CV Spotlight shines
Colorful lights outline a silhouette walking out onto the stage, a crowd roars with applause. As the audience quiets, the individual on stage gulps, hoping to remember their act. Looking out into a sea of darkened faces and a blinding spotlight, they begin, their performance leaves the theater breathless. This is the experience of a performer at CV Spotlight!
CV Spotlight, a student-run talent show, is a combination of the efforts of the Tri-M club, DECA, Music Production, and Music Transcends. On Friday, Jan. 20, over 50 student performers wowed the crowd, spanning 16 unique acts showcasing students’ talents.
Cynthia Pan, a member of DECA, was one of two emcees this year. Along with her co-host, Annie Moore, she introduced the acts and provided banter during stage transitions. She recalled how CV Spotlight originated last year.
“Last year, between all of the clubs, we were talking about doing a talent show. DECA originally did a talent show every year before the pandemic. So, second semester, we were thinking of a way to bring it back. DECA and the Tri-M Music Coalition got together and we started planning CV Spotlight. The first one was last year, and we’re trying to make it an annual event,” Pan remarked.
Ailin Chen, vice president of both DECA and Music Production Club, worked as a primary event coordinator. Along with planners such as Jesse Wu and Austin Chan, a lot of effort was put into organizing the show.
“I’m proud of both the performers and my fellow event coordinators for the time and dedication we’ve put in. Jesse and I would stay on call for hours until 2 a.m. planning this, so at the very least I think we should be proud of that. Austin was also a huge help. He was always ready to sub whenever someone was out, or help me as a runner,” Chen recalled.
“It was my first time running an event on such a massive level, and it was only the second CV Spotlight. I’m grateful our performers were cooperative and for how the clubs came together, in the end, to pull off the show,” she reflected.
Chen gave thanks to Hope Leung, the ASL interpreter. She also acknowledged how thankful she was for Keita Hasegawa, music director: “He always made sure we stayed on schedule and were doing what we needed to.”
Karen Cheung sang “Gentle Comet” by Yoasobi; a song in Japanese!
“It’s been an experience trying to practice and, you know, just perform a song [in a language] that I don’t speak fluently,” Cheung said.
Going into the show, she was definitely nervous.
“I’m always nervous, but this year I’m like ‘Oh, I’m a senior, I should try putting myself out there’, and [so I’ve been] inviting all my friends to come listen to me sing!”
Miriam Kuehner, Courtney Bosco, Bronson Burfield, Kyle Jordan, and Owen Seidel, played two songs as a brass quintet. They played a song from the “Legend of Zelda,” “Song of Storms,” but also a more classical piece, “Adagio in A-flat major.”
Although playing as a group could present challenges, Keuhner felt they got along well.
“We’re all really good friends,” Keuhner stated.
“I think we sound amazing together,” Bosco confessed.
Before the performance, Keuhner remarked, “I guess I’m a little nervous, just because of, you know, being on stage. But I feel confident with the music.”
Lillian Sequeira danced to “Charishnu,” with a classical Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam.
She felt “excited to be bringing something new to the CV stage that I feel I haven’t seen too much from the rest of my peers.”
Sequeira felt confident leading into the show.
“The song is entertaining, the dance is entertaining, and I’m feeling good about what I’m putting out on stage,” she declared.
Tara Tse, Hannah Thai, Tony Mei, Jesse Wu, Lily Zhou, Jason Guo, and Daniel Huang, worked hard to prepare for the last performance of the show, “Libertango.”
Tse describes the piece as “really cool, and will definitely leave a good impression. It’s really high energy and hype!”
After its second successful iteration, CV Spotlight has proved to be an excellent opportunity to showcase the student talent at CVHS!