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Song and dance unite teens during Celebrate Youth WeekBy PHYLLIS CODLINGHundreds of excited high school students gathered in the Norwalk Concert Hall on May 16 to cheer on their friends who participated in the first Four-Thwn TalentSearch.The event was the highlight of the area’s first Celebrate Youth Week, which included a series of events in Norwalk, Westport, Weston and Wilton.Of the events scheduled, theTalent Search was the only event during Celebrate Youth Week that brought kids from the four towns together. In all, there were 25 acts with nearly 75 teenagers performing for $200 cash prizes from seven area high schools, including Greens Farms Academy.The winners from the six categories were: “As Is,” a band from Norwalk High School; “Beachside Express” from Greens Farms Academy in the variety category; Latanya Langley of Central Catholic won forfemale singer; Edward Musho of Wilton was awarded best male singer; “Island Chaos,” a dance group won from Staples; and pianist Maureen Connelly of Wilton took top honors in the instrumental category.“I have to applaud them all for getting up there and doing it,” said master of ceremonies Mike Fitzgerald, morning disc jockey and program director for The Fox, WEFX 95.9 in Norwalk. “Once you [participate in something like this], it’s exciting and some of the kids will get it in their blood and make performing a part of their lives.”Jamal Bradley of Brien McMahon High School, performs a song as part of the Youth Week Talent Show last week in Norwalk City Hall.- Photos by John ToddThe band “As Is” and the number-two band of the evening, “The Insurgents.” have been invited to perform at the June 9 Teen Concert, sponsored by the Norwalk Parks and Recreation Department. All participants also received gift bags including a Talent Search T-shirt, Newman’s Own products and a gift certificate from Sam Goody Records and Tapes.“One of the nice things was that we saw kids pulling reallytogether and working together,” said Gemma Schlegel of theGreenwich-based Youth Shelter, one of the organizers of the event.Although there was a lot ofschool spirit, “It wasn’t like.‘Oh you’re from Norwalk, so I want my friend from Wilton to win,” she said. “The competitive spirit was there, but they supported each other so much, I was really impressed by that.”Ms. Schlegel said the students worked very hard to be part of the talent search, going through two nights of auditions the week before the event and then working together the night before for dress rehearsal.For expediency, the bands in the show shared their equipment and their instruments, she said.“Ideally they would have liked to have set up their ownequipment, but they shared, and the four bands really had to sit and coordinate what would be used,” she said.Ms. Schlegel added that, although most of the kids did not know each other before the competition, “they were doing a lot of patting on the back.” backstage and lending a lot of moral support during the show.“Generally I work with kids in crisis, and to work with a group of kids who weren’t in crisis at that moment and who were doing positive things and helping eachother was just wonderful,” she said.“I was impressed by how much I think adults can get outof this kind of thing,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “I really got a more positive feeling about youth ... it was nice to get in touch with them and have the kids work for something. I was encouraged, but we [adults] have to work with them.”
Newspaper Details
Norwalk News
Norwalk, Connecticut, US
Thu, May 24, 1990
Page 2
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KY, USA 11 Oct 2020
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