A nervous breath, a spotlight, and then applause. On Thursday, March 26th, nine students showed off their talents during the third student talent section of Fine Arts.
Angel Munoz- Sophomore Angel Munoz performed a guitar and vocal solo of the song “San Lucas” by artist Kevin Kaarl. Munoz is an FAC member, and the only student this year and last to sing a song fully written in Spanish. With the ability to play his guitar extremely well while also making sure that his voice is being heard, Munoz delivered a great performance. “This year went better than last year. I had some mess ups with my guitar this year, but I felt more prepared vocally and just more confident,” Munoz said.
Dane Passwater- As only a freshman, Dane Passwater gave a great vocal, piano and harmonica solo to the song “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. Having the ability to multitask between using the piano, his own voice and harmonica to bring the song to life is amazing at Passwater’s age. Throughout the song Passwater executed his performance almost perfectly.
Eugenia Craig- Junior Fine Arts Club member Eugenia Craig delivered her sectional qualifying speech. Throughout the entirety of the speech, Craig remained enthusiastic and entertaining. By changing her tone of voice, Craig was able to emphasize different parts of the speech. Craig used great body language to keep the audience engaged. Besides the actual content, Craig did a great job keeping eye contact with the audience and not looking too much at her script. Overall, the speech was fun to listen to, and it is no surprise that it was successful for Craig.
Wes Weatherford and Addison Landers- Pirates Invade the Ballroom champions junior Wes Weatherford and sophomore Addison Landers performed their winning dance routine to “Proud Mary” during the student talent section. Throughout the dance, Weatherford and Landers stayed in sync, making the connection between the two seem very strong to the audience. Their costumes were appealing, and the tricks they completed kept the audience drawn to them throughout the routine. Landers is a part of the competitive dance team, but Weatherford competes in other sports. The two combined their competitiveness and athletic skills together to deliver a second great performance during the festival.
Celeste Wallace- Sophomore Celeste Wallace performed a vocal solo to “Ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine. Using her smooth voice and great voice control, Wallace was able to complete the song without breaking. Wallace is a first-time performer at the festival, but she still gave a good performance. “I felt pretty nervous, but I feel like I did pretty good,” Wallace said.
Luke Passwater- Senior Fine Arts Club member Luke Passwater performed a piano solo to the song “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica. This was not Passwater’s first performance of the year or his last. Throughout his years Passwater has taken the stage multiple times, usually if not always on the piano. He can play a variety of genres on the piano, and every time they sound fantastic. With a smooth performance, Passwater had very little if any mistakes during this specific performance, making it fan loved.
Marr Walker- Senior Fine Arts Club member Marr Walker had two vocal solos during this student talent section. First, she performed “Mama’s Broken Heart” by Miranda Lambert, and then later in the section she performed “Burn” from the play “Hamilton.” Walker is incredible at using her vocal range and making it known that she is confident on the stage. Throughout both songs she sang and other songs that she performed in the festival, Walker made it through them smoothly. Also, by singing a wide variety of genres, Walker showed her ability to use her voice to give the audience multiple great performances.
Adagio Dance Routine- Senior Maya Martin, Junior Hadley Byrd, Sophomores Analia Purcell, and Piper Coglianese, and eighth grader Rylin Morey performed a dance routine to “The Wheel.” This group of students performed an excellent routine during this section. From the group connection to each of the individual parts, the group had great technique throughout. Martin, who had a large portion of individual parts, executed them extremely well, leaving it to the group to follow in her footsteps. Coglianese also had a few individual moments where she showed her leaping technique and some tumbling skills. Overall, the group was incredible and had great sync, really bringing their dance to life to tell an amazing story.
Amelia Guerrero- Freshman Amelia Guerrero performed a flute solo to the song “Lovely” by Billie Elish. The song required Guerrero to play a large range of notes, but she did so flawlessly. The performance was very smooth, and Guerrero did an amazing job finishing the entire song.
Throughout this student talent section and the other three, everyone did a great job completing their performance. It takes courage to get on stage in front of everyone, but all these students did that.
