Hot, bright lights shine in the faces of the performers on stage as the soft murmurs of the audience soon erupts into thunderous applause after each act. The crowd is gathered to witness an LSE tradition — the 67th annual Nite of Knights variety show, which took place on Feb. 8 and 9 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Southeast’s Jennifer L. Dorsey-Howley Performing Arts Center.
The theme of this year’s show was “Dear Diary”, and the emcees were Olivia Nelson (12), Levi Baker (12), Bella McCown (12), Kalainey Nickel (12), Olivia Nelson (12) and Drew Lohrman (11).
Acts ranged from soloist singers, pianists, LSE’s Jazz 1 band, improv, slam poetry, dance, singing groups, a saxophone group and even an original song. LSE’s Improv Team was interactive and involved audience members in their act, which was entertaining and engaging.
The emcee’s theme, “Dear Diary”, led to a storyline that would have them come out in between acts. The storyline they were doing was about a girl wanting to get into the battle of the bands to impress a boy.
Each of the acts were introduced this way throughout the story, starting with LSE’s Jazz 1 band which opened the show, playing “Funkathustra”.
Freshman Charlotte Mar played an original song named “Coax”, which she wrote herself. Her songwriting skills definitely wowed the audience, and it was a unique experience to hear an original song.
Another amazing solo act was performed by freshman Julie Li. She sang “Heather” by Conan Gray while playing her guitar.
LSE’s Countesses and Noblemen performed “Remember This” by the Jonas Brothers. Their act was filled with energetic dancing and singing, and was definitely something to remember.
In addition to emceeing, senior Olivia Nelson performed with LSE’s Countesses and Noblemen, a singing trio, and an improv act. She performed a song titled “Landslide” which she sang with Baker and McCown.
Ars Nova performed a song titled “‘S Wonderful”, which Nelson was involved in as well. This was her second year of being involved with Nite of Knights, as well as her second year as an emcee. She considers Nite of Knights to be an important tradition at LSE and something that the entire performing arts center looks forward to.
“It’s a great opportunity for people in different groups to sort of be in the same space and create and display that to other people and our peers,” Nelson said.
Junior David Fisher was in one act, named #tenors@seacrest, which consisted of him, Olivia Eitzman (12), Brayden Neesen (10) and Jenell Dynek (12). They performed a saxophone rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story”. With it being his first year participating in Nite of Knights, he was nervous but had a great time.
“It’s a good opportunity and it’s important to keep your spirits high and not get too discouraged. It’s encouraging to want to be better and showcase your skills,” Fisher said.
LSE Band Director R.J. Metteer, who has been running the show for the past 28 years, said that one of his favorite things about the show is being able to see the many talents of different kids.
“It’s always amazing and a lot of fun to see what everybody’s doing with their own talents,” Metteer said. “The kids sharing their talents and things they want to do and share, it’s pretty cool.”
Overall, this year’s Nite of Knights was a success, filled with talented students and entertaining acts. The annual show did not disappoint and is something that many students and staff look forward to every year.
