By Nicole Wesche, Staff Writer
The 20th Anniversary River Hill Talent show took place Thursday March 24th at 7:00pm. This year’s talent show was sponsored by Angel’s Network, and portions of the proceeds went to Home for our Troops, Grassroots, and We Care Solar.
The event showcased 12 different acts, ranging from Indian dancing to singing to acrobatic performances. At least 150 guests attended this year’s talent show, but the show has had anywhere from 100-400 people in past years.
The Talent Show is a one-of-kind event that is important to students, teachers, and the community. Ms. Galloway, who was in charge of the show, said that the Talent Show is a fantastic opportunity for all River Hill students. “What’s really unique and wonderful about the talent show is that it is an opportunity to showcase our students who may not ever be in any other venue . . . but they have great talent and something to offer the community.”
In the 20th Anniversary Talent Show, five awards were presented to the top acts in each category. The Best Vocal Performance award was given to Patrick and Danielle Gover, who sang “Lemonade/Sunday Morning Medley.” Best Musical Performance was awarded to Devil’s Bow, Celina Shih, James Via, and Sam LeDoux, who played “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. In addition, Best Dance Performance was given to DCMPAA, Tudhjot Jandu, Armaan Upaal, Amrita Kaur, who performed an Indian dance. Besides these three basic categories, there were two more awards given out for People’s Choice and the Best of the Best acts of the night.
The People’s Choice award was presented to the River Hill Breakdance Club, with sophomore members Joshua Pak, Andrew Choi, Jacob Luo, Jason Wang, and Michael Harrity. Lastly, the Best of the Best award was given to Dynamite, Shriya Sharma, Celina Shih, Sadra Sepehri, Sohum Thakkar, Stefon Cornwell, and Ethan Farkas. Dynamite performed a Napoleon Dynamite Skit that was spectacular.
The River Hill Breakdance Club had an amazing performance at the 20th Anniversary Talent Show. It went so well that they won the People’s Choice Award. Jason Wang, a member of the club, thought “that our performance went very well. We made some mistakes and definitely could have improved, but I think we did a really nice job considering it was all sophomores performing and choreographing.” Wang admitted that he “was a little nervous, however in the morning we had two performances for culture fest using a very similar choreography, so that eased us into performing.” This is Jason’s second year performing breakdancing at the talent show and he hopes that he will be able to perform for all four years.
This year’s show was the 20th Talent Show that River Hill has produced, and Angel’s Network has organized it from the very beginning. In addition to planning the Talent Show, Angel’s Network “organizes the school’s Breast Cancer Awareness month in October and creates the extended third lesson. We also create winter survival kits for the homeless which include winter clothing, food, and toiletries. Angel’s Network also prepares lunches and dinners for the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center.” Angel’s Network is a great club that does many wonderful things for the River Hill community.
The River Hill 20th Anniversary Talent Show was definitely one of River Hill’s best. “There were a lot of students…and parents who stopped me and said that [the Talent Show] was one of the most enjoyable one’s they have been to. They really liked the mix, the length of time, and they really liked how the audience was supporting every act that was out there.”
The Talent Show was definitely an event enjoyed by all and a special thanks to all the judges, the River Hill Tech Crew, Ms. Galloway, Angel’s Network, and all participants for their work in making the 20th Anniversary River Hill Talent Show possible.