have a theme, and if they do, they don't use props and elaborate costumes. If they do, it's very minimal and is still balanced out by the rest of the show. Yes, there are a couple exceptions (I'm talking to you, Prairie), but for the most part, they are still down-to-earth classic show choir shows.
Overall, nationals were really fun and a memorable experience.
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