With the votes of three judges (and the chants of the audience) junior Eliot Barat won first place at this year’s school talent show with his Chinese yoyo act. It was hosted by Vangeli Tsompanidis, president of the National Technical Honors Society, to raise funds for Video Production on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Following after Barat was senior Bria McCray in second place, singing “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin, and senior Michael McNamara in third, singing “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin.

Many performers have been involved in their talents for years. Sophomores Faith Hammack and Devynn Sunderman, who did a dance duet to the song “Just Live,” have been dancing and on the Unleashed dance team for years together. They rehearsed for at least a half an hour every day for weeks, in preparation of this performance.

“Things like this help with extra practice and experience,” Hammack said. “It is really fun to be able to show off all of your hard work.”

Such a big event like the talent show was also a big stress inducer for multiple performers, forcing them to tackle stage fright.

“I always get nervous before performing,” senior Samantha Vincent said, who sang “Defying Gravity” from the musical Wicked. “But it is a good nervous.”

Other performers like senior Zachary Flores, who sang “I Still Believe” by Mariah Carey, had a harder time dealing with anxiety. His fears nearly pushed him to not perform.

“I had three nervous breakdowns on Monday, and I had to take some anxiety medications and do deep-breathing exercises before the show,” Flores said. “But by the time I got on stage, I was having a lot of fun.”

Despite any worries or hardships, all of the contestants’ acts went off without a hitch, and by the end of the night they were laughing and dancing together on stage.

“The talent show was great,” Hammack said. “We are really proud of ourselves.”

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Jana Kamal sings "Rolling in the Deep," by Adele.