From cool contemporary dance pieces to maddening magic tricks, an array of brilliant student performances graced Heritage High School’s third annual Talent Show last Thursday in the HHS auditorium. The school’s Leadership Performing Arts Committee organized the show, and utilized cutting-edge technology to create compelling lighting effects to highlight the performances.

Taking the stage were Cameron Bretz, Shelby Gruenburg, Nick Gallardo, Brian Kiar, Tisha Cunanan, Mason Guerrero, Krystiyanna Kabasinskas, Tyler Kendrick with Andrew Kalinoski, and Alyssa Canalita with Jared Calinisan. Judging the acts were Jose Madrigal, Dan Hanel, Chris Nelson, Michelle Lynch, Steve Ernest and Nicke Gebrowsky. The judges evaluated performances based on criteria such as stage presence, projection and entertainment value. “I saw some great talent tonight!” said Lynch.

It was a tough call, but the judges awarded Nick Gallardo third place for his beat stomping hip-hop dance to “Show Me The Money” by Petey Pablo. Second place went to Alyssa Canalita and Jared Calinisan for their elegant contemporary dance and piano piece “Apologize.” The first-place winner of the Heritage High School Talent Show went to Tyler Kendrick and Andrew Kalinowski for their hysterical duet on acoustic guitars entitled “What is Wrong With The World Today,” a song the boys wrote together.

When asked how it felt to have won, Andrew said, “If I could describe it with a food, I would describe it as rich hot fudge running over a cool vanilla ice cream.”

Despite his dazzling dance, third-place winner Nick Gallardo said, “I think I could have done a lot better; I could have felt the music more. I should have been more mentally alert.”

Shelby Gruenburg, a junior who sang and played the guitar, admitted she was “a little nervous at first, but then I got more comfy because I couldn’t see any one around me. I rehearsed my song for five months.”

“I think I performed pretty well,” said Brian Kiar, who astonished his audience with his magic tricks. “It took about two weeks to rehearse.”