By Anndy Serrano
This year’s school talent show took me by surprise. I actually thought it would be just people singing and people dancing, and for most of the show it was. But this talent show actually showed MCSM’s true colors. As much time as we dedicate to our academic goals, we still find time to develop skills in the creative and performing arts.
While this event centered around the true and natural talents of MCSM students, some of our teachers chose to perform as well! Humanities teacher Mr. Tramm runs the school’s Music Club, but he also played electric guitar and percussion with his band as they performed pop hits and backed up various vocalists. As a special surprise, Assistant Principal Salek took center stage as a solo act, performing classical pieces on acoustic Spanish guitar. Nevertheless it was our students who brought the real star power to the show.
There was Stephanie Hernandez playing “Havana” (by Camilia) on her violin, and she really killed it out there. I was jamming out as if I were at a concert listening to the graceful yet powerful sound of her strings. She was phenomenal, and above all wonderful to hear.
Along with a girl and a violin, there was a girl with a ukulele. Wendelyn Munoz played “Shut Up and Dance with Me,” and I have to say although I’ve seen Wendelyn’s performances before, this one knocked it out of the park. I was so impressed by the way she sang and played so flawlessly that I wanted to go up on stage and give her a huge hug. There may be a thousand ways to describe her performance, but no description conveys its emotional impact.
The K-pop dancer named Samina Ahmed did such a great job nailing those fancy dance steps from Imported videos, that I got up from my seat to dance as well. Personally, I am not a fan of Korean pop music, but she made it fun to hear and to watch. She was very confident up there, and she hit every beat with a cool dance move that I didn’t even know existed!
The Cultural Diffusion Dance Mix Group made me give them a loud scream and a standing ovation. This performance actually mixed Latin and South Asian cultures, ultimately creating a recipe for delight. There was romance, there was excitement, and most importantly, the dancers put so much sincere passion into their time on stage. Bidisha Majumder, Threna Baishnab, Bryan Ramirez, and Wesser Santos were in full costume and had several stories to tell. They told them so well that their routine spoke clearly to me. I tip my hat to them, well done!
Both the MCSM Dance Team and Step Troupe also did an impressive job in their separate presentations. Their bold choreography seemed to borrow either from Afro-Caribbean and hip hop dancing or black college fraternity traditions. Both groups were clearly motivated by an uplifting energy that showed that they were ready to make the whole crowd shake to their bones. (I know I was shaken, because I actually got chills when I watched them.. It was the mix of diverse dance moves that blew me away, because they represented what MCSM students can actually do: they can make a whole crowd go wild while just having fun.
Whether rapping, singing, dancing, or emceeing, our classmates rocked the house. You could see the hard work it took each performer to learn songs, complex choreography, and other forms of stagecraft for this event. So it was good to see their courageous efforts rewarded by the enthusiastic applause and attention of audience members from every sector of the MCSM community.