On Saturday, April 21, from 6:00-8:00 pm, Fossil Ridge High School’s Academic Council hosted Fossil’s Got Talent, its annual talent show. On stage in the PAC, performers sang, danced, delivered jokes, and displayed prowess on a variety of instruments in a total of 14 acts. After an intermission, featuring Fossil Ridge Alumni Mikayla Douglas on piano, the winners, one selected by a panel of judges and the other by the audience, were revealed to be Isha Sahasrabudhe and Isha Agarwal, both juniors, who collaborated to perform a traditional Indian folk dance, and Makaela Anderson, a freshman who performed a baton routine.

The diverse performers at Fossil’s Got Talent hailed from a myriad of backgrounds, representing activities and abilities from across the school. One such performer is Jillian Eddy, a junior on Fossil Ridge’s Dance Team. “We wanted to come and represent the dance team, and to have a really fun time,” Eddy cited, conveying the team’s inspiration for joining. In March of 2018, Eddy approached the team, assessing the their interest and availability. Ultimately, she was joined by three of her compatriots. With them, a routine was composed, and their act was created. “We took some of our past choreography and routines, mostly jazz and hip hop, and put it together, and just picked a song we liked,” Eddy explained.

However, the Dance Team was not the sole group at Fossil to pull together an act. For sophomore Aaron Lucas, the chance to perform at Fossil’s Got Talent came in the form of Fossil’s Brass Quintet.

The Fossil Ridge Brass Band was formed by senior Nick Townsend, in the style of one from New Orleans. After gathering brass players from the school’s band program, they played music from groups such as Preservation Hall and Canadian Brass. “Nick just kind of came up to me one day and said ‘Hey, do you want to be part of this?,” Lucas explained, citing his origin in the group. After formation, the group met informally with a rotating cast that averaged five to seven members. Prior to their performance at Fossil’s Got Talent, the group managed to even secure a spot performing for Canadian Brass, a professional brass quintet that visited Fossil in January. From those available, the brass quintet that performed at the talent show arose out of the Brass Band.

Not all acts at Fossil’s Got Talent derived from school groups, however. For  Agarwal and Sahasrabudhe, winners of this year’s show, an act at the show was created from one intended for another venue. “Every year, we choreograph a dance for this Indian festival,” Agarwal stated. Agarwal and Sahasrabudhe choreographed their own traditional Indian folk dance, pulling from past experience. Ultimately, even before hearing the results of the show, Agarwal felt satisfied with the performance. “Before every show, I get super nervous, but after it’s over I feel really good,” she explained during intermission.

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Hannah Brown sings "You and I" by Lady Gaga. Photo Credits: Liam H. Flake