This family weekend, the Andover community reconnected with nature through Grasshopper, the annual student talent show centered around the theme of the elements: water, air, fire, and earth. A variety of performing arts groups had the chance to showcase their skills, with each depicting one of the four elements.
Grasshopper is organized and led by a team of student producers who select performances, create the program, and ensure the production is smooth-running. These producers are also responsible for selecting a different theme to guide the show. Ivy Randall ’25, a producer of last year’s Grasshopper, performed this year as a part of the a cappella group Keynotes. Randall commented on the difference between her roles and the changes to the show over the years.
“Last year, I was a producer, and so this year, getting to be a performer was just fun to see the show from a different perspective… Something that was different was that the show was broken up into four very distinct elements. I think something that we tried to do last year was distribute the energy levels of each act throughout the show, and we spent a long time working on having an evenly distributed show order. And so this year, it was just very different to see the arc of the show change,” said Randall.
While the audience only sees the end result, the backbone of the show comes from the meticulous preparation behind the scenes. Before this year, Julia Song ’26 had only ever been an audience member for Grasshopper and had never seen the production’s backstage magic. Performing in the opening act as a classical violinist, Song loved the support she felt from all the performers backstage and found the environment very wholesome.
“I feel like the audience can probably tell how much time goes into it, especially from the producers and the tech people. But they might not know the environment behind it. What I didn’t know was how, backstage, everyone would cheer for each other when that group that just performed got back. I thought that was really wholesome,” said Song.
Every year, Grasshopper features staple acts by clubs, including Fusion, Blue Strut, Hypnotiq (Hypno), and others, but also leaves room for individual or small group acts to audition and take the stage each year. Although Song is a musician, she felt entranced when watching dance and specifically acknowledged Hypno, Andover’s hip-hop club. Their mesmerizing performance inspired her to pursue hip-hop.
“I feel like you always have those same iconic pieces like Hypno and Blue Strut, you know those. But [in] the smaller acts, you get to see people that you know, or [acts] that haven’t performed before. Those are always very interesting and fun… I just, honestly, love watching dance. Hypno really inspired me; I’m almost inspired to join next year,” said Song.
Composed of students, faculty, and family members, Grasshopper had a lively crowd willing to sing along, cheer, and laugh at the emcee’s jokes. The school’s spirit and community were reflected in the moments when students screamed their friends’ names in support and loudly applauded their peers. Hillary Tufino ’26, who attended Grasshopper for the first time this year, believed the performance promoted connection and unity in the Andover community.
“It’s really unifying, especially because it’s art, so it’s something everyone can enjoy. I think the energy of the crowd really matched the music. When the intro was the violin pieces, it was kind of like everybody was mesmerized, everybody was silent and just kind of taking it all in, and then when the actual band started performing, [and] when people started dancing… people were whispering like ‘Oh my god, that was so good.’ Everybody was just really engaged,” said Tufino.
