High School Dancers, Singers, Musicians Entertain a Full House at 5th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent

ST. LOUIS - April 27, 2015 - PRLog -- On Friday, April 24^th, twelve metro area high school acts brought the crowd to their feet at The Fabulous Fox Theatre as they poured their hearts and souls out on stage at the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Finals.  Twenty-five students competed for more than $30,000 in college scholarships and special prizes (full list of awards here (http://www.foxpacf.org/teen-talent-showcase.aspx)).  Our distinguished panel (http://www.foxpacf.org/slttc-judges.aspx) of performing arts professionals - with careers spanning film, TV and Broadway - had the difficult job of judging the acts.

Interpretation, stage presence, technical ability, and originality were all taken into consideration to choose the following students for the top honors: 1^st place ($7,000 college scholarship) went to Tiala Taylor who performed a contemporary dance she choreographed to “0952” (pictures attached).  2^nd place ($5,000 college scholarship) went to Talia Bennet & Dony’ae Bush for their contemporary dance performance to “How Will I Know.” “The Dancing Six” took the $3,000 scholarship for 3^rd place and the Audience Choice Award for their contemporary dance performance to “Sinner Man.”  (Pictures available upon request.)

Ms. Taylor is a 17 year-old senior at Ft. Zumwalt North H.S., Ms. Bennet,17, is a senior at John Burroughs and Mr. Bush, 18, is a senior at Soldan International Studies H.S.  All members of “The Dancing Six” attend Central VPA H.S.: Jacob Dorsey, 15, freshman, David McCall & Joshua Hall, 16, sophomores, Channce Williams, 17, junior, Daryon H. Kent & Robert Crenshaw, 18, seniors.

Many additional special awards and prizes went to finalists and semi-finalists alike.  A list of all prize winners can be found at the FPACF website (http://www.foxpacf.org/teen-talent-showcase.aspx).  The group of twenty-five finalists will also have the opportunity to perform at a variety of events around the metro area over the upcoming year, giving them great additions to their professional resumes.

The Broadway-style show was written and directed by Tony Parise (Broadway actor/director) and choreographed by Yvonne Meyer Hare (Professional Dance Center).  Last year’s first place winner “Daring Donesha” Buhr returned to perform a special number to a 50’s music medley.   In addition, the Fox Tellerettes performed several dance numbers and emcee Ben Nordstrom (Kevin Kline Award winner) kept the program running smoothly with humor and song.

The Finals were videotaped by The Nine Network for a special St. Louis Teen Talent Competition program to be aired on Saturday, May 23, at 8 p.m.  This special presentation will give a wider audience the opportunity to see St. Louis’ talented teens perform.   The 6^th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition at The Fox has been scheduled for Friday, April 22, 2016.

Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation fosters, promotes, and encourages young people in the St. Louis region to discover and participate in the joy and wonder of live performances.