The Parangello Players held the finale of Sedona’s first “Sedona’s Got Talent” competition at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Thursday, May 2, which included 30 different students from the Sedona Charter School and Sedona-Oak Creek School District’s West Sedona School and 20 different acts ranging from song and dance to yo-yo-ing.

Sixth-grader Kiana Christopherson of Sedona Charter School took home first place for her contortionist act, winning $100 and a trophy for herself and one for Sedona Charter. She was followed by WSS fifth-grader Yazleen Lopez, who won $50 for her performance of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” and the Trigger Sisters dance troupe from Sedona Charter, composed of fifth-graders Isla Berry, Mia Humfreville, Chloe Manley, Satya Marcaccini and Mina Sakimoto, who rounded out the top three acts.

Sedona’s Got Talent 2024 Finalists
Flint Jones, pantomime “snowball fight,” Sedona Charter School, first grade
Gabriel Ragan, magic show, West Sedona School, second grade
Ashlynn Doyle and Bella M. Barre, The Love Girls Dance Troupe, Sedona Charter School, fourth grade
Judah Bruesch, yo-yo performance, West Sedona School, fifth grade
Sacha Loup, “Voila” by Andre Rieu, Sedona Charter School, fifth grade
Athena Fox Graham, original poem “Shark,” West Sedona School, kindergarten
Opal Bassett, Spire Kirchner and Valentina Marcaccini, The Butterfly Girls Dance Troupe, Sedona Charter School, third grade
Orion Roll, painter, West Sedona School, fourth grade
Aria Weed, “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, Sedona Charter School, fifth grade
Wylenn Segle and Ellie Rodola, “Start Shootin’,” West Sedona School, third grade
Leila Flores, “Up!” by Shania Twain, Sedona Charter School, second grade
Pepper Marschall, original poem “Aurora Borealis,” West Sedona School, first grade
Emerson Cain, modern dance routine to “Skyfall” by Adele, Sedona Charter School, third grade
Louis Bourque, original song “You’re Mine,” West Sedona School, first grade
Satya Marcaccini, Mina Sakimoto, Chloe Manley, Mia Humfreville and Isla Berry, The Trigger Sisters Dance Troupe, Sedona Charter School, fifth grade
Brenda Rosas, Savia Spyra and Ivy Epperson, gymnastics, West Sedona School, second grade
Lilu Cordova, ballet routine to “Once Upon a December,” Sedona Charter School, second grade
George Luntraru, bo staff performance, West Sedona School, third grade
Yazleen Lopez, “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele, West Sedona School, fifth grade
Kiana Christophersen, contortionist, Sedona Charter School, sixth grade

“I feel excited,” Christopherson said after winning. “I feel like hard work always pays off and I feel like everyone here deserves the first place for practicing so hard. I’m really happy to bring home the trophy for Sedona Charter School.”

Christopherson said her second biggest talent is making art and creating realistic portraits.

The five other finalists that night were WSS fifth-grader Judah Bruesch with his yo-yo performance; WWS first-grader Pepper Marschall reading her poem “Aurora Borealis”; Sedona Charter second-grader Lilu Cordova performing a ballet routine; WSS second-graders Ivy Epperson, Brenda Rosas and Savia Spyra doing gymnastics; and WSS third-grader George Luntraru with his karate demonstration.

“I’ve been practicing yo-yo since I was in third grade, and my parents also gave me the yo-yo, and I just really love yo-yos and play with them a lot, too, like at school, at kid’s club,” Bruesch said. “Going on stage may be a little frightening when you’re behind the scenes, but then once you get up there you just can’t stop smiling.”

The show’s judges were Parangello Players president Elyce Monet, Parangello Players board member Danielle Glick, WSS theatre teacher Jennifer Braden and WSS art teacher Sara Horton.

“We have the hardest job,” Monet said, introducing the students. “Because these kids are so fabulous. It’s hard to score this, it’s really hard. Tonight will be judged in four different categories. The first is stage presence. They have been trained to introduce themselves, say what grade they’re in, what school they go to and what they will be performing. And then, in their act, how they presented themselves with confidence and ability. The second is the quality of their performance, and the third is preparedness. Are they really prepared for this? Have they worked hard and practiced hard? And the fourth is creativity. How did they make it their own to make it special?”

Sedona Charter School fifth-grader Aria Weed said that finding a version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” that had the right tone and rhythm that she was able to match was the key to being able to pull off her performance.

“He [was] an amazing singer, and he’s very inspiring,” Weed said. “The fact that out of all the other children in the Jackson family, he stood out the most. He tried his hardest, even though he was one of the youngest.”

WSS first-grader Louis Bourque performed “You’re Mine,” a song he wrote.

“I just love that this place is so big and [can] fit a lot of people, and I love that, I can just sing on a wide open space,” Bourque said. “I learned that you don’t need to be nervous to go on stage [with] all of these people. I’m not nervous. Know why? I’ve done this before. I’ve done another talent show. It’s easy. Because when you do the first one, you’re not nervous on the second one.”

“If you’re looking at other people, then you won’t be as confident,” Sedona Charter second-grader Lelia Flores said after singing “Up!” by Shania Twain. “So if you look at the people that you know, the people that you love, you’ll be more confident.”

Flores also said confidence was key to hitting the high notes in the song and that she learned from the process “to have fun and it’s not for the money, it’s to have fun.”

“I chose to do magic because it’s a talent that I really wanted to know and I thought it would bring love to most of the people here today,” WSS second-grader Gabriel Ragan said after performing. “I want people to learn how to do magic, because it’s cool, it’s hard to perform, it takes a long time to master it.”