Lip-syncing, dancing, and raising funds for their cause, eight clubs will compete in the Clubs Got Talent competition this Thursday, Nov. 21, for a check written to the winning club. Last year, the prize for first place was $500.

This year, the competition will take place at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in the auditorium during Life class. If clubs decided to sign up for the competition, they needed to prepare for their performance. Most clubs choose to choreograph a group dance along to a song or a medley, sometimes relating to the purpose or culture of their club. 

Last year’s winner, the Latino Student Union (LSU), is once again preparing to win the cash prize with a choreographed group dance. Mariel Garcia, senior, is the event coordinator for LSU and danced with the club when they won the competition last winter.

“We started getting more and more into it as we practiced, we didn’t know what to expect at all from any of the other groups,” Garcia said. “We knew we had a good performance but we didn’t know we were going to win.”

To choose their songs for their previous performance, LSU asked their members what songs they liked and created a medley, but this year they will be dancing to only two songs. Garcia is a new member of the dance team, and has used her experience to help lead the group during rehearsals.

“It has [helped me] with the choreography, I do feel like I can help people clean up or find alternative moves for them if they don’t feel like they can do something, and just kind of help with the rhythm a bit,” Garcia said.

Also in the mix this year is the Japanese Culture Club, who will be performing for the first time. Kira Sato, junior, is the president of the Japanese Culture Club.

“We try to spread Japanese culture and share it with other people in the school. We’re pretty small right now, but we’re hoping to expand,” Sato said.

Three of the members will be dancing to the songs “Soran Bushi,” a traditional fishing song, and “Night Dancer,” a pop song. They will perform in traditional Japanese festival wear. Sato enjoys the nature of the club and the topics they’re able to discuss.

“I really like how we can talk about Japanese culture, because I know there’s not a huge Japanese community here, so it’s a great space for that,” Sato said. “I really like the close community and how even people who aren’t Japanese can participate in our culture.”

If they win, the Japanese Culture Club intends to use the funds to bring mochi pounding to the school to educate students on what it is, as well as plan other community events.

Similarly, Garcia enjoys the opportunities LSU creates and the community the club has created.

“There’s a total mix of countries in our group,” Garcia said. “Even though not all of our conversations may be cultural, you can just connect and be like, ‘Hey, I feel like that too sometimes,’ or even just [have] super normal conversations that every person has in school.”

The clubs met after school on Wednesday, Nov. 20 to do a tech rehearsal, with each club having a slot between 3:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

“There’s definitely going to be some more tricks this year,” Garcia said. “We incorporated a lot more movement.”

Students can tune in to the Live ROAR on Nov. 21 or visit the PAC to view the competition. For more information on the club community at the school, see wlhsNOW’s club guide for this year.