When Elgin High School junior Jonathan Miranda performed with dance partner senior Yasmin Rodriguez in the school’s talent competition, it was the first time he performed a Mexican folk dance without wearing a mask, allowing the audience to see his full face.
“Being able to express myself for the first time in front of an audience was pretty thrilling,” he said. “And being able to do it again is pretty exciting as well.”
As one of two winners selected at the high school competition, they get to perform their traditional dance again as part of U-46 TalentFest, an annual competition featuring top acts from each of the district’s five high schools.
“I was super excited,” Miranda said of being selected. “Just the possibility of expressing our culture and our tradition was really exciting to me. It was really thrilling.”
TalentFest 2022 will be held at 7 p.m. March 8 at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance or at the door.
With the exception of last year, TalentFest has been held annually since 2010. The top two acts selected from the talent shows at Bartlett High School, Elgin High School, Larkin High School, South Elgin High School and Streamwood High School compete against each other to take home a prize.
During the first part of the competition, all 10 acts perform. During intermission, audience members vote for their favorite acts. Performing during the intermission this year will be Mariachi Joya Dorada de U-46, which includes students from throughout U-46.
The five acts with the most votes then perform a second time, during which five judges evaluate them. Judges choose first, second and third place winners, who receive a cash prize and plaque. The school with the most votes combined between its two acts is awarded the traveling TalentFest Trophy.
The idea for the districtwide TalentFest came from a brainstorming session of the Hemmens Advisory Board after the recession.
“Those of us on the Hemmens Advisory Board were trying to come up with ideas for inexpensive programming that might be locally based that would enhance the Hemmens and of course the restaurants and places downtown that depend on the Hemmens, or at least benefit from it, and be very inexpensive to produce too,” Coordinator Jeff Grosser said.
Two things came out of that committee: Elgin Short Film Festival and TalentFest.
“Both totally different kinds of programs, but both arts-based and programs that have been proven to be successful,” Grosser said.
One of the real motivators for him, he said, was that he has always been an encourager of talent that wasn’t necessarily structured or included in traditional high school curriculum.
“Many of them have no outlet at the high school, in an organized sense,” Grosser said. “This is a chance for them to show their gifts and talents that they wouldn’t have an opportunity otherwise to show off.”
Among the unusual or unexpected acts that have participated in TalentFest over the years were yo-yo artists who entertained the audience.
This year’s competitors include a variety of dancers and musicians. In addition to Miranda and Rodriguez performing Mexican folk dance, Elgin High School senior Isabella Cornejo will perform hip-hop dance. From Streamwood High School, senior Sarvika Nalla will perform an Indian cultural dance and seniors Melanie Feliciano and Katie Cordon will perform a vocal duet.
Larkin High School seniors Joshua James and Kayla Griffin will perform a vocal duet, and senior Emvi Legaspi and sophomore Emialy Gilaspi will perform a vocal duet with piano. Representing Bartlett High School are junior Angel Salas performing vocals with guitar and senior Sophie Leo, also a vocalist.
South Elgin High School will be represented by Feather Report, a jazz band featuring seniors Andrew Hilario, Dylan Dankel, Collin Van Der Karr, Olivia Diehl and junior Christian Freehill; and The Can Line, a percussion line featuring juniors Christopher Avila, Gabbi Flynn, Anna Fleck and seniors Joe Lortie and Collin Van Der Karr.
“When I first did it I thought we would have a plethora of singers. But I’d say every show has proven to be a multifaceted talent show. And it’s just worked out that way,” Grosser said. “There’s no directive, we don’t screen the acts. Each school, from its talent show, choose what they feel are their two best acts. And it’s just worked out to be a nice variety of entertainment. Which I love, because it makes our show that much more interesting.”
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Judges for this year’s TalentFest are: Jaimie Giraldo, fine arts coordinator for School District U-46; Carlos Chavez, prevention specialist at the Ecker Center and chair of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Community Advisory Board; and Marlene Daubert, Deacon at Zion Lutheran Church, co-president of the Elgin branch of the AAUW, and board member of the U-46 Educational Foundation.
Student judges are Cami Jones and Brendan Losurdo, participants in the music program at St. Charles North High School.
U-46 TalentFest 2022
When: 7 p.m. March 8
Where: The Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin
Tickets: $5
Information: facebook.com/talentfestu46 or Hemmens.org
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.