Bowler 5th Grade Talent Show Full Of Surprises

By GWENDOLYN WEILER

Moapa Valley Progress

Fifth grader, Topher Houston sits at the piano in the Grant M. Bowler Elementary School cafeteria. His heart is racing as he plays Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive to the standing room-only crowd that has come to watch the 2:00 p.m. performance of the annual Fifth Grade Talent Show held Wednesday, May 23.
“I felt scared and nervous that I’d mess up,” he said, “but I just kept playing because I had to share my talent.”

The Talent Show is the final of four events that comprise the fifth-grade capstone experience—the other three being the Mathlete, the Science Bowl and the Spelling Bee.

More than 50 fifth graders participated in the talent show this year, which required that the performance be split into two time slots—10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.—in order to accomodate all the performances. In addition to several piano and other instrumental performances, there were synchronized “swimmers,” masked bucket-drummers, tap dancing ghosts, comedians, ballerinas, and even a parody of the talent show itself.

Arica Cook, the fifth-grade teacher who managed the event, said, “We didn’t give them any parameters of what they had to do. They just had to sign up for a day and come audition. Basically, if they tried out, they made it because they were doing something they liked.”

Dustin Davies came to watch his daughter, Peyton Davies, play the violin at the 2:00 pm show. He said her willingness to participate set a good example for her three younger siblings—two of which also attend the elementary school and play instruments themselves. “She is showing them that if you put hard work into something, you can accomplish your goals,” he said.

Frank Bush, who played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on the piano during the 10:00 a.m. performance, is the youngest of three children and said he signed up to keep the family tradition going. “Both of my sisters did it, so I wanted to participate, too,” he said.
His mother, Shannon Bush, said she was surprised when Frank said he was going to play the piano for the talent show because he’s never had any lessons. She related, “He just said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got it got it covered, Mom.’”

That wasn’t the only surprise this year. Cook said the finale act, a group of eight boys re-enacting the dance scene from the movie Napoleon Dynamite, was completely unexpected. “They’re very sport-oriented boys,” said Cook, “so going and doing this skit—a dance!—was totally different from their normal personalities. But it was fun, and that was the one all the kids wanted to see.”

Jennifer Williams, whose daughter Lauren Williams was one of the MCs and also participated in the Airheads skit with friends, said she appreciates that the fifth graders are given the opportunity to build their confidence before moving on. “If they’re brave enough and confident enough to get up in front of everyone to do this,” she said, “they can take that confidence with them throughout middle school—because middle school’s tough sometimes.”