Students at the Resilience Academy had a chance to show off their talents in singing, playing instruments and poetry reading, all while being cheered on by their peers and teachers during the school’s Variety Show on May 29.
Before the show, dance and theater teacher Kathy Muenz and music teacher Angela Crisci encouraged the audience to dance and sing to Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “Empire State Of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
Principal Kiesha Tillman encouraged students in the audience to have fun, but also to be present by not using their cellphones and to support their classmates. She also gave some words of encouragement to the performers.
“Your focus is to perform and we are all excited to witness whatever talent you like to show us,” Tillman told the performers. “It’s hard being up here in front of everybody and it can be intimidating, so we’re going to give each other respect.”
Jax Jones, who played an acoustic cover of BØRNS’s “Electric Love,” was nervous to perform at first nearly dropping his guitar pick and had forgotten what to play next in the song, requiring him to start over. However, a friend of Jones’ encouraged him to keep going, which put him at ease. He adjusted his mic and finished on a high note.
“I was dealing with the fact that a whole room is staring at me, it was new for me,” Jones recalled. “I was like, ‘OK, they don’t care if I screw up, so I’m going to keep playing.’”
Many students and staff complimented Jones on his performance which made him confident to perform again and said he is considering performing original songs for a future show. He encouraged aspiring performers to take a chance, even if they do not get the feedback they want to hear.
“You’re going to get a reaction and then you can learn from it,” Jones said. “The talent show proved that I have a voice.”
The show wrapped up with everyone participating in the Cha-Cha Slide led by students in Kayla Kelly’s class.
