Aquacades, taking place on Friday, April 8, is the most highly anticipated event of the school year for
NDB students. The rally may only be one night, but it takes months of preparation as members of each class put together artwork, dances and swim routines.

The rally will start off with a picnic, which gives each class the opportunity to get together, take photos and get excited for the rest of the evening. This year’s theme is TVcades, meaning that each class has a different genre of TV shows to base their routines on. The seniors selected “Tween shows” and pop music, the juniors chose reality TV and R&B music, the sophomores got sitcoms and rock music and the freshmen received drama shows and country music.

The event features solo, duet and group “deck” performances, which take place on the deck outside of the pool in front of bleachers full of cheering classmates. Since many students are eager to participate in these routines, solo, duet and group deck routines all include between five and ten students. The rou-
tines consist of dancing, lip syncing and props to fit each class’s theme.

Synchronized swimming is another important part of Aquacades. Students swim alone, in pairs and in groups to music with props.

Other students get involved in Aquacades through painting backdrops and cheering on their classmates.

The night will also include performances from ASB and NDB’s cheer and pom teams as well as a “surprise” routine.

A panel of alumnae serve as the judges for the rally and will award first through fourth place in each category of routine. The routines are judged based on quality and also the support their classmates show by cheering. The class with the most winning routines will win the event, receiving extra spirit points and getting a boost in the overall spirit point competition for the year.

The rally will be especially exciting this time since only one class, the Spartans, has experienced a true NDB Aquacades. The freshmen, sophomores and juniors are all looking forward to jumping in and joining this longstanding tradition.