LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — On Thursday, March 27, the students in the Interact Club here at Los Alamitos High School hosted a talent show at the Performing Arts Center to raise money for a medical treatment that affects over 240 million people worldwide. This opportunity to show off student talents while contributing to the fundraiser was a great success on campus.
Interact Club partnered with the Rotary Club of Los Alamitos, Cypress and Seal Beach to help raise money for pediatric schistosomiasis treatment. Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms living in infested waters. The disease is prevalent in tropical and subtropical environments and can cause abdominal pain, kidney damage and anemia.
The following students performed in the talent show:
- Joe Burke played “Creep” by Radiohead on his acoustic guitar.
- Interact Club’s president, senior Bella Kim, performed a ballet dance from the ballet “Coppélia.” Kim did not compete with the other acts for the prize money.
- Joy-Rene Hassell performed “Femme Fatale” by the Velvet Underground on the acoustic guitar.
- Josh Protzmann performed a tap dance routine to Cheyenne Jackson’s rendition of Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up.”
- Natalie Cheng performed “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan, playing an acoustic guitar accompanied by her singing.
- LAHS teachers Mr. Brown, Mrs. Franzen, Mrs. Grimshaw and Mr. Padilla, recited humorous poetry in the form of popular song lyrics.
- Bobby Medina’s sang “Love Thy Neighbor” from the Broadway musical “The Prom.”
- Levi Claspell and Makenna Huynh danced a lyrical duet titled “The Reason,” choreographed by Lauryn Ujkic.
- Willow Bremser and Lauren Kim sang “Defying Gravity” from the “Wicked” musical and movie production.
- The Kiki Quartet; with Duy Dang, Hana Hyunh, Ethan Chen and Tyler Bragg; performed “A Town With an Ocean View” from Studio Ghibli’s film “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”
- Kendyl Jeang and Era Bernai performed magic tricks with volunteers from the audience.
- The band “Your Mom’s Best Friend”; featuring Zach Blocher, Chris Blocher and Brennan Burnside; played their original songs “Dockside,” “Make It Out” and “Kiss Me Again.”
After the show, the audience voted for their favorite acts by placing their tickets in boxes labeled with each act. “Your Mom’s Best Friend” won first place, Natalie Cheng won second place and Levi Claspell and Makenna Huynh took third place. The winners received two free prom tickets or the cash value (around $200), and second and third place won gift cards.
The majority of the show was composed of dancing and singing, but there was a refreshing variety of acts. The numbers was immersive, and the students who attended loved the show and found the acts entertaining, impressive and amusing.
“I will look back at this one day and remember it fondly,” sophomore Tej Kasindula said. Jeang and Berani dumped a magical glass of milk on Kasindula’s head as one of their tricks.
“I was pretty confident because our chemistry is really good in the band, so it came together really well. I felt good. It was a bonding moment with the boys. We’re on all platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, everywhere,” sophomore Zach Blocher, of “Your Mom’s Best Friend,” said.
The Interact talent show raised $1,500, enough for 750 doses of life-saving schistosomiasis treatment. The audience was blown away by all of the awesome acts. From jaw-dropping dancing and mobility skills to beautiful vocals, the talent show was definitely a night to remember.
