The auditorium buzzed with excitement as the audience cheered on Rocky students who competed for the title of “Rockys Most Talented.” On March 12th, Rocky Mountain hosted its annual “Rockys Got Talent” and it lived up to its name. After advertising, auditioning, and rehearsing, twelve acts that consisted of singing, dancing, and other various talents took the stage. These acts kept the audience laughing, crying, and clapping all the way though. Olivia Ford, a Rocky Mountain student who watched the talent show said, “The most exciting thing about seeing these shows is knowing my school has so much talent. The talent at rocky is unmatched.” The contestants spoke of the school spirit that was felt both on and off the stage.
“It was the most amazing feeling. I cannot even describe it. Being up there with my sister and friend, and having everyone laugh, cheer, relish in, and enjoy our performance, felt like nothing I have ever quite felt before. I loved it with all my heart, and forever from this day shall I remember it as one of the most cherished nights of my life.” Said contestant Faith Coates. This talent show meant a lot more to contestants than just a way to perform, and for many it provided a way to express themselves and reach people in a fun and creative way.
Coates wasn’t the only contestant who felt the connection. Jillian Andersen was one contestant who used the stage as more than just a way to perform. Andersen used her spotlight to deliver a powerful singing performance, later saying, “I’m so grateful that I could perform in the talent show. I guess I wanted to “prove” to other people that you can be yourself and still have great talents too. You don’t need to hide who you are!” From the days leading up to the show, to the night of, the stage was filled with performers who were there for each other. Andersen added, “My favorite thing about being in the show was being backstage with everyone else and watching the other talents. While backstage we were hyping each other up and it was a really cool experience.”
However, even with all the fun and excitement, the seemly flawless performances came with a lot more work, struggle, and time than what the audience would see on stage. The room was full of talented performers, but each act came with its own setbacks and struggles. Ryker Dean, with his juggling acting placing third, said “I think that my biggest obstacle was my lack of experience creating and performing routines. I took a long time to choose the music and to write the routine, so it wasn’t even completely finished by tryouts.” However, the obstacles were worth overcoming as he said, “it was really awesome to know that all the work I had put into my performance had paid off.” Dean wasn’t the only one who worked through difficulties to put on a great show. Mr. Quam, the director since 2018, was in charge of presenting a variety of different talents while creating a cohesive show. “Every year when I start to think that it’s too much work and not enough of a return on the investment, seeing how much it means to the performers is so fulfilling and makes me want to do it again in spite of the headache putting on a show like this every year brings.” Quam said. He added, “I think the biggest thing I want the audience to take away is a sense of excitement and joy. For the contestants, I hope they all take away that they are good enough, they are awesome, and that they were able to give their all, put themselves out there and show-off a little.”
