Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Students showed off their talent during the annual homecoming taken show

Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Comedian Jay Dukes hosted the Homecoming Planning Committee's annual talent show at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2 in the Academic Hall auditorium.
Photo by Danielle Brown

Acrobatic martial arts movements, traditional cultural dancing, quirky impersonations and exhilarating vocal interpretations dominated Academic Hall’s stage on Tuesday, Nov. 2, while students competed against one another for a coveted $100 cash prize in the Homecoming Planning Committee’s annual homecoming talent show.

More than 150 people filled the auditorium with laughs as comedian Jay Dukes served as the master of ceremony for the evening. Throughout the evening, Dukes told a variety of jokes, and even managed to get the crowd singing and dancing along to nostalgic ’90s music, such as the theme song from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The ’90s jam session ended with a dance segment from the smash-hit single “JuJu On That Beat” by Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall.

The men of Sigma Chi and the ladies of Alpha Chi Omega collaborated with one another, performing vocally using instrumentals, violins and guitars as they sang the tunes of “Hey Brother” by Avicii and “Down to the River to Pray” by Alison Krauss.

Sophomore Ricardo Ashimi seeks crowd participation as he attempts to jump over Homecoming Planning Committee president Destiny Tulo-Lang's back during his Brazilian martial arts routine at the Homecoming Planning Committe's annual talent show at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2 in the Academic Hall auditorium.
Photo by Danielle Brown

Sophomore Ricardo Ashimi had the crowd in awe during his Brazilian martial arts routine comprised of acrobatic flips and kicks. Ashimi even had Homecoming Planning Committee president Destiny Tulo-Lang volunteer while he attempted a flip over her back as she bent down.

Freshman Amber Vandeven was anything but shy as she commanded all of the audience’s attention in her soulful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 classic “Hallelujah.“ A standing ovation followed after Vandeven’s powerful performance.

Bollywood dancing took center stage at the show when students Kanchan Tomar, Mannat Varshney, Sherwin Christian and Raghan Juneja demonstrated moves incorparating traditional Indian styles of Bollywood dancing. Avradita Mukerjee was another participant who chose Bollywood dancing as her talent.

Senior Keyeon Pitts sang "My Shot" from the Broadway musical "Hamilton" at the Homecoming Planning Committee's annual talent show at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 in the Academic Hall auditorium.
Photo by Danielle Brown

Senior Keyeon Pitts brought his own individual flair to an instrumental with the Broadway musical “Hamilton” single “My Shot.” Dukes even congratulated Pitts on his performance simply for having the courage to perform.

The “King of Pop” was channeled through Kylie Toerpe and Matt Dollard’s acoustic and vocal performance of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

A dance routine full of leaps, turns and an array of other dramatic movements was the talent that Sophomore Sidney Robertson chose as she danced to the sounds of “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation.

Mannat Varshney performed a traditional Bollywood routine at the Homecoming Planning Committee's annual talent show at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 in the Academic Hall auditorium.
Photo by Danielle Brown

“The Cat In The Hat” was read in a quirky manner when Student Government Association president Peyton Mogley read the children’s book using different vocal impersonations.

Freshman Connor Scott closed the show with his emotional rendition of the X Ambassadors’ love ballad “Unsteady.”

Three cash prizes were given to contestants, along with an audience choice award. Amber Vandeven won first place, Sigma Chi and Alpha Chi won second place and Sidney Robertson won third place. Kylie Toerpe and Matt Dollard were the winners of the audience choice award.

College can be quite stressful at times. Vandeven said coming in first place helped put her in a better mood.

“It feels really good [to win]. I’ve been kind of in a rut lately, so it feels good to win,” Vandeven said.

With the success of the event, it’s no surprise that Tulo-Lang was more than satisfied with the show’s outcome.

“I’m so happy with how it came together. I know the special events committee worked super, super hard on it, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” she said.

Tulo-Lang added that the overall goal of the show was to highlight the diverse talent Southeast has to offer.

Freshman La Keya Stevens was another person who was pleased with the event.

“It was really fun, I enjoyed myself,” she said.

For the rest of the week the Homecoming Planning Committee which hosts more events which include, Homecoming Field Day at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 3 in the Student Rec Center-North; the Homecoming Spirit Rally Dance Competition at 8 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 3 in the Student Rec Center-North and the Homecoming Parade which will be 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Capaha Park.

Comments