“No business like show business,” said Coach William Lacovara to the audience while hosting the Pine Bush High School’s Talent Show on Friday, Jan. 12 in the school auditorium.

With more than 20 acts to grace the stage, including singers, dancers, bands and poets, the PBHS Newspaper Club had no problem filling the many seats of the audience that came to support the participants and the club’s effort to raise funds to produce print editions of their weekly digital newspaper.

“We firstly put out a call for auditions and had about 20-25 kids come audition over two days to just make sure that their act was school appropriate and to get a sense of what they needed for their performance, so with two days of auditions and one rehearsal, here we are,” said Chris Passudetti, the PBHS teacher who organized the talent show.

This was the school’s second annual talent show returning to the stage of the auditorium as it had not occurred for a few years.

“There was a lot of excitement about the talent show and we actually sold about a couple of hundred tickets. It was a really big deal for these guys,” said Passudetti.

While for some of the students, it was their first time performing in front of a large audience, they all found different ways to cope with their nerves.

For Akeelah Moxam, who performed an original poem focused on women’s empowerment and consent, she tries to focus and not see the audience as singular people but instead as a whole. She takes deep breaths and slows down her pace since she recalls having the tendency of talking fast when she’s nervous, which makes her stutter or forget her words.

Camille Preval wowed the audience with her vocals singing Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” while Isaiah Fortune, also known as Zay Drilly, moved the crowd with his hype dance moves.

“I’ve been dancing since before I could even walk,” said Fortune. “Dancing is my dream.”

For students who weren’t used to showing their talents, the talent show was a safe space for them to come out of their shells and show the audience what they could do.

“I feel like a lot of people are shy in this school and so they hide their talents but it’s nice to know that the talent show can bring everyone together so that they can broadcast what they don’t usually show people,” said Moxam.

For Ariana Birch, who sang a song dedicated to her mother honoring the support that she gives her, her performance became a surprise for her mother.

Not only did the talent show provide a space for young talent to share their gifts, but it also encouraged unity and teamwork amongst the students all trying to create an amazing event in their school.

“I’m really excited to be here and I feel like this is definitely a great thing to bring all the community and students together and is a big bonding point for Pine Bush High School,” said Birch.

Leaving an impact on the audience is Aaron Scheonberg attempting to solve six Rubik’s cubes in three minutes, which he successfully completed. Having attempted to solve five Rubik’s cubes in three minutes the year before, Scheonberg came back on Friday and conquered himself.

“I saw my neighbor solving one cube one day and I thought it was so cool, so I asked for it for Christmas. Since I solved the first one, it was an addiction, so I started solving them faster and faster,” said Scheonberg, “I practiced with one cube for a while and then averaged one cube for about 23 seconds to solve, so that prepared me to put all six in and I did my best time on the stage tonight.”

The energy from the audience could not be contained. They screamed and shouted in excitement for all the acts that performed. They waved their phone lights in unison with many singers’ tunes and aided in a singer’s performance who asked for audience participation for her song.

Proud of their effort and performances on the stage, the participants left smiling from ear to ear and looking forward to a possible talent show again next year.