Loveland Kiwanis Club holds auditions for its annual talent show

Loveland, Colorado, Reporter Herald
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?id=21936

Loveland sisters Kristen and Lauren Adlhoch were not nervous Saturday about singing in front of three judges for the Stars of Tomorrow audition.

Kristen, 16, and Lauren, 15, both Thompson Valley High School students, had tried out for the Kiwanis Club of Loveland’s annual talent show the past two years.

The difference this year is they performed a duet instead of trying out solo, singing “When You Believe” from “The Prince of Egypt.”

“I like the expression you put into it and making it your own song,” Kristen said after their morning performance.

The Kiwanis Club started the Stars of Tomorrow show in 1962 to showcase the talent of Loveland and Berthoud students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

This year’s show is March 28 at Thompson Valley High School.

Eighteen of the approximately 40 students who auditioned Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Loveland will be in the show. Last year, more than 50 students auditioned.

“It’s unbelievable, the talent,” said Wythe Hull, president-elect and chair of the Stars of Tomorrow show.

The students tried out by grade level — elementary, middle school and high school. Each had five minutes to give his or her performance before three judges, all Kiwanis members or family and friends of Kiwanians.

This year, the students sang, danced, played instruments and acted.

The judges assessed their performances in four categories: presentation, talent and technique, selection of material, and general impression overall.

They selected six students from each grade level, making their final decision Saturday. They will send out letters this week to notify the winners.

High school judge Kirk Johnson, a Kiwanis member of three years, said he likes it when students create their own work, then perform it. And he likes to see them dressed as they would be for a performance.

“To sing someone else’s song is one thing, but to make your own is a whole other level,” Johnson said.

Middle school judge Nancy Townsend, a Kiwanian for more than 10 years, likes to see students confident on stage and performing without obvious effort.

“It’s the combination of the talent and the flair for performance,” Townsend said.

One of the middle schoolers who auditioned, Stephanie Francis, a seventh-grader at Lucile Erwin Middle School, leaned into her moves and used her hands to express herself, singing, “I’m Not That Girl” from “Wicked.”

“It’s just really fun, and it’s a good way to express myself,” said Stephanie, 12.

Sixteen-year-old Aubree Bullock picked her grandfather’s favorite song, “At Last,” by Etta James.

“It’s a free feeling. It’s fun to do,” said Aubree, a sophomore at Mountain View High School.

The winners of the Stars of Tomorrow show will receive recognition awards at the elementary level and first- through third-place trophies at the middle and high school levels.

The high school winners also will receive scholarships, the amount based on their rank, from $600 to $1,000.