Written by: Anaya Parker
The Gym-Masters Home Show took place this past Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. After weeks of preparation, the team hit the floor and gave a circus-themed performance. Filled with group routines, individual acts and trios, the Gym-Masters told the story of a circus.
The show lasted about two hours, and the Sunday show included performances from Gym Kids and Mini Masters. The event began with the song, The Greatest Show, from the popular musical The Greatest Showman followed by several other songs from the movie.
First-time attendee Skyler Perla, sophomore theology major, was surprised by the level of storytelling involved.
“I thought it was going to be a bunch of flips and twirls, nothing much more than that,” he said. “It was very creative how they tied in different acts to fit their themes.”
His favorite act was the teeterboard, where gymnasts jumped and flipped onto foam mats on either side.
“It was just cool seeing dudes being dudes,” Perla said. “…They were challenging themselves, and it felt realistic as what you would get if you put a seesaw in front of a bunch of athletic guys.”
This was also the first time Sienna Escobar, freshman public relations major, saw the Gym-Masters perform. She was impressed by the amount of variation performed.
“I was very surprised by the amount of different performances and skills that they had,” she said. “I didn’t realize they were so advanced and able to perform a lot of really difficult stunts and skills.”
Escobar said the couple’s aerial strap performance was her favorite.
“It was so poetic and lyrical,” she said. “It was beautiful to see the amount of trust they had for each other.”
Houston Beckworth, junior archeology major, came to see his brother perform during the home show. He enjoyed the routine during the mini-tramp, where several male gymnasts flipped over a line of girls. Though he said the performance was good, he felt previous years had been stronger.
“There was a level of comedy not seen in other shows, but I think the last two years were slightly better compared to this year,” Beckworth said. “Though my perception could be influenced by how drawn out it was.”
Bryson Beckworth’s, Houston Beckworth’s brother and freshman finance major, said that preparing for the show was tiring but it was fun connecting with the team.
“It was definitely a lot of hard work, but it was fun being with everyone every day. It was very tiring but very fun seeing how it turned out,” Bryson Beckworth said. “Obviously, the gymnastics part is fun, but the community and the friends you make are why I do it every day.”
Michael Blood, a junior marketing major, transferred to Southern from Union Adventist University. He said the team has been practicing several hours Monday through Thursday for weeks.
“We have been prepping for Home Show for the last month or two,” Blood said. “We practice every night from 6 to 8 p.m. We put a lot of time and effort into our performances. Throughout the semester, I was working on front layouts and moves that took me out of my comfort zone.”
Specialty acts required even more practice time. Brayden Standish, sophomore nursing major, was involved in a pairing routine with Aliyah Trott.
“My favorite routine that I was in was probably my pairs routine. I had been working on it individually for most of the year since August,” he said.
Standish emphasized how being a part of Gym-Masters has positively affected him socially and spiritually.
“It is like one big giant family of 40 kids. We all come from different backgrounds, but pretty much all that gets set aside on the mats,” Standish said. “I have grown spiritually. I am probably at the best place spiritually that I have ever been due to the people on the team and the emphasis on our team.”
The Gym-Masters said they place importance on doing what they do for God. The members call it “blue church” after the color of the mats they use in practice.
“We don’t really perform for us. We call it the blue church, and we do it for God,” Blood said.
“We call it the blue church for a reason; it’s all for the glory of God. We know God is there with us,” Bryson Beckworth said.
The performance ended with a recreation of Biblical scenes about Jesus. Houston Beckworth enjoyed this part of the show the most.
“I was very surprised by their tribute to Jesus’ routine,” he said. “I appreciated that.”
Perla and Escobar said they look forward to seeing what the team will bring to next year’s performance.
“I would love to be able to go again next year and see the new performances that they have worked on together,” Escobar said.
