Cougar Choir to Model Latest Fashions to Fund Trip to Broadway

choir students will give their regards to Broadway next week, with a fashion show fund-raiser, the proceeds of which will directly support the choir’s spring trip to the Big Apple’s Great White Way.

“Dakota Struts onto Broadway: A Fashion Revue” starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday and includes a night filled with New York-inspired mocktails, raffles, dinner, shopping and, of course, fashions modeled by the choir students themselves.

“This is really a great way to help keep the performing arts out in the public eye,” said Becky Thompson, fashion show chair. “Dakota High School has an amazing music program, and for the opportunity for these kids to travel to New York and have their name out there is just tremendous, so if we don’t support the arts now with things like this, there is no way we can continue to do it.”

Tickets for the event are $40 in advance and can be purchased by emailing Thompson at dhsbroadway@att.net. Some tickets will also be available at the door for $45.

The evening’s festivities take place at Zuccaro’s Banquets and Catering in Chesterfield, where 16 different vendors, selling items ranging from jewelry and purses, to denim and Pampered Chef products will be available throughout the evening for the shopping pleasure of guests.

The ticket price includes a plated dinner, catered by Zuccaro’s, and the fashion show itself, which features students modeling styles from Rue 21, Buckle, JCPenny, Wesner Tuxedo and more.

“Our fashion show is very different from most,” Thompson said. “There’s a wide variety of fashions and the kids do choreography instead of just runway modeling.”

The students who work the show, including the pre-show planning, receive a portion of the proceeds to fund their travel costs for choir's April trip to New York.

“All the proceeds go directly to the New York trip and the costs involved,” Thompson said. “These kids have had to work, too. This is not a matter of the parents having done all the work and the kids just showing up, the kids have worked very hard.”

This year’s trip to New York will see the students site seeing around the city and attending a workshop on Broadway, where they will be judged on their singing and have the opportunity to learn a number from Mary Poppins, the musical.

The trip will culminate with the students attending a performance of Mary Poppins, during which they will have the opportunity to join the cast on stage for the encore.

“To have the opportunity to sing on Broadway, if you can imagine, as a high school student is a pretty cool thing,” Thompson said.

Tickets for the fashion show will be available through Monday evening. Email dhsbroadway@att.net for more information.