Talented Students Present Great Show at Mt. Hope High School

It was a night of beautiful music – plus a trio of dance performances – as held its Talent Show Thursday evening, Feb. 17. Presented by the class of 2012, the annual event began with a lovely performance of “Romantic Flight” with Madison Cardoza on the Clarinet and Ricky Souza on the piano. It ended with physical education teacher Andrew Sabourin’s interesting rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Back to December.” In between was a wealth of musical talent, a fantastic dance performance by Taryn Lagarto, and excellent emceeing by hosts Jordan Farley, Audra Morrow and Jeremy Boutin.

If there were an award for persistence in the face of adversity, Jada Palmer and Mia Izhar would surely have won it.  The sound system failed midway though their rendition of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” and with the encouragement of an enthusiastic crowd, they barely missed a beat, finishing the song a capella. Gabrielle Davis likewise performed ably without accompaniment due to technical difficulties.

Victoria Carroll took home the top prize for the evening with her stirring performance of Beyonce’s interpretation of “Ave Maria.” Rachel Mascena was awarded second place for her excellent “Untitled” original song, and the multi-talented Bristol-Warren Patch contributor Ava Mascena took third place for her performance of “Rhythm of Love” by Plain White T’s.

Additional performances included Lindsey Thomas singing and playing guitar to “Lost Tree” by Versa Emerge. Ava Callery took to the stage twice, once with Tim Hanson, performing “Sparks” by Coldplay, and again with Tori Bedford for a lively rendition of “Valerie”. Andrea Pereira likewise delivered twice, first accompanying Alex O’Hanley on Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable,” and then showcasing her solo – and songwriting – skills with her own song, “Dance in Silence.” Desaray Skac belted out Paramore’s “Misery Business,” follwed by Victoria Ezikovich and Madison Cardoza’s performance of “Not Alone” by Darren Criss.

After a couple of false starts, Michaela Nerny’s performance of “The Show” by Lenka proved worth the wait, and Angie and Rachel Mascena’s gospel-inspired “Oh Happy Day” left the audience dancing in their seats. An athletic interpretive dance by Tommy Lombardo, Jared Cunha, and Zach Mota followed, as did Matt Silva and Nolan Ross’ “Dance Central.” Accompanied by a large video screen, Ross and Silva’s subtle moves only vaguely resembled the exaggerated moves of their on-screen avatars, creating an ironic juxtaposition and leaving the audience laughing.