Richmond Multicultural Community Services (RMCS) hosted the second audition for the Culture Club Diversity Talent Show on Wednesday January 30^th 2013. The goal of this talent show is to provide youth with a platform to express and celebrate diversity through the arts (dance, drama, music, song, etc). The auditions are open to Richmond youth aged 13-24. The top 10 finalists will perform at Gateway Theatre on February 28^th 2013. Youth reporter, Caitlyn Lam, fills us in on how the second audition went.

Splendid Seconds

by Caitlyn Lam

The second auditions were extremely entertaining and definitely showed the diversity of talent in the city. We witnessed seven acts – acrobats, singing, dancing, instrumental music, and even a poem!

A group of eight girls from J.N. Burnett Secondary school were dressed in a uniform white t-shirt with a golden heart (thus their group name iHeart) and white denim shorts. Their dance to a Korean song was really upbeat and showcased girl power and the ability to be confident in loving themselves! I really enjoyed the way they added sass into their movements and their poker faces. Jon Lee-Son, one of the judges, commented on his appreciation of how they all held hands when they took a bow at the end to represent unity. Deirdra Kiai, another judge, loved their performance and commented on the synchronized choreography, but wishes for more facial expressions and perhaps more connection with the audience.

Cindy Ye played an instrumental traditional Chinese song that “shows her culture because it is so well known.” Seeing as it is played on a recorder, I thought she played it extremely well: the sound was crystal clear and the notes were played to their full value, meaning there was no awkward pauses in between. She even had the piece memorized! Deirdra praised her, saying that she has a “really consistent, nice tone throughout on the recorder, even on the high notes!”

The last performance was the most memorable in my opinion. 14-year-old Angelica Poversky wrote her own poems and read them out! Her clear and strong voice held so much emotion; you could hear the passion bursting from within, and understood that she meant every single word. The three judges were blown away by her poems, all stated that she was amazing and passed their scale of expectation.

All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed watching all the performances and learnt a bit about each contestant. The final audition is coming up on the 20^th of February, and I can’t wait to see what’s left!

The Top 10 finalists will be announced at the audition on February 20^th and tickets for the Grand Finale on will be on sale. Plus, you the audience will be the 5^th judge at that Grand Finale and can help decide who the winner will be. Tickets are $5 for youth/senior and $7 for adults. The Grand Finale is at Gateway Theatre on Thursday February 28 2013.

This project is funded through the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.