Britain may have talent; the U.S. may have talent, but Rossland DEFINITELY has talent.
And that talent was showcased on Thursday night at the Rossland Summit School’s (RSS) Variety Show, sponsored by Youth Action Network and the Nearly Players.
The auditorium filled with locals, anxious to see their progeny on stage; and no one was disappointed.
Right from the percussions of the RSS Band (grades 5 to 9), led by Rita Cain, to the closing performance by Kootenay Dance Works, young people showed off their myriad abilities in vocals, musical instruments, dance, gymnastics and video.
India Normes was the first soloist on stage, whistling and playing her violin, providing a cute rendition of “Little Liza Jane.” Grace Markle and Michaela McLean followed with a duet of “Beautiful.”
Separate ballet performances by Brynn Streadwick, Emilia Hofmann and duo Sally Turnbull and Charlotte McKay were exceptional. And the audience was treated to several other dance numbers by members of Kootenay Dance Works including a jazz piece called “Chocolat” and a comical animated musical theatre performance called “Coffee Break.”
Vocals by Delaney Bowman, Jaeden DeMelo, Madeline Grace-Wood, Brian Chan, Maggie Chan, and Tyra Delaire and Brad McKay were all really well done; as was the flawless rendition of Adele’s “Someone Like You” by Eillen Leduc and Timothy Chan on piano.
A gymnastic feat that had people scratching their heads and wondering “how does she do that?” was accomplished by Sofia Olson.
Anais Adams, Lisa Bruckmeier, Tatum Clement, Marguerite Helberg, Maya Maturo, Lauren Smith-Anderson and Brynn Streadwick made up a delightful group of recorders.
The music department’s Drum Minors, featuring Noah DeMelo, Evan Mudie and Nik Nelson made up a marching band with two numbers: “The British Grenadiers” and “Blood Upon the Risers.”
Fiddler Gabe Mann played: “Reel de Issoudun” and “Swallowtail Jig.”
And while music and dance took up most of the evening, the talents of a number of videographers was also displayed. Connor Dunham produced a cute video called “Life of Chair” mimicking a loner who eventually plunges himself off a balcony. Calem Scott and James Klemmensen each showed what could be done using special effects for fight scenes, and head cams for some dangerous downhill antics of snowboarding.
Just after intermission, Liam Barnes, Kalais Rawsthorne, Travis Watson, Julian Zimmer and Justin Zimmer defied gravity by providing a parkour demonstration which is a unique form of tumbling. The guys are offering lessons in this fairly new training discipline on Mondays from 6 to 9 p.m. at the school.
All RSS students displayed such confidence, even when (rarely) fluffing a line or missing a note, they smiled, giggled or otherwise carried on.
The evening was MC’d by Indy D’Aigle and September Stefani who kept the show moving and the audience entertained.
The show was produced solely by students who also handled sound, lighting, stage management, projection and front-of-house. Proceeds from the event support the RSS Drama Department’s trip to Vancouver.