Written by Jordan Hanson
It’s not news that Roanoke College is full of talented people. Last Friday, many of them took to the stage.
The Roanoke College Campus Activities Board hosted its third annual Roanoke’s Got Talent competition in the Alumni Gym.
The audience’s excited voices echoed off the wood floors of the gym in the minutes before the show started. Many families and friends attended.
The show was set up to resemble America’s Got Talent, with a panel of three judges made up of RC faculty members, as well as a large projector screen that showed video clips from the contestant’s auditions.
As each contestant took to the stage, they were introduced and began their act. Under the bright lights, as the gym darkened with the sunset, the performances seemed almost magical. Some contestants appeared nervous, and some were completely confident, but everyone seemed to gain strength throughout their performance. The audience cheered for the talented contestants, and after each act, the three judges gave positive and constructive comments.
Many of the performances during the show were musical. Each singer had their own unique voice, ranging from powerful and emotional to folk-style. There was also a dance number with flashy outfits and a catchy soundtrack.
Senior Jose Alvarado was completely mute for his comedy performance and brought up audience members to be part of his shenanigans. He also showed off some smooth dance moves to a Michael Jackson song.
After the final act, the audience was handed notecards and pens and told to cast their own votes. Everyone wrote a name on the notecard, and passed them back to the crew to be counted. After a few minutes, it was time for the victors to be announced.
Third place went to seniors Mars Woddail and JD Shaw for their singing and guitar performance. Second place went to sophomore Bri Manigault-King for her musical performance, and Alvarado took home first place with his energetic, confetti-flying, and moonwalking madness.
When asked later about how she felt about her performance, Manigault-King said, “It was amazing to do something that I love in front of people that I love.” She said that she felt confident about her performance, and that she is “looking forward to potentially performing again next year.”
