Tehachapi News

larger view larger view larger view larger view

If audience members came to the Jacobsen Middle School (JMS) Annual Talent Showcase on March 19 expecting a single winner to be crowned, they were in for a big surprise. The “Kaleidoscope of Talent - A Celebration of the Arts” produced a multitude of winners.

Organized by Debbie Gamble and Elisa Stepp (as reported in the March 12 issue of the Tehachapi News), along with concerned volunteers, teachers and the JMS PTO, the show was staged as a “peaceful protest” against budget cuts that could threaten the arts in education at Tehachapi’s schools, andy many more across the state. Proceeds from the event are earmarked to produce murals in the JMS hallways, lest art in education becomes part of a forgotten past, Gamble explained.
JMS 6th, 7th and 8th graders joined in a myriad of talents as they took a trip down memory lane, 60s style — beginning with a slide show of what life was like on the JMS campus when peace and love — and hair — ruled.

Whether a participant's talent was voice, dance, musical instruments, lip syncing, or spoofing the audience with yo-yo feats, JMS students were given a unique opportunity to shine without the competitive nature of a talent show. And shine they did, with tons of smiles and miles and miles of enthusiasm. If any of these youngsters suffered from stage fright, it certainly wasn't apparent when the curtain parted and the spot light came on.

The young performers didn't seem to mind sharing their night and stage with the lip-syncing styles of Messrs Trigueiro, Hedberg, Kaminski, Moon, Johnson and Skaggs, as “The JMS Village People” sang their way into the hearts of all present with their rousing version of YMCA.

“We've come a long way from the messages of the 60s,” Gamble said at the conclusion of the showcase, “But we still have a long way to go!”