Mack Lyon Middle Schoolers Have Got Talent

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

Mack Lyon Middle School held a talent show last week which was based off the popular TV show, “America’s Got Talent.” The event showcased the varied talents of the Lyon student body.

Organized and hosted by the school’s BETA club the talent show took place during a Friday assembly. BETA advisor Crystal Blackwell said that she was impressed by the auditions. Because the assembly period only allowed for about half an hour of performance time, the entire program had to be limited to only twelve acts. Each act was given an average of less than 3 minutes to perform.

The show began with a number by the school’s choir, under the direction of Walter White. This was followed by an original poem written by student Grace Rhude and performed by Rhude and Jennika Zerkle.

Rhude’s poem was entitled, “Who I Am” and talked about being comfortable with who you are instead of letting other people’s opinions color your perceptions. Rhude said she wrote the poem because, “It has a great message that everyone needs to hear. You should never judge a book by its cover and you should be proud to be who you are.”

Next was a musical act by Whitney Waite and Rebecca Marshall. They sang a duet called, “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars while accompanying themselves with some impressive ukelele playing. They were followed by a very skilled Irish step dancing routine by Celeste Leavitt who showed the combined grace and athleticism that makes up this genre.

Cheyenne Bayles, Cece Byers, and Sage Overson were next, combining their musical talents and singing, “Wise Men Say” by Elvis Presley while playing their own ukelele accompaniment. The girls utilized both melody and harmony to really impress the crowd.

Jaidyn Achong and Jenna Fox lightened things up as they danced to “Space Unicorn.” The girls dressed in very colorful rainbow outfits complete with unicorn horn headpieces. They performed a number they choreographed themselves.
“We decided to be in the show because we thought it would be fun and it was a lot of fun,” Fox said. “I think the funnest part for me, though, was picking out the costume online and then getting to wear it.”

The mood switched back to serious for the next act: a musical trio of Aimee Eval, Jennika Zerkle, and Grace Rhude. The three middle school girls sang while being accompanied by Eval’s talented older sister, Alyssa, on the guitar.

They were followed by Alyssa Jolley and Allison Mills, who kept the momentum going with their rendition of vocal duet, “Say Something” by Great Big World.

Cody Carter gave the show some rhythm with his stunt dancing. He started out quietly and let the suspense build and when the music exploded, he also exploded in a series of gravity defying moves that had the whole student body clapping and cheering.

Savannah Aikele borrowed her older sister Aubrey as a duet partner for a fast-moving piano duet that included a section played with elbows and switching places on the piano bench.
They were followed by Laurana Bush, who took the stage as a solo act, singing, “Let’s Just Live” by Jeff Williams.

The final number was Iain McMurray, who wowed the crowd with a mind-reading act. McMurray invited three volunteers to the stage floor and gave them a white board to write their answers on. He managed to correctly guess what they had written every time, astounding the audience.

The event was enjoyed by staff, students, and performers alike. BETA club president Savannah Aikele, who also performed, explained why the club does the event. “It’s really fun to see other kids’ talents,” she said. “It was a fun program to put together and it wasn’t too much work because we assigned out all the jobs. It was fun to work together to make things turn out great.”