In a darkened Borden last Saturday night, glow poi traced arcs through the air as members of Photon performed in Glowshow, the club’s annual end-of-year showcase. The program featured routines with poi, yoyo, rope dart, and clubs, props all lit up by LED lights that shifted color throughout the performances. Returning acts from Grasshopper, Winter Pep Rally, and Spring Andover Dance Festival joined new solos and duets, closing with Senior Act, a surprise duet from the club’s graduating members.
Cindy Yang ’26, co-head of Photon, performed in various parts of the show, including two solos and Senior Act. The show marked Yang’s fourth and final Glowshow, and upon reflecting, Yang shared how the event has come to represent the support community they have found at Andover.
“Glowshow is Photon’s only annual show, obviously, so it means a lot to me. My first Glowshow, I did a yoyo duet with Wooba [Song ’26], and it was really awesome because even though we both dropped our yoyos once and messed up the ending a little, the entire crowd was so excited for us. I really felt that energy and that love from the community. Glowshow is the epitome of that feeling that people really care about each other and want to support each other at this school. Of course, people are doing really cool things, but more importantly, people are really lifting each other up and supporting each other. That’s why Glowshow matters a lot to me,” said Yang.
Photon prepared the show act by act over the course of Spring term, with each routine running its own rehearsal schedule before coming together for a tech rehearsal in Borden. Allegra Lee ’27, who has performed in Photon for three years, said the show’s preparation was largely self-directed.
“We start a document at the very beginning of the term with all the acts that people want to start or redo. Then people put their names down and sign up for them. The act leaders coordinate rehearsals among themselves and their people. Then we basically host a tech rehearsal in Borden. It’s something pretty individualized, to get everyone prepared for the show. It’s everyone’s individual projects, and then it all comes together at the end,” said Lee.
The program included several new pieces alongside returning routines. Alex Lin ’28 choreographed “Grand Escape,” a beginner-friendly act that taught her about what it takes to teach.
“The most valuable thing I learned wasn’t actually any flashy new moves. It was how to organize people and teach people how to spin. No one comes into Andover knowing how to spin poi. Most people in Photon right now, before coming here, didn’t even know that this was a thing that existed. So everybody has to start from scratch. Knowing how to teach people moves, put yourself in their shoes as people who have never touched poi before, guide them through things, encourage them, and pass down this art is more important than I ever could have imagined. This year’s Glowshow, by leading so many acts and leading many beginners, taught me a lot about how to teach,” said Lin.
Yang’s poi solo this year was a cover of “Get Your Wish,” a routine originally choreographed by an alum from the class of 2024. Yang noted the solo’s significance in what they hoped to convey through their performance.
“I just really hope that the audience felt the joy that I was trying to convey. For my final Glowshow, I really wanted it to matter, obviously. I wanted to perform pieces that really mattered to me. I hope the audience took away that feeling of joy, that feeling of hope, and that feeling of triumph that I was feeling on stage when I was performing ‘Get Your Wish’ and Senior Act. I was realizing how much I had grown in these past four years,” said Yang.
The show closed with Senior Act, a duet between Yang and Song set to Porter Robinson’s “Sweet Time.” Yang said that the song captured what Photon had given them over four years at Andover.
“I chose ‘Sweet Time’ because it was very mellow and bittersweet. One of the lyrics is something like, ‘All the world is lucky to be your home,’ and I felt like that really resonated with how I feel about Photon and how grateful I am to Photon for giving me this place where I felt I really belonged on campus. That was one of the reasons I chose that music. So that’s what inspired my pieces,” said Yang.
