On Monday, February 4th, Morris Hills boasted its annual Gifted and Talented Showcase. Musicians, singers, and dancers had the chance to perform onstage in front of the entire school; this year, the show even included sign language. The event was emceed by Michael Colasurdo, who took it upon himself to rhyme all of his introductions.

The show started off with two songs performed by the band Atomic Inhaler. Shortly afterward, the MH Jazz Band took the audience’s breath away with their performance of “The Chicken,” which was conducted by band director Mr. Hartsuiker and featured solos by Luke Mattessich on trumpet, Billy Morris on guitar, Varun Gupta on bass guitar, and Sonia Casiano on percussion. Another instrumental performance included Theresa Zhang on piano. Outstanding vocal performances included those by Siri Vaddiparti and Alexis Santana. Katie Zhang sang “Rise Up” by Andra Day to inspire the crowd to persevere through obstacles, and Kamryn Koerner sang “I’m Not Afraid of Water.” Daniel Hall, better known by his stage name Trap Boi Brizzl, performed an original rap, and Hannah Ferguson sang an original piece and accompanied herself on the piano. Joe Gonzales also tinkled the ivories while he sang.

Bryan Cadavos sang and accompanied himself on guitar as did Sebastian Pucowski who sang and strummed along to “You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott. Katie Champagne brought a new element to the showcase with her performance signing to “Sleepwalking” by This Wild Life. Aria Moreno performed an interpretive dance, and Chris Coulter ended the showcase with his stellar tap routine.

Many of the performers have been singing, dancing, or playing an instrument for several years. Dancer Aria Moreno said, “This is my seventh year dancing at Generations of Dance in Landing, New Jersey. I started when I was 8 years old.” Moreno continued, “My favorite part about performing is telling a story through movement. I love how I do not have to say a single word yet the audience knows how I feel. It blows my mind every time I am on stage!”

Congratulations to all the performers for a fantastic showcase and a huge thank you to the crew, the student director Frankie Mastras, and the overall coordinator Ms. Bauer for all of their hard work. When asked about her favorite part of the show this year, Ms. Bauer said that seeing the entire student-led production run smoothly and completely absorb the attention of the audience was extremely satisfying. Hard work pays off!

Ms. Bauer also wishes to remind students that everyone is encouraged to audition for the GT Showcase, regardless of whether or not they are a part of the GT program at Morris Hills.