St Anne's Has Got Talent was organised by a group of Matric girls ' Kirsty Gourlay, Georgina Edwards, Lauren Allen and Zizile Mthethwa ' as part of their music continuous assessment mark. The task was to arrange and co-ordinate a musical production. Along the same vein as the popular television show in America and Britain, the girls hand-picked a selection of students at the end of an audition process, across a variety of disciplines, to perform in front of a panel of judges.
With the advice of Mark Stenhouse and Jeff Judge, the show took place on Friday, 13 May in front of the school. The judges were singing teacher and notable vocalist Tracy Stark, and final year music student and hugely talented jazz performer, Jonathan Judge. Unlike its televisual counterpart, St Anne's Has Got Talent did not have individual crits of each performer at the end of each segment. Rather, comments were briefly made at the end of the show, before announcing the winner. The result was a successfully-staged performance in music and dance. The show was an expos?? of St Anne's talent in a number of genres ranging from contemporary dance and hip-hop to piano, singing and marimbas.
Opening with the marimbas got the crowd on their feet, as the ideal opener for the evening. What followed was a plethora of the popular, the beautiful, the well-delivered, controlled, funky and harmonious. The variety made for the undivided attention of every member of the audience, as the rehearsal and energy of the performers was appreciated by their peers. The poise and delivery of every girl on stage is commendable and, as judge Tracy Stark made mention during the award ceremony, it is no small feat to perform on stage in front of such an audience ' something that takes courage and skill. This was undoubtedly made easier by the support and praise from their peers on the night.
The night was won by Tania and Sphe's wild, contemporary dance, including formidable break dance moves, with a slick sophistication. Their dance was brilliantly choreographed and they obviously enjoyed performing. The audience went crazy with applause, setting the benchmark and making the decision of the judges relatively easy in terms of their popularity.
Before the show, Jonathan Judge commented, "Talent only enables us to practise more efficiently – it doesn't give us an excuse to coast along. Nothing in life worth doing is ever easy." The performers and organisers of St Anne's Has Got Talent are proof of the successful outcome of preparation and perseverance – the night becoming a showcase of the undeniable talent amongst the girls and the hard work associated with putting on a production of this calibre.