Local Stars Shine

recent talent show gave many children the opportunity to take the stage.

Talent shows are typical staples of warmer months at the library, but Head of Children’s Services Linda Dashnaw decided to give this popular summer activity a try in wintertime.

Though hopeful, Dashnaw was unsure about the level of interest such a show would have during the school year. Concerns were put to rest on Feb. 24, when eager participants filled the large meeting room to share their talents. Dashnaw, who hosted the evening’s festivities, described having shivers due to the “great turnout.”

The library began taking registrations from elementary school students nearly a month in advance, and Dashnaw requested that performers limit the length of acts to less than five minutes, ensuring time for all. Everyone was respectful of the time and the 18-act show wrapped up in just under two hours.

The audience could not have asked for more variety. Children displayed talents in areas that included recitations of Theodore Roosevelt’s life history and the Shel Silverstein poem “Snowball,” solo and ensemble dances, stand-up comedy skits, renditions of hit singles, and gymnastic routines filled with cartwheels, handstands and splits.

Audience members, which included parents, friends and participants alike, beamed with pride.

Shaila Verma of Shrewsbury, who teaches dance in town, choreographed two Indian bollywood dance programs for the show. Wearing shimmering gold costumes, her two children 8-year-old Victor and 5-year-old Zahara Nicole performed in an ensemble with eight other dancers. Zahara Nicole admitted to being both nervous and excited. “She’s been dancing since she was 3,” her mother said.

Vidyut Veedgav, 6, of Shrewsbury, wowed the crowd with three selections on his violin. “I’ve been playing for two years,” he said. 

Good friends Alizah Usmani of Northboro and Hansini Kumar of Shrewsbury, both 9, shared four humorous mini-skits, each with a peanut butter theme. “We did it in two days,” said Kumar, referring to the amount of time they needed to create and practice the plays.

As for performing in front of such a large group of people, “At first we were kind of nervous, but then we got the confidence that we could do it,” Usmani said. Having put on a puppet show together last year, the pair was not new to the stage and are already contemplating another act, hoping to delight next summer’s talent show audience.