On With The Show - This Is It !

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best"...Henry Van Dyke

A school tradition we all look forward to each year is the annual talent show!  Students have the opportunity to perform their hidden  talents, be it in dance, singing, telling jokes, playing an instrument or doing a little magic.  It's like a kids only version of America's Got Talent, minus the judges!  For one special evening, these young gifted artists can perform for their whole school community, and the parents can sit back, enjoy and of course claim that "talent runs in the family!".

In our school board, we also have one special evening in June of each year dedicated to showcase the unique talents of the students with autism.  This year, the evening started off by visiting each school's display booths, where creative art work, including paintings, drawings, structures and much more could be viewed literally "in awe" by everyone including families and community members.  Some works that I passed through were simply stunning, and I shared equally a mother's joy and overwhelming sense of pride that talent has been discovered and career paths have been set.

Next, all visitors were directed to the main auditorium (this is not a school gym performance, it's a theatre!) where we were treated to a variety of acts including a young girl playing "don't stop believing" on her recorder, a young grade one boy who was a "super speller", he could spell words forwards and backwards (one word was "cantaloupe" - I needed my spell check for that word!), another boy sang and played guitar to "say it ain't so", and he in particular brought tears to my eyes, he was that good!!  I would buy his CD, so would many no doubt!!

Of course, for me watching my son's middle school class film of "The King who was Bored", was a personal highlight.  They worked six months on it, rehearsing their parts every day, and their hard work paid off - it was brilliant!  As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the production, what I most enjoyed was watching the group of boys viewing their own movie on the "big screen" displaying self pride throughout, and their smiles and laughter could only mean that making the movie was a fun and memorable experience for them.  Of course the teacher was sitting with them, and was just beaming! She should be congratulated for providing her students with such a wonderful learning experience and giving us all the opportunity to share that experience with them. 

If the evening could be summed up into only one word, it would have to be "inspirational"!!

I am thankful that our schools and parents continue to support arts education.  You never know what hidden gifts can become unlocked, and when it happens, those gifts can then be nutured until they blossom into something spectacular.  And throughout the process, self worth and confidence can be built - and that has value to all children!

My video for today is from my favourite tv talent competition from the 1980's - Star Search!  Here is one from the final rounds of 1988.  See if you can decide who the winner is before it's announced at the end.  I thought Raquel Herring sang a very beautiful song - love the lyrics - Enjoy!!

And who could not love 5 year old Allison Porter compete against 11 year old Tracie Spencer..

Have a great weekend ! (p.s. reminder of the Toronto Walk for Autism Speaks event is on Sunday morning - walk begins at 10:00am, Nathan Philips Square).


Linda