Talent Show

This year’s Genesee County Fair talent show contrasted with 2023 as a flood of Mini contestants took to the stage, and the weather remained warm and dry all day, unlike last year’s downpours.

Music was the order of the day, from guitars and piano to singing and dancing to popular favorites. The event capped off outgoing Byron-Bergen senior Aurora Hiscutt’s high school career as she prepares to major in education and minor in music at Genesee Community College, she says.

“When I give a performance that I’m proud of, especially when it’s an event such as closing night of a musical or a senior concert, it’s the best feeling ever. It makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing in my life,” the 18-year-old said after winning first place in the Maxi category Saturday at the yellow entertainment tent. “I felt very confident. I’m used to performing as I’ve done dance and musicals since I was 4. I wanted to participate because, during my school’s talent show, I was unwell and didn’t give a performance that I was proud of.”

According to the judges’ reviews, she can be proud of her rendition of “The Man” by Taylor Swift. She sang and danced a routine that she choreographed herself. 

Hiscutt plans to continue singing, but only in a way that will make a difference in the world, she said. On the local level, that would be in her school’s music program.

“I plan on going back and assisting with the musicals at my alma mater, Byron-Bergen,” she said, adding that she enjoys attending the annual fair. “I always look forward to the different carnival foods; it’s a key staple of my perfect summer. 

“I’m a fan of the fair because it’s always irritated me how people think of New York and only think of Manhattan. The fair shows off all the amazing things that make Genesee County, well, Genesee County.”

One of those regular events is the talent show, organized and run by Laura Kauppi of Corfu. She was pleased with the number of participants this year, especially in the mini category, ages 6 to 12. It varies from year to year, she said, as there are four age categories, and all can be filled or just a few of them, as was the case this year. 

“The mini was huge this year; sometimes it’s just like that,” she said. 

Winners were:

Mini Category (ages 6-12)

First Place was a tie: 

• Asheem JaRule Salem Ali and Roneo James Williams, guitar duet 
• Avantae Owens, piano solo 

Second Place:

• Asheem JahRule Salem Ali performing a guitar solo he wrote himself

Third Place was a tie:

• Megan Drier, piano solo
• Aria Frazier, piano solo

Maxi Category (ages 13 to 19)

First Place:

• Aurora Hiscutt, vocal and dance 

Second Place:

• Keyon Thomas, vocal solo

A nearly perfect week — at least in terms of no rain clouds to disrupt outdoor fun at Genesee County Fair — ended with a continuous downpour Saturday, muddying the parking lots and puddling the stage for the 2023 talent show.

The weather didn’t dampen the competitive spirits of nearly two dozen contestants, however, including Batavia’s Aria Fox, who was concerned that her hard work might have been for nothing.

“She really likes performing,” her mom Karla said. “She was so excited. She saw the rain, and she goes, ‘I’m so glad they didn’t cancel it.’ I watch her try new things and be comfortable.”

Mom was speaking on behalf of the 6-year-old later Saturday because she had earned a visit to her grandmother’s after her performance. Aria played “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on piano. 

There were several piano entries, plus mostly kids and a few adults playing the flute, violin, dancing, singing, and leading a cheer. 

Isabella Danahy, 12, performed a solo cheer routine, and her younger sister Marilyn played the classic “Fur Elisse” on piano.  They also played a duet of  “Mary Had a Little Lamb” with Isabella on flute and 10-year-old Marilyn on piano.

“I was nervous. I didn’t really like doing stuff in front of people,” Marilyn said, explaining why she pushed herself to participate. “So I can get over that fear.”

Both girls take band at school in Cheektowaga. They knew about the talent show through their teacher and show organizer, Laura Kauppi of Corfu.

"I think it makes me more confident,” Isabella said. 

Sabrina Sanner of Pembroke was looking for those signs of confidence and other winning attributes while scoring as the single judge for the event since 2019. With two degrees in music education, having taught full orchestra and band in school and teaching private music lessons in voice and piano, she brings it all to the table when each contestant walks up on stage.

First, it depends on what they’re performing, she said.

“Some of it is the difficulty level, like the person who won the tiny tots category. She did two hands, stayed in time, had all of her things in the right place. She did very well. And it was more complicated than the other pieces that were played. So like, obviously, she did something harder. And she did it very well,” Sanner said. “When it comes to things like judging dance against music, it depends on how well they do the dance versus how well they play their song. I did learn from the back, when we used to have a panel, how to judge dances and stuff like that because I'd asked them questions on how they were doing. And it's how well they're smiling, you know, where their movements are with the music, how much impact it has on you watching them, which is a very kind of hard thing to judge. So I've learned a lot from the other past judges that we've had on how to do this.”

This was the first year she’s had to judge a cheerleading routine, but she also brought some experience for that task too.

“I used to do cheerleading, so I also know about that. It is hard to cross-judge them. But as I said, it's the difficulty. So I do know a lot about the difficulty levels of everything that they were doing and has to do with how well they're doing. You know, with cheerleading, it's like how straight your limbs are; there were a lot of her jumps where her legs are still bent or something like that,” Sanner said. “And with music, it's like, if you pause while you're playing, you're not supposed to do that, or if you hit a wrong note, and I don't think anybody really had any wrong notes this year, which was impressive also. But stuff like that. So you kind of just see where people are kind of missing things in their performance, and then go by which ones are bigger, like with dancing, it's smiling is a really huge one. So if they're not smiling, you get a lot off for that.

“But I've been doing this for a while. I judge other things too. So other events. Yeah, the studio I work for and teach privately for they do a competition every year,” she said. “And I've obviously like gotten kids ready for music competitions and stuff for years and years now.”

One new challenge this year was the unrelenting rain. The talent show is under the yellow and white entertainment tent, yet still — water pooled on the ground around the stage and on top of it. Sometimes a judge has to take Mother Nature’s effects into consideration when rating a performer, she said. 

“I don’t think it's ever been this bad. I do think it rained a few years ago, but it's definitely never been on the stage like this,” she said. “The three dancers … the middle girl who had that solo, her flags got all wet when they were sitting on the floor. So I did take that into consideration that their flags weren't moving the way they were supposed to because they were weighed down.”

Kauppi was very pleased with the turnout, not only the number of kids but the quality of their skills, she said.  There were several winners, and everyone received a goodie bag for participating. 

“The students are all extremely talented people, they’ve worked really hard this year. I know some families started their work on this year's (talent show) at the end of last year. So people were really excited to perform. And it was amazing to have everybody come out despite the rain and the challenges that the rain brought technology-wise,” Kauppi said. “I ended up grabbing a new speaker this morning because I wanted a speaker that was absolutely waterproof. And that (pointing to the one she chose) is super waterproof.”

And the winners were:

Tiny Tots

• 1st -  Emma Snyder, piano
• 2nd - Chelsie Kho, piano 
• 3rd - A tie between Aria Fox, piano, and Azalea Sieczkarski, piano

Mini

• 1st - Chelsie Kho, piano
• 2nd - dance with Chelsie Kho, Maisie Kho, Charlotte Jin
• 3rd - Keyon Thomas
• Honorable Mention - Isabella Danahy 

Maxi 

• 1st - Trevon Byrd, vocal
• 2nd - Seren Byrd, piano

Adults (Top photo)

• 1st - Vee Owens, vocal
• 2nd - Steve Kho, Chelsie Kho and Maisie Kho, family band
• 3rd - Avantae Owens and Vee Owens, piano duet 

Now in her third year as the lead of Genesee County’s talent show, Laura Kauppi remembers perhaps the epitome of a fair contestant a couple of years ago: a young boy wearing big farm boots and work clothes ran in to register moments before the contest.

“And he got up, and he played this beautiful piano piece that he had composed himself, I think on the spot, actually. And, you know, that was just a fantastic experience. And I think that’s kind of what it’s all about,” Kauppi said. “He was really proud of himself. He got his prize and went back to taking care of his animals.”

And so it goes with a real down-home, rural fair filled with plenty of 4-H activities, animals and kids. If you've got some talent to share, register by Saturday to receive a goodie bag, or at least by 1:30 p.m. July 29 to participate in this year's talent show in the entertainment tent at the fair on East Main Street, Batavia.

This year’s event already has an impressively varied list of entries, about a dozen so far, Kauppi said, with a handful of pianists from the piano teacher's own lessons’ groups, a violin duet, a family band, and Chinese folk dancers. 

She offered to organize the show three years ago to continue a tradition that Kauppi, of Corfu, enjoyed so much as a participant, she said. She broke up the categories so that ages 13 to 19 will be separated from the adults, and all ages will have the opportunity to perform and compete amongst their peers — under seven; seven to 12; 13 to 19; and ages 20 and older.

“There used to be a state level where people could compete at state, and that's just one of the things we lost due to COVID. Now that there's not a state level, I kind of added the tiny tots, I added the adult category, being different. It used to be age 13 and up as one category, so I added the adult category as being separate because I thought it was more fair to not have 13-year-olds competing against adults,” she said. “It’s a nice relaxed way to share your talent with the community.” 

Anyone who registers by July 22 is guaranteed a goodie bag, she said. If you're still debating a decision after Saturday, you may register up to 1:30 p.m. on the competition day of July 29.

Then it’s go-time, when one by one — solo or group performers will be center stage to sing or play or dance, or otherwise demonstrate their hard work of rehearsals in front of the crowd. But not to worry, it’s a nice crowd, she said.

“I really like that it’s very relaxed, and I really like that it’s very family-friendly,” Kauppi said. “I competed in it, and I want them to have the same positive experiences that I had. You get to have a goodie bag and a participant ribbon and pride in knowing you performed for your community and shared your talent with the people around you.”

There have been a couple of outdated links of the entry form published, Kauppi said, and she provided The Batavian with an updated version. Register by July 22 for a guaranteed goodie bag and by 1:30 p.m. July 29 to participate in the show. 

Press release:

Searching for talented children and adults! The Genesee County Fair Talent show is July 21st and anyone age 6 and older is invited to participate. 

There will be cash prizes as well as prize bags containing passes to local attractions and toys for the first-, second- and third-place winners of both the Mini Division (ages 6-12) and the Maxi Division (ages 13 and older).

The link to register is: http://www.gcfair.com/participate-at-the-fair/talent-show/ 

Cameron Bontrager performs "Sweet Child of Mine" during the 2015 Batavia HS talent show Tuesday night in the school's auditorium.

Tzyonah Scheffield-Reese performs "Photograph."

Madison Hoerbelt and Eryn Dunn perform "For Good."

Ross Chua and Chelsea Jensen perform "I'm Yours."

Hannah Bluhm performs "Dear Future Husband."

Batavia High School hosts its annual faculty and student talent show tonight in the auditorium starting at 7 o'clock.

Pictured during yesterday's rehearsal are Tzyonah Sheffield-Reese (top) and Kesa Janes.

This is Batavia High School student Ross Chua busting out with his beatboxing talent at the 2014 "Batavia High School Talent Show" last night, which aimed to raise funds for Thomas Ackley, a former student of the Batavia City School District who is fighting cancer (see April 7 article).

Masters of Ceremony Amanda Schelemanow (member, BHS chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society) and Spencer Hubbard (Mr. Batavia 2013) introduced 16 entertaining performances by students and faculty. Here they are (all performances are vocal unless otherwise specified):

Tim Martin and Lauren Dunn, piano/vocal performance of "Little Talks"

Steven O'Brien doing yo-yo tricks (which the event's faculty supervisor, BHS chorus teacher Dan Grillo, called the best he has ever seen in person).

Darneisha Thomas, "Bound to You"

Mason Russ, "Boss of Me" (theme from the TV show "Malcolm in the Middle")

Nephy Williams, "Beautiful"

Kesa Janes, "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" (from "The Phantom of the Opera")

Justin Baiocco, "My My, Hey Hey" (from the Neil Young album Out of the Blue). Baiocco's talent consisted not only of the vocal performance, but also his ability to play the guitar and the harmonica at the same time.

Laura Guiste, "Hallelujah"

Marissa Carbonell, "Oh! Darlin' "

Andrea Gilebarto, "Nightingale" (vocals and piano)

Hannah Bluhm, "If I Die Young"

Dan Grillo, "Good Bye Yellow Brick Road" (piano and vocals)

Rachel Flint and Ashley Williams, "There You'll Be"

McKenna Dziemian, "Set Me Free" (sung in both English and Korean)

And finally, there was the "Faculty Dixieland Band" playing "Down By the Riverside" and "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue"

Dan Grillo (drums), Stuart McLean (bass)...

Sean Krauss (clarinet), Brandon Ricci (trumpet) and Jane Haggett (piano)