As Drumline, the final act of the night, took to the stage, Kemper Auditorium erupted with cheers from revisit families and performers alike. On Thursday and Sunday, prospective students received a Big Blue welcome from seven different dance and music groups on campus, including SLAM, Fusion, and Blue Strut, in addition to a solo rendition of Adele’s “Easy on Me.”
Sunday’s show gave newly admitted students a taste of the Andover community: the strong connections shared by students and the plethora of opportunities that come with being an Andover student.
“I think the purpose of this performance was to welcome the students with a little taste of the many opportunities there are on campus with dance groups and entertainment groups … these groups like Drumline, Hypno, and Fusion … are all part of the everyday life here at Andover and all of the performances that go along with that,” said Angie Ceballos Cardona ’25, a member of Fusion.
However, Dorothy Swanson Blaker ’24, a member of Drumline and Footnotes, believes that the event serves a deeper, more important purpose. She explains how each performance showcases the powerful bonds between Andover students and their willingness to help one another.
“A lot of it was to show the spirit of the school, not necessarily just the talent, which obviously there is a lot of, but how we support each other, how we have spirit. At one point on Thursday, Dakota dropped her drum on the floor, and two of the Blue Key Heads picked it up and held it on the other side,” Blaker said.
The Blue Key Heads, who are not usually participants in other shows such as Grasshopper or Abbot Cabaret, were key to kicking off the prospective students’ introduction to Andover. The Seniors taught the crowd classic Andover cheers, such as “When I Say Blue” and “Red Meat,” inviting the guests to join in and indulge in the school spirit. Mayumi Kawano ’25, member of SLAM, Fusion and Hypno, echoed Swanson Blaker’s sentiment.
“I would say the main purpose [of the event] was to show our talent and to show how connected everyone is. A lot of people were in many dance groups; even then you can see there is a bond between people in the groups. That carries on throughout the audience, so the people there know that when they come to Andover, they know what they’re getting into,” said Kawano.
Audience member Juliana Reyes ’24 also took note of how the energy and enthusiasm of the audience showed Andover’s supportive and fun side, one that incoming students may not have seen during the admissions process.
“[The performance] definitely shows how supportive we are. Some new Juniors are very scared of being out there, being present, and getting involved, but seeing everyone cheer, be loud, and showing the types of support systems we have here and how as a community we can all relate to each other and [was] fun. We don’t have to always be [in] academically rigorous courses; we can have fun with other people and cheer everyone on,” said Reyes.
