By LEILI KAMALI
Staff Writer
This year, UHS’s Artivism Club collaborated with UHS Drama Club to create a unique Winter Talent Show. Under the direction of Ms. Ranae Bettger (Visual and Performing Arts Dept.), the Winter Talent Show took place in the Big Theatre on Saturday, January 28th.
Unlike the Fall Talent Show, the Winter Talent Show’s performers were not chosen through a selective audition process. The show was open to every student in UHS. Although this show did have an excess of vocal performances, the talent evident in each act made for an incredible show nonetheless.
The show boasted a variety of talented performers, from solo and group musical performances to magic tricks. It started with Kevin Kim (Sr.) entering the stage on a funky green bike to perform an original rap song. The content of the song was relevant to everyday student life and earned cheers and bursts of laughter from the audience .
The show also included several duets. Luke Ruan (Sr.) and Gentil Nguyen (Sr.), who played the ukelele, performed Sunday Candy together. Andrew Yoon (Fr.) and Kyle Annet (Fr.) also performed a charming cover of The Scientist by Coldplay.
Among solo performers, Ana Fujimoto(Sr.), performed an outstanding rendition of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Borna Torabinejad(Sr.) and Corinne Alsop(Sr.) also performed solos while playing the guitar. It seemed that the two artists had purposely chosen a song which went with the current social and political environment with Alsop performing “The Times They Are A-Changin” by Bob Dylan, and Torabinejad performing John Lennon’s iconic song, “Imagine.”
There were also choreographed dance numbers, one of which was a Jazz piece performed by Kerri Pelekoudas (Sr.). The other was performed by UHS’s Halo Club. Both dance numbers were outstanding and demonstrated a level of technical confidence which only comes from extensive practice and hard work.
The three instrumental performances of the winter talent show included Alex Mason (So.), performing “On Angel’s Wings” by piano, Chelsea Mariano (Sr.), performing a classical piece called “The Red Violin” and Nima Rezaeian(Jr.), another UHS pianist who performed a classical piece by Frédéric Chopin.
The most iconic act was perhaps Rabby Yang’s (Sr.) magic tricks, which encouraged audience participation. Yang asked random questions to the audience and when he made their answers appear on a piece of paper locked in a box in a box, the audience erupted into surprised applause. Yang also successfully turned a Kleenex into a shower of snowflakes onstage.
Each of the show’s acts demonstrated diverse talents and received enthusiastic audience cheers. Overall, the show displayed the various talents of UHS students, thanks to the organization of Artivism and Drama Clubs.
