They swayed. They smiled. They shimmered. But mostly the women sang, without music or accompaniment, traditional barbershop arrangements at the East Lyme Community Center during a concert earlier this month.

Valley Shore Acappella was preparing for competition at the New England regionals in Springfield, Mass., and they did better than expected, winding up in 15th place out of 22 Sweet Adelines choruses. That topped their typical showing of around 18 or 19, said director Angie Clark.

“This chorus is the most supportive group of women,” Clark said.

Deborah Marino of Waterford agreed, calling the Sweet Adelines group, now celebrating its 40th year of competition, a “hobsession.”

“We’ve been working really, really hard rehearsing once a week,” she said. “We have to love what we do because we pay to do it.”

The singers, who pay monthly dues as well as buy musical scores, credit Clark with keeping them working hard while also having fun.

The group first came together in 1974 when an avid barbershop fan, Ed Covey, convinced his friend, Rene Frechette, to take on the role as first director. Originally known as The Good Time Music Company, by 1977 the group had joined Sweet Adelines International and changed its name to Valley Shore Chorus, tweaking the name a few times over the next four decades.

In 1991, the chorus won its only first-place honor, taking home the top prize for small chorus.

“Women have come and gone, rehearsal sites have changed, but we still have the camaraderie, the love for music and one another,” said Jeannette Fudge, 89, the only founding member of the group still around, in a brief history of the chorus.

Singers now are rehearsing from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the East Lyme Community Center. Auditions are required to join the group, but there is no necessity to read music.

Publicist Carolyn Douglas said the group is seeking new members. For information, call (860) 434-8183.

Valley Shore Acappella, which now numbers about two dozen, sings contemporary standards in the barbershop style that counts on expression and movement as well as a good ear.

“We perform all over,” said Clark, the director, whose own quartet, Voce, is currently ranked No. 11 in the world.

Valley Shore Acappella is particularly busy around Veterans Day and Christmas, she said, and performs at a lot of senior centers and retirement communities.

Clark said the most important element of barbershop singing is showmanship, followed by expression, music and sound. Unlike other choruses, these women wear shimmering costumes and often sway to the music, making choreographed gestures appropriate to the feeling being conveyed.

“It comes from you,” Clark said of the music, which is abetted only by a pitch pipe at the beginning of songs. “It’s a lot more ... emotion and storytelling.”

Just like mixed choruses, singers are divided up into soprano, alto, tenor and bass, though everything is relative so the lowest registers are not as foggy as what men can sing.

The singers tend to be 50-plus in age, but they do have one young songstress, 20-year-old Heidi Petersen of East Lyme, who has been with the group less than a year.

“Everyone has been really nice,” she said.

Fudge, the oldest chorister, loves the camaraderie.

“The girls are very good to me,” she said.

In addition to the full chorus, the group has a smaller quartet called Quattro featuring Candace Neilson, Lin Robinson, Pia Kroes and Mary Blewitt.

Singers come from as far away as Massachusetts to rehearse weekly, and several are holdovers from a time when rehearsals were in Middletown.

“It’s the music but also the friendship,” said Kroes of Old Lyme, explaining the pull of Sweet Adelines. “It’s a sisterhood.”

“It’s the highlight of the week,” added Neilson of East Lyme.

l.howard@theday.com