The squeaky sound of shoes rubbing on the Performing Arts Center stage, brass being blown, bodies hitting a soft rubber mat and vocal melodies fading into background sound as seniors in performing arts graduate and look back on the impact they’ve made on underclassmen.
Seniors in the performing arts programs have proven influential to their juniors, teaching them and giving advice. Being an upperclassman with experience, forming bonds with underclassmen and adding to their high school career is beneficial towards the underclassmen’s growth and development.
For example, in Dance Team, upperclassmen and underclassmen form “sister” bonds where a veteran member gets paired with an underclassman to make the Dance Team a fun environment. Captain senior Chloe Olegario and sophomore Isabelle Kwei have formed a well-structured, sisterly bond in Kwei’s past two years on the team.
“[Isabelle] became my ‘little sister’ this year, so I feel like we’ve gotten really close. We’ve hung out a lot and bonded together,” Olegario said. “Every time I’m having a bad day, I know I can count on her to help me out, and I’ll do the same for her.”
Olegario and Kwei have a close relationship as both admire each others’ qualities.
“[Chloe] is someone that I could look up to, all the time,” Kwei said. “She’s a role model for me, especially in dance, because she’s one of our captains. So, her leadership is very inspiring to me, and I also see her as one of my sisters. [Olegario] being a captain, especially to such a big group of girls, I think she’s the expectation for how a captain should be.”
In Cheer, relationships are strengthened throughout the year. Technique is learned throughout a cheerleader’s career and passed along as they graduate and blossom into the leaders they are now. Varsity cheer and stunt captain senior Denise Bahena and sophomore Millie Amezcua embody what it means to have one’s back throughout the school year. While trying out a new sport, Amezcua found footing through the bond between her and Bahena through their time in Cheer.
“My favorite memory with [Millie] was after Senior Night, we went to my car and we blasted ‘Ribs’ by Lorde, and we both were just singing it out loud and then we cried because we realized [that] this is the last football season with each other,” Bahena said. “Even though she’s still an underclassman, she’s really mature for her age. If there’s any problem in a situation, she’ll always give me good and mature advice back.”
Both Amezcua and Bahena appreciate each other’s guidance and help.
“[Denise] helped me a lot through the whole [Cheer] experience,” Amezcua said. “[For example,] depending on the skills that I do, she makes me more confident. She’s very outgoing and she helps everyone through everything, gives people advice and she’s always there for everyone.”
In band, the graduating class has a strong bond with the new freshmen in the organization. Instrumental music directors Corey Wicks and Katie Takahashi usually entrust upperclassmen with the task of helping the freshmen feel at home and seen throughout their time in band. Trumpet players senior Renzo Memije and freshman Luke Yamaguchi have a bond that has taught Yamaguchi a lot throughout his first year in high school.
“We bonded because we’re in band together and since he’s in my section, we just started hanging out more, and as I got to know him more, we started playing video games together and practicing our music together,” Memije said. “I’m trying to give him a lot of good advice and a positive outlook, and so far, it’s going pretty well for him.”
Memije and Yamaguchi both love having an outlet to work together.
“I got into an ensemble with [Memije] not too long ago and we learned a lot of music together and I really liked that,” Yamaguchi said. “[He has] a lot of leadership, and he’s an amazing player. He’s great in what he does, and he’s done a lot of solos.”
In the midst of long rehearsals, daily bonding with members of Choir’s sub-group Rhapsody in Blue are bound to lead to lifelong relationships. Junior Kiersten Tyra San Diego and her section leader senior Keianna Lu bonded over being altos.
“[Lu] just shows so much commitment to this choir,” San Diego said. “She’s always trying to be one step ahead of everyone else. Whenever people ask questions, she knows it. She pays attention, and puts in more effort than the rest of us do.”
Kiersten and Lu enjoy spending time with each other.
“I’m [going] to miss [Kiersten] and how she is, her personality and how she always makes me laugh,” Lu said. “I just hope that the traditions I’m trying to keep still keep going after I leave.”
