The Chatham Bellas won Airband 2013 with Phoebe Armstrong as Cynthia Rose, Jessica Chow-Lau as Lily, Christina Fortunato as Stacie, Sade Wilson as Beca, and our very own HC Chatham Sustainability Writer Catherine Giles as Chloe. We wanted to hear all about their incredible experience; here, Catherine tells all.
“This is actually happening…” ran through my head many times as I sat quietly in Campbell Memorial Chapel during the Chatham Tradition of Airband and Senior Skit. We had elected to do the final song from the movie Pitch Perfect, a cool mash-up with some stellar, replicable choreography. The competition was fierce; a quartet performed a piece from Chicago, a solo to Shakira’s “She Wolf,” a Sonny and Cher duet, and even Lady Gaga! All participants performed absolutely beautifully. After a week’s practice following the conclusion of Chatham Drama Club’s performance of Sleeping: The Slightly Updated Tale of Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty by Nathan Bell, I felt like we were ready. Late nights in the theater, every muscle in our bodies sore, sweat and tears…It was all going to pay off, in this one moment.
As our time approached, the Chatham Bellas held hands in solidarity; no matter what we placed, no matter if we got disqualified, we were going to have an amazing time. We nervously took to the stage as our group was called and began. Stephanie Vituccio, a junior, took her position as Fat Amy. A piece of food was thrown to reenact the scene from Pitch Perfect where she is hit with a burrito from Bumper in an act of sabotage. First year Sara Weinschenker brought the group together with her sassy rendition of Aubrey. Then the music started. I’ve never done sports in high school, or in college. But hearing the crowd cheer explosively, hearing Simone and Garfunklonia, the hosts of Airband and reigning 3-year champions, announcing that the Chatham Bellas won…I think that’s what a sport’s game is like. And we scored the winning goal.