Most of us have never been on TV. What occurs behind the screen we see nearly every day during advisory or fifth period?
The Viking Television (VTV) squad creates episodes, segments and livestreams with a team of staff and students almost every day, excluding Wednesdays. They work hours each week to bring news, school spirit, announcements and entertainment to the school. During the week of Lip Sync, people saw a slight change in segments, scheduling and theme.
During the week of Nov. 3 to 18, members of VTV practiced choreographed dances with a few other members of their choice in order to deliver a fun performance for people who were interested in watching the 2025 Lip Sync contest.
The staff was divided into 12 groups. Each chose a song they favored, then created and perfected dance routines in different spaces of E14.
Aidan Klauk, a VTV member, who accompanied Anthony Reynoso and Nikolai Lawrence in their dance, gave his reason behind the group’s performance. “Our dance is based off of a movie called “Napoleon Dynamite,” and I would say that was one of my favorite scenes of the movie, so I was like, ‘it’d be cool if we recreated this.’”
Before the 6 p.m. rehearsal on Nov. 17, the other members of VTV did not know the group’s name or, matter of fact, anything about the other squads’ performance. Senior Nia McGowan speculated that the genres were “a mix of hip-hop, break dancing and many other things like that.”
On top of small team dances, the VTV squad also got together for a group act as well, coached by Mark Ciesielski, show director for Lip Sync and head sponsor of VTV. The rehearsal made sure every performance was the best it could be for Lip Sync night.
According to Lawrence, the main thing the dances required was practice. Once the moves were known, learning and developing the routine was left.
However, practice cannot be effective without collaboration. Choosing what moves to perform and how to execute them makes a significant difference when it comes to a group project. The teams also had to plan rehearsals that accommodated everyone’s schedule.
VTV’s performances confirmed the effort displayed by all members.
Reynoso emphasized the vitality of communication across teammates. “You always wanna speak to your teammates,” he advised. Without proper, clear communication, he claimed that your team will rush to construct a choreography. The performance, therefore, won’t have a well-crafted dance nor the energy the audience hoped for.
The Lip Sync contest has been hosted since 2011, and each year included new competitors and hosts. Ciesielski organized the show in 2015 and 2021 with the help of everyone on the VTV staff.
This year, some winners returned to H-F to give an account on their experience participating in the event.
As every year, once all the performances concluded, the crowd voted for which team should be crowned the Audience Choice Winner and win the $100 award.
Prizes were given out as an effort to involve the audience. Thrown out to the ones frantically waving their hands or the ones who jot their names down on the raffle paper as they entered the auditorium, were VTV merch, snacks and more.
In the end, judges decided who won the $400 grand prize.
The team named Sync City placed 3rd while Earth to Mars placed 2nd. Sixsense ultimately took home a prize of $500 as the first group in Lip Sync history to win the Audience Choice and the grand prize to wrap up this year’s annual Lip Sync contest.
