Show Choir - History

History

Show choir traces its origins as an activity in the United States to the mid-1960s, though cultural historians have been unable to determine the date and location of the first "true" show choir group. Two groups of touring performers, starting with The Young Americans in 1962 and followed by Up with People in 1968, traveled extensively throughout the country in the 1960s and 1970s, performing what could be called the show choir concept. When students and directors of the day saw these organizations, they would, in turn, start similar groups at their high schools.

Two collegiate groups which also influenced the show choir idiom are Indiana University's Singing Hoosiers and the University Singers of Ball State University. These groups are credited with being catalysts for the proliferation of swing choir/show choir groups in the Midwest during the 1970s. At the time, both groups took part in extended performance tours of the United States as well as international locations.

The first high school swing choir invitational in the world was held during the 1974 school year at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, hosted by the school's swing choir, The Minstrels. The Minstrels felt they and other young groups might learn and profit by observing some of the area's most distinguished song and dance choirs performing in an open competition. They felt it would help stimulate a wider interest in and appreciation for swing choirs by making it possible for many groups to perform the same day before a large audience.

Marion High School (Indiana)'s "The 26th Street Singers", under the direction of teacher F. Ritchie Walton, introduced a new brand of song and dance at the competition. Instead of the swing choir traditional of standing still through songs, with drum-break dance transitions between songs, The 26th Street Singers performed a full set of songs, fully choreographed with modern, tap and other dance styles, each song setting up the next in sequence. Walton's innovations led the group to take the trophy in 1974 at Bishop Luers, and he has been attributed by many as being "the father" of the high school show choir movement, influencing groups to transition from "swing choir" to "show choir" as a genre.

The 1974 Bishop Luers idea worked so well that the following year saw double the number of high school groups invited to the contest, several showing up with adaptations in style known today as specifically "show choir". In 1976, The Ambassadors of Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana took the championship trophy after a two-year run by The 26th Street Singers, and the competition grew more and more in popularity and competitiveness. By 1979, twenty show choirs from around the Midwest accepted the challenge of coming to Fort Wayne to compete for trophies and medals. That year, more than 600 students and 1,500 parents attended the contest.

The local PBS station broadcast the early years of the Luers Midwest Swing Choir Invitational, and in 1983 the program aired on PBS stations around the country. That led to international exposure and growth in show choir competitions around the country. Today, a large number of competitions are held at high schools and other venues throughout the nation from November through April.