Singing, dancing and joking their way across Centennial stage, Augustana students will prove they have talent at the Homecoming Talent Showcase on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.
There are over a dozen acts in this year’s Talent Show that will range from group acts to single acts and from hip hop dancers to musicians.
The acts will be competing for the cash prizes and bragging rights of first, second and third places. All the acts were picked after rounds of auditions, but for their performances, the judges will decide who of these top talents will win.
“I was a judge last year, and I said I did not want to judge this year, because it was so hard to pick who got first place,” said Homecoming Committee co-Chair Laura Ford. “There is a lot of hidden talent that I never realized these Augie students have. A lot of people who I did not expect are in the talent show, so it is really exciting.”
There will be a lot of singers and dancers, but the styles of song and dance will vary greatly. The winners of last year’s show, a break dancing group comprised of students Darnell Slaughter, Leslie Adams and Paris Edwards, as well as the second place winners, a group of dancers from UNYK, will both be returning to this year’s show. The dance by UNYK members,  comprised of around 25 people, will be a hip-hop dance and incorporate songs such as “Lip Gloss” by Lil’ Mama and “Wall to Wall” by Chris Brown.
They are looking forward to putting it on, especially as a way to advertise for the UNYK Fall show. Comedians, rappers and Heavy Metal club will also be among acts performing in the show.
“Every Homecoming Talent Show, you see the same groups of people, but they have more diverse performances,” Daisy Hoang, one of three choreographers of the UNYK dance, said.
While many Greek and other organizations will perform, there will also be students independent of any group in the show.
It is expected that there will be a big turnout, audience-wise, Ford mentioned.
As an incentive for students in sororities and fraternities, each group can gain up to 30 points toward the Homecoming Cup for students that go to see the show. For all students, there are plenty of reasons to go to the show, according to Ford.
“It is a really good event for first-years to come to, and there are first-years in the talent show, too. There are students from every year. There is a huge variety of students participating.” Ford
Hoang is excited for both her performance with UNYK and the show as a whole.
“I really just want to win. It is my senior year, so I want to make a mark,” said Hoang.