CHS Talent Show catches humor of ‘Pokemon’, new musical talent (with video)
Coppell High School juniors Riya Mahesh, Amelia Vanyo, and Ashley Benhayoun,and Coppell Middle School East seventh grader Sabrina Vanyo accept their first place recognition at the CHS talent show. A wide variety of acts were performed on Friday night in the CHS auditorium.
It was Tuesday, Jan.10, the day of auditions for the Coppell High School Talent Show, and senior Alec Bush still was not sure if he would try out that afternoon. But by lunch, an idea struck him- he would dramatically read aloud the Pokemon theme song.
It seemed like the perfect gig.
“I always decided that I would do something stupid on the Talent Show, senior year,” Bush said. “So I decided to recite Pokemon. I knew it was dumb enough that people would enjoy it.”
And enjoy it they did. Bush later had the audience in roaring laughter with his Shakespearean monotone of the “Pokemon” lyrics, with a comedian poker face and appearing to be reading from a book in his hands.
Organized by the Coppell Choir program, the CHS Talent Show, held on Friday, Dec. 27 at the school auditorium, featured different types of performances, from Bush’s humorous Pokemon reading to musical band ensembles and solo dances. Parents from the Coppell Choir Booster Organization volunteered to manage ticket sales, with proceeds going to the Choir Scholarship Fund to assist students in the choir program.
“It’s great for the kids to have a chance to perform in front of an audience,” Coppell Choir Booster Organization member Wayne Barnes said. “Many students have stage fright and they are not in theater or choir, so this is one of the places for them to showcase their talent.”
One of the performers that energetically showcased his talent was senior Devon Hawkins, who had the crowds cheering with his dance to a mashup of songs, including Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”. Hawkins is a member of the AirCrew at CHS and can be regularly seen after school outside or in the cafeteria, practicing his arm waves and hip hop moves.
“Devon started dancing for real when he was around 11 years old,” Hawkins’ mother, Laveda Hawkins, said. “And ever since then, when you don’t see him around at home, you know he’s probably dancing in his room. He just loves Michael Jackson. He’s tried out for ‘America’s Got Talent’, and one of these days, we’re gonna see him on one of those talent shows.”
Like Laveda Hawkins, Todd Storch and Tara Storch came to see their son participate in the Talent Show.
CHS senior Ryan Storch performed original songs with his local band Auto, which included him on the drums, senior Kolbe Klement on guitar, senior Chase Price with bass and senior Eric Loop as lead singer. As high school seniors, their last performance together was an emotional event for the Storches.
“Oh, it makes me sad,” Tara Storch said. “But it makes me happy to see how far they’ve come together. They started performing in eighth grade and I’m just so proud of them now. It’s been really cool to see them grow closer as a band.”
Other performances included Sneha Bhatia with a raw rendition of “Just Give Me A Reason” by musicians Pink and Nate Reuss, Ken Simmons’ melodic singing of Louis Armstrong’s classic “What A Wonderful World”, Christian McDow mesmerizing the crowds with a solo dance and choir singer Rhea Tibrewal starring with “Lost Boy” by Ruth B.
“They were all really good,” CHS senior attendee Emily Edens said. “A lot of people performed who I didn’t know had this kind of talent. My favorite was Ken Simmons’ performance, because he had a beautiful voice and he just seemed like he owned the stage.”
The final favorites of the show were chosen by the audience casting their vote online, with the emcees announcing the results as all the participants were called back on stage.
After much anticipation, the winners, to be awarded a $100 gift card, were called out: first place went to juniors Riya Mahesh, Ashley Benhayoun and Amelia Vanyo and Coppell Middle School East seventh grader Sabrina Vanyo, . The group’s harmony to “The Lighthouse’s Tale”, accompanied by beats and violin, had struck a resonant chord with the audience.
Another powerhouse of the evening was CHS theater member senior Claire Robinson, who won fourth place for her stunning performance of the song “No One Else” from the musical “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”.
“I am shocked that I was ranked at all,” Robinson said. “It’s something that I didn’t expect but when I got it, it felt really great, because it made me think that people cared enough about me to think I was good.”
Robinson has pretty much sung for her entire life.
“I sing to tell a story,” Robinson said. “I don’t care if I felt stupid – I know I looked stupid. I try to forget that I am being in front of all these people. I worry a lot usually, but [when I perform] is the time when I just don’t worry or care.”
For associate choir director Adam Gilliland, the 2017 Talent Show meant seeing his and the participating students’ work finally come to fruition. Gilliland, who organized the event, worked with the student emcees during the weeks before the show, making sure it would run smoothly with multiple rehearsals and a dress rehearsal the previous week.
“We did a lot of work outside and during the actual show,” Gilliland said. “And if finally paid off, because it was so awesome to see all the talent at [CHS]. There were lots of smiles, and they seemed to be happy to help with the
[Choir] scholarship fund.”
It’s great for the choir program, because it helps all those kids get out there into the field. The best part of the show was that I usually just see the choir kids, but now I’m realizing that everyone else does such cool stuff too.”
Meha Srivastav writes, or rather, passionately consumes the wee hours of night writing for The Sidekick. When not writing for The Sidekick, she can be...
