Come ready to be entertained.
On Thursday, Feb 19, Barrhead Composite High School will be hosting its annual Small Town, Big Dreams talent show.
Kerry-Lee Kostiw, BCHS Grade 7 and band teacher at the school, said she was inspired by a similar event held at R.F. Staples in Westlock with the same name.
“I asked them if I could steal the name because I thought it was the perfect name for what I wanted to start here.”
What Kostiw started was an annual talent show where BCHS students, and sometimes even staff, could showcase their artistic abilities.
“We have some incredibly talented kids here at the school, but the students often don’t have an outlet to show off that talent. That is why I created this show three years ago,” she said.
Kostiw said that teachers often don’t realize what kind of abilities their students have outside the classroom.
“If you are a math teacher, you would never know the student sitting in the first row, is an amazing singer,” she said.
Even though Kostiw is involved in the school’s music program she is often surprised to find out what hidden talents her students have.
“I have one student who is an amazing Scottish dancer and I never knew it,” she said. “It is our job as teachers to encourage and nurture people’s talent. Sometimes all they need is a gentle push.”
Although the talent show is open to any style of entertainment from musicians, dancers, comedians, she said all the performers have to be part of the BCHS community.
“Sometimes we have a staff member or a family member of a student perform, but really it is about the students.”
Carley McMann, in Grade 8 is one of the talented students Kostiw persuaded to perform in last year’s show.
McMann said she always knew she wanted to be a dancer.
“As a young child I was always doing this, (putting one hand on her hip, the other on her head and pointing her toes on one foot so that they touched the calf of her other leg in a classic Scottish dancer pose), so my mother enrolled me in Scottish dancing,” she said.
This year, McMann will be performing once again. In addition to dancing she will also be singing a number called “Cool Kids” with two of her friends she convinced to be part of the show.
For Grade 9 students, Erica Soetaert and Daniel Schiller, this will be their third time performing at the show.
Schiller, a musician who plays a number of different instruments, including the guitar, saxophone and piano, will be performing in a trio.
“My family is really musical. The first time I started playing an instrument I was only four-years-old,” he said adding that he was not sure yet what the group will be playing.
“I like to perform in front of people and do a lot of improvising when I play,” Schiller said.
Unlike Schiller, two years ago, when Soetaert first found out about the show, she didn’t want to go on stage.
“I kind of got pushed into the show, but afterwards I found that I really enjoyed it and this year will be my third show.”
Soetaert, who is both a musician and vocalist, will be playing the piano and singing at the same time in a trio.
Small Town, Big Dreams starts at 7 p.m. in the BCHS Drama Theatre. Admission is $2 and everyone is invited.
