Teens Reign at 2nd Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Showcase

Eleven metro area high school acts brought the crowd to their feet at The Fabulous Fox Theatre on Friday as they poured their hearts and souls out on stage at the St. Louis Teen Talent Showcase Competition Finals. Eighteen students competed for thousands of dollars in personal scholarships and special prizes, according to a news release from the event's organizers. 

As previously reported in Eureka-Wildwood Patch, some locally talented teens from made it through the semi-final rounds of this competition:

Technical ability, stage presence, interpretation, originality and content were all taken into consideration to choose the following students for the top honors: 1st place ($7,000 college scholarship) went to “The Cotton Club” (Marquis Cooper, Virgil Fisher, DaJuan Johnson) of Central VPA High School who performed an a capella tap dance number.  2nd place ($5,000 college scholarship) went to Hazelwood East High School’s “Super Sick Crew” (Paul Springer, Anthony Pawnell, Corenlius Igwe, Lonnie Howard) for performing a hip-hop dance routine.  3rd place ($3,000 scholarship) went to Kellin Quinn of Circus Harmony for his juggling performance.

Three special awards went to Anissa Quilling of McCluer North High School ($1,500 Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, P.C. Musical Theatre scholarship); Wes Ragland of Webster Groves High School  ($1,000 “I” Award for most Imaginative, Inspired, Inspirational and Inventive act); and Maggie Dailey of Trinity Catholic High School ($1,000 Keep Art Happening Scholarship Award).   David V. Capes, Terry & Sally Schnuck and Arts & Education Council of St. Louis’ Cynthia Prost funded the awards. A list of additional prize winners can be found at the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation website.

The group of 18 finalists also will have the opportunity to perform at a variety of events around the metro area during the upcoming year, giving them great additions to their professional resume.

Tony Parise (Broadway actor/director), Gerri Stretz (Professional Dance Center, Fox Tellerettes) and Yvonne Meyer Hare (Professional Dance Center) directed and choreographed the Broadway-style event, which included performances by the Fox Tellerettes, the Fabulous Fox Quintet, singers Emma Gassett and Kaitlyn Louise Smith. Emcee Ben Nordstrom (Kevin Kline Award winner) kept the program running smoothly with humor and song.

The Finals were videotaped by The Nine Network for a special St. Louis Teen Talent Showcase Competition program to be aired on Monday, May 21, at 7 p.m. and re-aired on Saturday, May 26, at 10:30 a.m.

The success of the previous two events has secured a 3rd Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Showcase at The Fox on April 19, 2013.

Editor's Note:  Marla Stoker, Marquee Media & Marketing, provided details for this article.