As show choir competition season has been ramping up, one thing has become clear to Xavier’s Varsity Show Choir: they have some pretty devoted members. Xhilaration’s show this year was primarily choreographed by Aaron Malec but when their director, Phillip Schroetter, was in need of student choreographers for the last two songs, four students stepped up. Senior Braedon Roling stepped back into the choreographing role after assisting with Xhilaration’s closer last season. “I was happy that I was able to choreograph for Xhil [Xhilaration] again,” Roling said. “It means so much to be able to give back to a group that I have so much passion for and I’ll always have so much fun coming up with dances.” Roling and senior, Olivia Nasutian, choreographed a majority of the last two songs, “Brand New” and “Tonight,” along with assistance from junior, Tim Lesnik, and sophomore, Evie Kunz. “Taking on this role with Braedon and some help from Evie and Tim was a bit scary at first because we really wanted to make choreography that everyone loved,” Nasution said. “There was a lot of trial and error but I’m so happy that Braedon and I were able to help make Xhil, XHIL! Being a part of a show like this has been a dream of mine since I was in 6th grade and I’m so blessed to be able to say I’ve achieved that!” Roling spoke about the signature “Xhil style” that he and Nasution grew up watching and took inspiration from when choreographing. He felt this style was mainly shaped by Jared Voss and Tori Burns, Xhilaration’s past choreographers from 2008-2020. The four student choreographers made it a priority to bring elements of that “iconic” style back into the numbers this year. “Braedon and I enjoyed stepping up and helping finish parts of our show. We work so well together and we had so much fun experimenting and coming up with cool choreography,” Nasution said. “We got lots of inspiration from past Xhil shows as well as our own imagination.” Due to the pandemic, both Xhilaration and Xuberance have experienced many setbacks in the past year. With fewer restrictions in place at practices and competitions, Roling and Nasution felt an immense sense of community as they were able to work closer together with one another. “I’ve had an absolute blast working with Olivia and I think it’s really helped our group feel more bonded by being able to dance choreography produced by its own members,” Roling said. “This has been an amazing season so far and a great way to end my seven years of show choir.” Xavier Xhilaration, along with prep group Xuberance, will compete one last time this season on Saturday, February 26 at Marion High School. Both groups’ final show will be on Thursday, March 5 in the Regis-LaSalle Theater at 6:00 and 7:00pm.