For the 12th time in H-F history, The Viking Broadcasting Company (VBC) hosted its annual Lip Sync event. Taking place in the auditorium, the event was hosted by Viking Television (VTV) managers: News Manager Laila Dyer, Entertainment Manager Aidan Klauk and Sports Manager Declan Klyn.
The prize, showcased throughout its 12-year entirety, was $400. For Mark Ciesielski, VTV sponsor and creator of Lip Sync, this event was a combination of tradition and hard work. “The biggest thing is tradition. When we first started, no one knew what Lip Sync was. We really had to spend our time hyping up the event and letting people know what was going to be happening.”
The anticipated event has garnered more and more crowd attention and participation, with this rendition of Lip Sync reaching a record 14 performing groups.
For some upperclassmen, this event meant spirit and unity. “This is my second lip sync, and I’m just really happy to be here, celebrate school spirit and have a good time with my peers,” said junior Noah Allen.
And that isn’t the only way that H-F catered to their audience.
Shirts were flung into the crowds of energized fans, and audience members were picked alongside the official judges, Career and Technical Education teacher Khayla Kelly, English teacher Sarah Pittan, Viking Learning Academy Teacher Jeremy James and Special Education Instructional Assistant Matt Anyiwo to decide the team’s overall performance.
One of the fan favorites from the lineup, “5 Star,” featured acrobatic flips from cheerleader Johanna Bristol, money throwing to the crowd from senior Jonas Skipper and an overall great choreographic performance.
“Along the way, even with the practices, it [Lip Sync] brought us closer together. I can look back on this and be like, ‘that was a nice time,’” Bristol said in her VTV interview.
For the winners, “SixSense,” their ultimate result came from their constant productivity.
For the first time in history, “SixSense” took home both the 1st place prize ($400), as well as the Fan Favorite prize ($100). “When we got that $100, we were like, ‘Okay, well, we hope other groups do good.’ And we were like, ‘Can we win twice?’ And then we won again, and we made history,” she continued.
“We were practicing a lot, like at school, at someone’s house, we’re making our choreography, we’re practicing at home and also, practicing our energy to make sure we’re doing the best we could,” said “SixSense” member Brooklyn Thomas.
It definitely showed. From individual go-arounds of different movesets to “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” by Beyonce, to her timeless hit, A-Town” and near-perfect in-sync dance composition, the group represented inextricable sisterhood, unification and confidence, all displayed with their performance.
The symbolism of the performance could be described in one word by member Deja Williams.
“Power. Last year, we came just for fun, and we were like, okay, we’re doing this for fun and we got second place. After that, we got to come back harder, we got to come for that dough. We came back with confidence, power [and] 7-8 p.m. to 10 p.m. practice on weekdays,” said Williams.
For the first time in history, “SixSense” took home both the 1st place prize ($400) and the Fan Favorite prize ($100). “When we got that $100, we were like, ‘Okay, well, we hope other groups do good.’ And we were like, ‘Can we win twice?’ And then we won again, and we made history,” she continued.
Speaking about the next batch of Lip Syncers, Williams said this: “Don’t be scared to do what makes you happy, because this could be a life-changing experience for you as it was for us. They [SixSense] were my friends last year, but now we’re family.”
