The Martin Luther King Society held its annual talent show on Friday, April 17. Friends, family, alumni and faculty packed into McCarthy Arts center to watch students perform various acts, from dancing to accordion playing.
Get fired up
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Liam Danader, MC for the evening, invites a young child from the crowd to draw a winner for one of the evening's raffles. (Photo by Kaitlin Couillard) Click on photo to view a slideshow of photos from the evening. |
The MLK talent show is in its 17th year at St. Michael’s. Students from all classes participate, says Linda Tran, organizer of the event.
To start off the show, a comedic film featured Liam Danaher and Kevin Anglin, who were the two MCs of the night, prior to their grand entrance. They kept the crowd entertained by telling jokes in between acts, as well as giving out prizes for the raffle. Everyone who purchased a ticket was entered into the raffle.
The prizes from the raffle ranged from gift certificates to the University Mall to local restaurants priced anywhere from
$10-50, MC Liam Danaher says.
McCarthy Arts Center was standing room only, as all 380 seats were filled with students and community members, says Moise St. Louis, director of Multicultural Affairs.
“It was a bigger turnout from last year when I went," Danaher says.
St.Louis says: “After awhile we had to close down the entrance to the talent show because the area is so small and can’t fit everyone who wants to come in.”
The first act was put on by the St. Michael's Celtic Knights dance team. They choreographed two step dances, one to the song “C’est La Vie” by the pop band B*Witched and one to a traditional Celtic tune.
“It felt like every second of the show was entertaining,” sophomore Catherine Dalton says.
And the winner is
One of the last acts to perform was first-year Gerhard Meyer who played an accordion solo. He took home the title,coming in first place. This isn’t Meyer’s first time on stage with his trusty accordion; he took home the title of “Mr. SMC” in the fall with another impressive accordion act.
“I’m still very surprised because there were so many good acts,” Meyer says. “I just figured I was gonna have some fun. I actually thought it was next week, so I didn’t really feel that well-prepared.”
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First-year Gerhard Meyer rocks out with his accordion to take home first place. (Photo by Kaitlin Couillard) |
Meyer didn’t plan on trying out for the show, but friends encouraged him to perform an act with his accordion, so he did it for fun, he says.
There are 14 other instruments that Meyer plays, such as the drums, electric guitar and piano, he says. To take home the gold he played “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, “Sandstorm” by Darude, “Jump” by Van Halen and “Sweetest Girl ” by Wyclef Jean.
“The audition was scarier than the show itself,” Meyer says. “It was more like American Idol cause they weren’t cheering crazy they were just watching so it was just unnerving.”
Meyers says the judges were lined up as each act went on stage to try out.
“I actually messed up when I tried out so I didn’t think I would make it,” he says.
The A Capella group, Mike Check, won second place for its performance. Third place went to Trevor Ashe who did a series of dances to songs such as Greased Lightning, Michael Jackson tunes, and the classic boy band N’Sync.
“I thought I was going to get a Dunkin Donuts gift certificate or something, but word is that it may be a big cash money prize,” Meyer says.
Take a bow
“There were 22 groups altogether that auditioned in the beginning of the semester,” Tran says. “We started early and there was a lot of time and energy put into this to make sure everything went smoothly.”
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A full house at McCarthy Arts Center went wild as the show came to a close. (Photo by Kaitlin Couillard) |
Aside from the Harvest Carnival, which is a celebration in October that provides fun for children with a Halloween theme, the talent show is the second biggest fund-raiser for the Martin Luther King Society, St. Louis says .
“The goal for the show isn’t as much about fund-raising as it is to give students a venue to show talents to their peers," St. Louis says. "There’s a wealth of talent at this school, and it’s a great way to get kids involved.”
The money earned from the show will go toward a Martin Luther King Society scholarship program that awards money to students in crisis sitations.It may also be donated to an orphanage or help fund M.O.V.E trips, St. Louis says.