On Saturday, March 29, Trinity’s Student Programming Board hosted the annual talent show, Spotlight. This year’s show featured 14 different acts from a wide range of performance types, including singing, dancing, acting and even spoken poetry. Participants spent several weeks rehearsing in preparation for the show.
Junior Anna Van Buskirk, a member of the Acabellas, is used to performing for an audience, but she admits that the process leading up to Spotlight is much more involved than the acapella group’s average performance.
“The weeks leading up to Spotlight are consumed with work and rehearsals for our number. For the show, we create something special and completely our own. We choreograph our dance moves, arrange our own music and make our own costumes,” Van Buskirk said.
Judged by three Trinity professors, the show’s competitive nature added an extra element to the performance for many participants.
“Everything is black when you’re first on stage. Then the lights come on and you still can’t see anything, and you’re somehow even more nervous than you were backstage,” said sophomore Kirk Murrell, a member of Overheard acapella group.
When the time came for a winner to be announced, the dance crew Back to Basics took first place. Their act featured original hip-hop choreography set to a montage of songs, spanning several genres. The judges awarded second place to sophomores Sarah Yaccino and Imogen van der Werff for singing “The Prayer.” The Acabellas earned third place with their melody of songs from the Disney movie “Hercules.”
SPB hosts several events during the year, but Spotlight is one of its major events, receiving a very positive response from the student body. Around 800 audience members were present for this year’s “Survivor”-themed Spotlight.
“Many students don’t realize they are paying a student activity fee that helps finance a lot of our events,” said junior Jamie Banks, SPB traditions chair. “People should really take advantage of this and come out to more events. They’re always a lot of fun.”
