The ‘dynamix’ of another successful Dartmouth music group

Three years ago Samuel Bianco was hired at Dartmouth High School and quickly started a new program that would only go on to bring in more awards and accolades to the school’s successful music department.

In its first year, with only 15 kids, the show choir group Dynamix won “Best Rookie” in the country. Now doubled in size, the group has danced and sung their way to three silver and one bronze award, including their most recent silver win at their final competition of the year in Waltham.

The team’s performance had five mashups featuring an array of artists and genres, including Taylor Swift, Suffs the Musical and Green Day. Telling the story of a sort of non-politically charged protest, the show begins with a desire for change and follows a group coming together and fighting for it.

At their final rehearsal of the year, Wednesday, April 2, senior Audrey Kertscher, who serves as president of the group, said she was nervous at the idea of performing on stage and being judged when she considered joining two years ago, but Dynamix has changed that.

“I really feel like I've learned a lot about confidence,” she said, adding that this has not only elevated her during performances, but has shown up in other aspects of her life as well.

Now, she even enjoys being on the stage. 

“It's a very freeing feeling being able to just go out there and sing, dance and act for those 15 minutes,” Kertscher said. “You really just get to express yourself in a really powerful way and I just absolutely love it.”

As a team, she said the group really sees the reality of hard work paying off. 

The show choir season begins in the spring with auditions, which is followed up by a camp the week before school. The team rehearses two days a week throughout the year and their competition season begins in January.

Though they were their typical “mess” in September, Kertscher said it wasn’t too long before they realized: “We've ended up with a really incredible show.”

She highlighted how although the team is still young, it won’t be long before they are voting adults. 

“I feel like this show is really showing all of us how important it is for us as the younger generation to really push for those things that you believe in — no matter what they are,” Kertscher said. 

In the same way performing has brought her confidence, she said the theme itself has helped “empower” the students involved, emphasizing how this confidence and empowerment will stay with them throughout their lives.

Junior Rowan Desautels, who has won best soloist repeatedly throughout the school year, said show choir gives the opportunity for a large number of students to get stage time, which can be difficult to do in similar programs like theater.

She noted how she’ll often see her friends upset over not getting a role in theater, but with the show choir everyone is onstage, so there’s less inside competition. She emphasized that this is also important for students who might just want to try out performing on stage, but may not have any prior experience.

Bianco said there are a number of students who work “behind the scenes” on most other productions, but have now taken their talents to the stage through show choir. 

Desautels said she’s been able to work on her theater skills, which she hopes to pursue when she graduates, through show choir, especially in regard to “nonacting.” 

“You're telling a story, so you have to convey that,” she said, highlighting how important face expressions and emotions are important to achieving that.

In regard to her continued wins as “Best Soloist,” Desautels said, “I cried last time I got the award. I was very inconsolable for the rest of the night, just because I was really happy and relieved.”

Working constantly on improving her singing and dancing and still having some try and bring her down, she said the performing arts can be difficult to stay motivated in, especially for someone like her who struggles with anxiety.

“You get told no more than you get told yes,” Desautels said. “I really needed to hear that yes.”

She added she is appreciative of how supportive the show choir team is, noting how comforting Kertscher was for her when the award was being announced and she felt sick to her stomach.

The team Dynamix got their name from the idea of dynamics in music — the louds and softs mixed with the feeling of movement. And the dynamic of this year’s team couldn’t have turned out any better. 

“This is probably the kindest group I've worked with,” Bianco said. “It's a group of kids that really came together to do this activity out of the enjoyment of doing the activity.”

Though many of the students don’t have prior experience in the performing arts, let alone show choir, it has fostered an environment of "everybody’s going to help everybody.”

Bianco highlighted how students often stay longer to help others, practice with each other over the weekends and have formed a number of friendships with incredible bonds.

“It has been really exciting this year to work with the group,” he said.

However, Kertscher said none of it would be possible without the support and guidance of Bianco and their assistant director Taiylor Medina.

“They pour their hearts into this show and they really inspire me to put my all into it. I know they inspire everyone else to really put in that 100% effort. I feel like I was never a performer before I joined this group, and Mr. Bianco kind of helped me learn how to be a performer, and now it's just my favorite thing to do.”