Hair thriller
Tech cosmetology students, classmates strut their stuff
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| Students model elegant, contemporary looks of "The Present." (T&G Photos/ JIM COLLINS) |
The sixth annual hair design expo at Worcester Technical High School Wednesday was an evening of shear gladness and a crowning glory for the cosmetology department seniors who presented the tuneful event.
It used to be the typical, staid hair show at which graduating seniors could quietly show off their plaiting, puffing and trimming talents to prospective employers. The first show six years ago was held in a small conference room before an audience of about 100 people.
But over the years, the hair event has blossomed into a full-scale, school-wide, Broadway-style extravaganza with music, skits and dancing, as well as the standard stylish ’dos.
This year, the theme was a musical, whimsical trip through the past, present and future of fashion and hairstyles, with numbers energetically choreographed to popular songs of each era. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” provided a Gothic musical base for wild hairdos and delightfully unnatural-looking makeup. A spirited rendition of “Jailhouse Rock” was dedicated to the late Michael Dombrowski, a teacher in the school’s painting and decorating department who had always been an enthusiastic supporter of the hair show.
About 650 people filled the beautiful and commodious auditorium of the brand new school building, which opened last fall. The animated, appreciative audience included salon owners, fellow students, teachers, family and friends of the cosmetology students.
Cosmetology calls the shots, but all departments at the school lend a hand. Carpentry and painting and decorating departments work on the sets, electrical does the lighting and others pitch in with programs and as backstage helpers.
Since there are only 11 cosmetology seniors and just 62 students in the whole department, a casting call went out to students in other trades at the school to fill the 140 modeling slots the gala required. Most participated willingly. A few — usually the boys, like Yedier Rivera — required a little coaxing. Yedier had been friends with cosmetology senior Yairalise Rosario throughout her four years at the school and couldn’t say no when she saw a lot of styling potential in his longer-than-shoulder-length locks. “She saw my long hair and decided to pick me,” he said.
Yairalise used her model for the far-out “The Future,” a show-closing segment that followed chronologically the period-perfect styles of “The Past” and elegant, contemporary looks of “The Present.” Yairalise worked Yedier’s hair into a halo of skyscraping mega-spikes, some of them standing more than a foot above his head.
“I thought it would look more like the future because it’s in the shape of a star,” she said, as she prepared her model for the show Wednesday afternoon.
OK. But what did she have to do to get his hair to defy gravity like that?
“I had to tease it up and use a lot of hairspray,” she said.
Like, say, half a can?
“No. More. It really took a lot.”
Like many of the kids Wednesday afternoon, Yedier was a little nervous waiting for evening when it would be time to strut his stuff on the catwalk. “They’re as nervous as can be right now because it’s a lot of work,” Arlene Thompson, cosmetology department head, said. “I don’t think people realize how much work is involved in this, but once the show starts and the music starts, the adrenalin starts to flow and it’s great. It’s very, very exciting.”
The show is a glitzy showcase for the seniors’ hairdressing talents. But their training is rooted in academics as well and it’s obvious that students have been cutting hair instead of classes. Most have distinguished themselves in the academic area, some in spite of backgrounds that are anything but privileged. Whatever their personal situations, their achievements reflect a dedication and determination that not all kids possess. Cosmetology senior Christine Bulikowski is class valedictorian this year and plans to study business at Nichols College in the fall. Others, including Jazmin Ortiz, are members of the National Honor Society. Ashley Olson scored high enough on her MCAS test that she was awarded free tuition to any state college. “We really have an amazing group this year,” cosmetology instructor Gloria Lehner said.
The students had help getting ready for the show from local style stars Jeffrey Kilcoyne, owner of Jeffrey Roberts Salon in Worcester, and David Gomez, stylist at Salon Sogno in Shrewsbury. Kilcoyne began a few months ago helping students plan and prepare for the show, picking their models, picking their styles, picking the look they wanted.
“I just sort of guided them I said, ‘You guys are just going to take this in whatever direction you want to take it in so you need to do the work that’s really behind it,’ ” he said. The highly creative direction the kids went in was “absolutely amazing,” Kilcoyne said.
“I love my industry and these guys are the next generation that’s coming up so I really like to see them have an opportunity to really grow and develop,” he said. “Sometimes I think they’re not really given that chance. This industry is kind of hard on the young ones coming into it so I’d really like to see them put their best foot forward and show everybody what they’ve spent the last four years doing.”
Gomez knows well what students spend their time doing. He is a 2005 graduate of the school’s cosmetology program who came back to help with the show.
“We had other people who graduated before us and they came out and helped us out. I just wanted to do the same,” he said. Gomez was impressed with what he saw on his return visit.
“There’s an incredible amount of talent and a lot of kids with great ideas,” he said. “There’s so much talent at such a young age which is really surprising. But these kids, they’ve got what it takes and they do a great job. They’ve got a big future ahead of them — a huge future ahead of them.”
In that future, whenever they need a lift they can go back to the memory of a big night with big hair and several big rounds of applause.
“It’s more than just a hair show,” Thompson said a few hours before the show started. “These kids, when they graduate, they’ll have these memories that will last forever. Tomorrow they’ll come back here and they’ll get all the accolades and all the excitement. This is something they will never forget.”