Sweet Adelines International 75th Jubilee Commemorative Album

Where Did the Sequins Go? More often, choruses opt not to sparkle with sequins. Several international champion choruses, have set a trend: no sequins — usually in their finals set or in their “Swan Song” as retiring champs. However, another dimension was present in the remarkable performance by the North Metro Chorus in the international chorus finals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in 1996 — a contest they won, thus becoming the first from outside the United States to earn the International Champion Chorus title. The audience gasped as they appeared, dressed as boys, in gray and brown trousers, vests, and white shirts. They sang June Dale’s stunning arrangements of songs from the Broadway hit, Newsies.

SPOTLIGHT: COSTUMES

1997 International Champion Chorus, North Metro Chorus from Toronto, Ontario (CAN), directed by June Dale.

The work that went into that package to have such a close connection to the original Broadway musical score and costuming was a real game-changer for me — and not a sequin in sight. —Lea Baker, on North Metro Chorus' 1997 champion performance.

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