The Talent Show

I just came home from a talent show at one of our local middle schools.

Are kids more talented these days, or do we just push them harder? When I was in high school, I participated in talent shows involving kids and grownups, and these kids displayed more talent, presence, and guts than a lot of adults.

There were a few singers, a few dancers, some guitar players, a monologue, a martial arts demonstration and a dog act.

They started off with two guys on electric guitar and bass. All they lacked was a drummer and a garage. Not bad. The second act was a very talented classical guitarist. They were followed by two girls with a dance which they had obviously choreographed themselves. Then came the obligatory tap dance. Neither of these performances came close to the level of the guitar players. When the MC announced a dramatic monologue, I wondered how it would go. The boy chose to do one from "The Glass Menagerie," and he did it very well. "Goose bump" well. From a 14-year-old. Go figure! When he was done, a tiny girl took the stage, with her jacket buttoned on the wrong buttons. She said, "I have to sing a capella, because my music won't work." She launched into a song called "God's Will," with a clear, sweet voice that commanded silence and respect. If I'd been judging the competition, she would have won, hands down! She was a tough act to follow, but an interpretive dance had the unenviable job. She did well, but...an even tinier girl than the a capella singer did a martial arts demonstration which was very impressive. A jazz dance followed that stuffy old me thought a bit too risqué for middle school. An intentionally a capella song came next, followed by a country duet.

The second half of the program opened with a dog act. The same little girl with the sweet voice had entrapped another girl, two dogs, and an undetermined number of assistants to wrangle the equipment into a dog act! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The dogs, a spaniel-looking one and a Yorkie, went over jumps, through hoops, across elevated boards, leaped from table to table, played dead, and generally behaved with perfect aplomb. Impressive, to say the least. They were followed by another interpretive dance, a very imaginatively staged duet from a musical, and a hip-hop number that was more of a break dancing demonstration.

I was very impressed with the caliber of talent and the sheer guts of these 12-14 year old kids.

Congratulations to all the performers!

By the way, the dog act won.

Wasn't it W. C. Fields who advised against performing with animals? They will steal the show every time!