It was a packed house at P.S. 89 on Saturday afternoon as students took the stage for the school’s ninth annual talent show. Over 125 kids, ranging from kindergarten to 5th grade, danced, sang, played and joked their way to enthusiastic rounds of applause from the audience.
The younger students performed first, and Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus were among some of the favored artist choices. First grader Georgia Cropper wasn’t nervous when it came to showing off her dance skills to “Butterfly Fly Away” as her classmates and their families looked on. She said it helped to have friends Alli Kiehl and Noelia Flores on stage with her.
The second half of the show, featuring the upperclassmen, began with a rendition of Seasons of Love performed by the P.S. 89 Choristers. Rob Ridgell of the Trinity Youth Chorus directed the group, assisted by Welsey Chinn and Ray Bailey.
Dave Packer of CBS Radio emceed the event.
“Three years ago, I hosted it for the first time,” he explained, when his daughter Jude was a kindergartener at P.S. 89. “They needed a host for the show and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Jude, now 8, has performed in the show for the past three years playing piano. “I was a little nervous,” she admitted, but having her dad looking on from backstage was encouraging.
Parent Wade Watson, head of the talent show committee, believes that the annual show has had a huge impact on the students in years past.
“Living in the shadows of Broadway, it’s great to have this theater. It’s a fantastic theater here at P.S. 89…I think the kids really look forward to this event,” Watson said.
He credits the talent show and the school’s music program with nurturing the students’ artistic endeavors. Three talent show veterans, including Watson’s daughter Christina, will be attending the Professional Performing Arts School next fall.
Over the years, the show has grown into a bigger production with professional sound, lighting and video crews. Ukera S. Correia is a freelance audio technician that has been involved with the school’s talent show for the past four years.
“[The kids] are great,” he said. “Seeing the young kids sing and dance, and the older kids playing the violin…they are good. They’ll probably be at Lincoln Center one day.”
— Kristin Schiller
