LM Student Council hosted their fourth Lip Dub on April 11th. Typically held once every four years, this year’s Lip Dub came early; When asked why, Student Council Vice President Natalie Hillis ’24 explained how they remembered “it being so fun two years ago. [They wanted to keep] the spirit up for the full year and end the year strong.” According to Student Council President Danielle Esan ’24, the idea of organizing a Lip Dub had been in the works since the start of the school year, with the idea having been brought up last May, but planning only commenced in the beginning of March.
For weeks leading up to the Lip Dub, the cabinet, student dubbers, faculty and Student Council Executive Producer Elias Dutwin ’24 dedicated countless hours to put the Lip Dub together. Every Monday through Friday, starting their days at 6:45 a.m., more than 50 participants rehearsed their choreography, running through the entire planned route preceding the 7:30 a.m. bell. Hillis emphasized the meticulous planning by describing it as “a lot of work, a lot more than one might expect. The three main things you need to get are who your dubbers are going to be, what your song/songs are going to be, and what the route is.” To decide the dubbers to lip-sync for the event, the cabinet sent out a google form to the student body to gather a diverse group of students to represent the clubs and activities at LM. The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Student Council, Aliyah Brownstein ’25, said, “choosing dubbers was incredibly difficult, as there were so many interested students and so few spots. We ended up deciding based on who we thought would truly give it their all: show up early, be excited, and raise spirits.” The soundtrack for the Lip Dub featured a mix of hits, including “Classic” by MKTO, “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston, “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz, “Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco and” Starships” by Nicki Minaj. Once the cabinet picked the songs, they got a DJ to make the mashup. With this complete, they then picked a route that would work best with the songs and dubbers. While preparations began well in advance, April 11 marked the culmination of months of hard work as participants arrived at LM at 6:30 a.m. for their final morning practice. The atmosphere buzzed with excitement as dubbers and committee heads inflated balloons and grooved to music in Student Council sponsor Sean Capkin’s classroom. All morning, the Lip Dub team operated seamlessly to ensure everything went well. However, the real action kicked off during the sixth set, when the cabinet called on everyone to bring it together. By 12:25 p.m., zone leaders, students, teachers and dubbers were in position, ready for the first official run at 12:40 p.m.
The filming of Lip Dub was divided into three parts. The initial run, not recorded, served as a rehearsal to familiarize everyone with the process. The two subsequent runs would be used for the final cut that would be posted on Youtube. During all three runs, Dutwin said that he utilized his entire arsenal of camera gear. He was accompanied by Jason Dong ’24, who carried a substantially large speaker, and Mr. Capkin followed them through to make sure of a seamless execution. Zone leaders who were selected by the cabinet were instrumental in maintaining order in the hallways, equipped with walkie-talkies to coordinate communication with everyone involved.
The Lip Dub holds another significance for our school community. It is more than tradition: it unifies the school and shows what LM is capable of as a highschool. As summarized by Esan, the LM lip dub was “a perfect way to finish off a great year.”
