Sophomore sensations: ‘Lemonade Mouth’ debuts as HC theme

In the quad, Beyoncé’s “Countdown” booms from sophomore Maya Cranz’s speaker. Dancing in front of her are 40 sophomore girls participating in the All Girls’ Dance, led by Cranz and fellow sophomores Kristina Meier and Kaylie Wong. The All Girls’ Dance is only a fraction of the intricate and thoroughly planned “Lemonade Mouth”-themed sophomore quad day.

The sophomores participating in the All Girls’ Dance began preparing over a month ago to ensure the sharpness and appeal of the dance.  

“Because we started choreography and practices a lot earlier than last year, everyone felt more comfortable with the dance,” Wong said. “This way, we could really drill the dance and incorporate more complex moves.” 

The All Girls’ Dance blends together music such as Beyoncé, Latin pop and popular R&B, a combination that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Along with an appealing mix of genres, the choreography includes complicated formations and visuals.

“We always love to perform in front of an audience,” said Meier. “I’m really excited to show off our dance because we put a lot of effort into it.”

Sophomores Grace Hsu and Jordyn Shyh choreographed the class finale, working to integrate the theme of “Lemonade Mouth” into the dance. To do this, they’re using two of the movie’s most popular songs, “Determinate” and “Here We Go” in their music. 

“We’ve already edited the music, and it sounds amazing,” Hsu said. “We’re really motivated to make our sophomore class proud.”

Besides the dances, the class skit is also a significant part of their quad day. Overseeing the skit is sophomore class president Alex Yang, whose job is to guarantee that everything ties together.

To ensure that the skit reaches its full potential, Yang published a post on the class Facebook page, where sophomores could provide input on what they wanted to see in the skit.

 The skit will align with the plot of “Lemonade Mouth,”  a Disney Channel movie revolving around a student band that is created in detention. The band, Lemonade Mouth, then goes on to gain popularity throughout their school, eventually becoming famous.

“Our skit has greatly improved from last year,” Yang said. “There’s going to be a lot of nice roasts, and it’s going to be a lot better than the other classes.”  

Organizers said the sophomore class has come together to produce a performance intertwined with different genres of music, hilarious roasts and advanced choreography.

“Homecoming preparation has really bonded the sophomore class together,” Hsu said. “It’s really benefited my high school experience and I know our performances are going to look amazing on quad day.”