What makes an act great? Is it the amount of applause? Is it the connection with the audience? Is it the music chosen, or how the performer presents it? Many variables must be considered when evaluating talent. I got an opportunity to do this, not as strictly as the judges did, but nevertheless able at the Winter Talent Show at Weddington high on December 17th.
When I walked into the room, the excitement was palpable. Our hosts, freshman student government President Ben Jedelsky and Vice President Aaryan Malhotra did a fabulous job as MCs with constant questions, gimmicks and endless ways to connect to the audience. I felt included in the production. It was an enthusiastic performance on the floor as the boys went up and down rows with trivia, “finish the lyric” and started a raffle that gave many prizes to audience members. Before the lights dimmed for our first act, a woman sitting behind me (who remained unseen) whispered to her friend “This is going to be fun.”
And that it was.
With Ms. Lyerly standing watch, teachers sprinkled into the audience. But wait! What is a teacher doing on stage? Mr. Steven Smith, an on and off substitute at Weddington took the stage first, delighting us with his wonderful voice and a truly beautiful song. He started with a comedy act, but as he sang “There is a place where we’re all connected, each of us can find each other’s light” I felt that I was sitting in the glow of a truly kind, hopeful person, whose spotlight spread to all of us. My favorite quip of his before he sang was probably, “I heard someone say seniors could enter; they didn’t say what kind of seniors.” I had the delight of seeing Mr. Smith after the performance and his humor continued off stage. His jolly laugh was the perfect way to start a wonderful night.
Next, we heard from two great performersManasya Boddapati, whose crowd engagement was amazing to see and Jaclyn Starr, whose last name and tune were great for the occasion.
Not to spoil the judges vote, fourth in our line up was the winner of second place Abhimanyu Gokale Sharma. His simple presentation of a song we all know and love, Riptide, struck many audience members and the acoustic guitar was the perfect pairing. It is easy to tell why he got second place; his crowd engagement, voice, guitar, and presentation were impressive.
Before the fifth, and my favorite, act, we met our judges and we engaged in raffle prizes and trivia. Even during stage changes the audience stayed energetic.
The fifth act was the best. The way “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars was sung with such vulnerability from a beautiful voice made me so thankful I got to be at that performance. A huge round of applause followed Jaylon Brannen’s solo, and out of all the amazing music sung and played, his voice stuck with me.
Our sixth act was energetic, exciting, engaging, think of a positive adjective starting with e and it is probably correctly descriptive. Genevieve Baptiste got first place in this talent show and it was well deserved. She sang/rapped “My Shot” from Hamilton and moved around the stage, danced and got the whole audience singing, clapping and standing in front of their seats.
The next performance was very unique, seeing as it was the only piano solo and seeing as it brought a different feeling to the audience. Fiona Chen’s beautiful performance of “Tracing that Dream” was delicate but masterful.
Izzy Hughes also changed the mood with her ballad “Before he Cheats” by Carrie Underwood. As our hosts made a stage appearance popping balloons and fake fighting behind Izzy, she sang strong and proud through the sophisticated song.
Emma Lantigua gave us a perfect performance of “Grenade” by Bruno Mars. Opal Drake was next up, the second person to sing and play guitar, but this time we heard a great Coldplay song, “Sparks.” And just like that the night was over! Or was it?
Our hosts had disappeared, having gone backstage sometime two acts ago. Ms. Lyerly noticed and took off backstage, apparently mad at this unplanned change of the show. Suddenly the lights dimmed and two penguins, two people dressed as penguins, walked out onto stage and the intro to a song we all know: “Yo VIP, let’s kick it! Ice, ice baby…” Coach Lyerly was never confused, but a very good actor. Our hosts, “Big A” and Ben, revealed their faces and rapped the entire song by Vanilla Ice (the clean version) while dressed in penguin suits simultaneously performing a choreographed dance. They ended the beautiful night before handing out awards. It was a surprise act alright.
The planning and preparation of the regular show was amazing but this elaborate surprise pushed this night from great to extraordinary. I definitely wasn’t the only one to think so, one Weddington mom said, “It was an impressive display of talent and a lot of fun.” The night couldn’t have been better. Furthermore, we discovered talent is ubiquitous at Weddington, and every performer and organizer should be proud!
