Students in sync with airbands

It takes a lot of practice to lip-sync a five-minute song medley that is also choreographed with dances and other stage antics. That is just what the thirty-five members of the airband “Snow White” are doing… practicing and practicing and practicing with their eyes on first place in the annual airband competition that will be held March 11 at Fallbrook High School. An airband takes ownership of music that is not its own and is an interesting entertainment medium that lends itself well to competition. Approximately five or six Fallbrook High airbands are now practicing for the upcoming competition.

The Fallbrook High School juniors and seniors who are members of “Snow White” don’t mind the after-school dance sessions, which sometimes last over two hours. Marlaina Schroeder, a senior, is choreographing the airband, which will be performing a five-minute version of the fairytale “Snow White.” It took her about three hours to choreograph the play. Marlaina, whose parents both made a living as dancers, her father in the prestigious Joffrey Ballet and her mother as a jazz dancer in Los Angeles, started dancing at the age of three. “Performing and being on stage is the greatest thrill in my life,” said Marlaina. She is also a member of Fallbrook High’s Performance Dance group as well as the show choir and has been a Fallbrook High varsity cheerleader.

The airband “Snow White” will wear costumes that follow the yellow and blue color scheme used in the dress worn by Disney’s Snow White. The group will be performing jazz, hip-hop and ballet. They are also hard at work on a colorful and innovative backdrop for the stage.

This particular airband has been together for two years and, using the theme of “Chicago,” took second place in last year’s competition and then went on to the regional competition. If a band earns between first and fourth place, the members advance to the regional level.

Sarah Ussher, a ballerina who dances with the California Ballet Company and who was also named Student of the Month for February, will dance as the “Dove,” one of the leading roles.

Ashley Coburn, another member of “Snow White,” has been dancing since she was five years old and has been a member of an airband since she was in the seventh grade. The airbands in which she has participated have won several awards, and in her freshman year her airband placed first at Fallbrook and fourth at the regional competition. Last year she was a member of the airband “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which placed first in Fallbrook’s competition. “It’s a lot of fun — I like to dance and the lip-syncing just adds to it,” said Ashley, who is also a member of the Fallbrook High Performance Dance Team.