Reprinted with permission from Brunswick County Early College High School’s The Firebird Times.

This past Thursday night (April 25th), students could hang out at the Student Activity Center (SAC) for an eventful night, as many acts and the WINGS PTO Silent Auction were held. Dinner was served, and people could go in and check out the items that were put up for auction before the show at 7 PM.

At the Talent Show, the following acts were performed in the order listed:

Junior Rachel Danford performed a dance called ‘Esmerelda’ or ‘La Esmeralda’, a ballet dance inspired by the 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. The story behind this dance is “Esmeralda, the life-enhancing Gypsy heroine and professional dancer, is loved by no fewer than four strikingly different men: the pauper poet Gringoire, whose life she saves and whom she marries; the conflicted cleric Frollo, whose love turns him into a criminal; Quasimodo, the hunchback; and Phoebus, the handsome captain of the royal archers.”

“She loves only Phoebus, who is engaged to another woman, Fleur-de-Lys; but she loves dance too. The ballet’s dramatic climax comes in a pas de six when Esmeralda, Gringoire, and four female dancers arrive at a betrothal feast. Esmeralda arrives aflame with the love she has for Phoebus, only to discover that she is dancing to celebrate his union with another woman. Her head, arms, and torso slump in despair, and it is poor Gringoire, who, shaking the tambourine, keeps reigniting her passion for dancing,” states Alastair Macaulay, chief dance critic of The New York Times.

Freshmen Violet Azimi and Teri Mcnaughton sang ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy as Azimi played her acoustic guitar.

The ECHS Dance Team performed ‘We Make the Party Go Boom’, a dance used in the infamous Dance Moms, in which the Dance Team leader, Rachel, changed up some of the moves. There was a move in this dance called ‘the lift’. In this move, a group of members would be used as stairs, and one member (in this case, Nattaleigh Gobble) would climb on top of them. Then, this member would fall forward, and another group of members would catch them.

Sophomores Edgar CerrilloTranquilino and Abraham Dominguez played guitar in a duo to a song called Bohemio de Afición by Vicente Fernández, as well as Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash.

Violet played guitar and sang “Everywhere, Everything” by Noah Kahan, and the final act was a band involving Junior Isabella (Bella) Booth (Electric Bass Guitar), Sophomore Sara Williams (Singer and Electric), and her boyfriend, Zak Lanier (Drums) with a song called Brain Stew by Greenday.

Violet, Teri, and two members of the dance team, Ma’Kenzy Frink and Eliana Morris were asked about the Talent Show, and why they wanted to be in it.

Sara Williams states “I was in it last year and it was really fun. I got to see a side of me that I’ve never seen before and this time, I get to do it with familiar faces, and I’ll be able to do it more comfortably. I’ve been playing guitar for three years now, and I’ve been singing since I was a kid. Music is a good part of my life. My dad played guitar and as a kid, it was something that we could bond over, and he inspired me.”

Teri and Violet explained, “I go to [Violet’s] house often, usually every Saturday, and she plays the guitar and I sing with her, and there’s one song that stood out, that we play on the bus every day, and she was playing her guitar and I was singing, and I was like ‘Oh my god, there’s a talent show. Should we do the talent show?’ We thought it would be a good idea; we talked to her mom, we talked to Ms. Absher, and yeah, it just holds memories.”

When Eliana and Ma’Kenzy were asked how they expected the talent show would turn out, they believed “Well, it could turn out bad and good. The stage isn’t really big enough for our dance, so I’m not sure if something bad would happen. Hopefully it will turn out fine.”

Although these opinions and worries were made, the talent show and silent auction turned out wonderful for all of those who participated and watched this event. It was a great time for these students to share their talents, and I’m sure they enjoyed it.