Clubs Collaborate for Virtual Talent Show

After the Dance Club and Global Action Club’s plans to put on a school talent show last spring were interrupted by the COVID-19 shutdown, the Leadership class took on coordinating the event in a virtual setting. The final video compilation was sent to students on November 20.

According to Dance Club co-president and ASB Spirit Coordinator Reilly Yuen, the original idea was “a ‘Performers for Progress’ type talent show, where we could raise money to donate to charity.”

“By having our clubs work together, we can create a better talent show by approaching it from both an entertainment angle, via the Dance Club, and a philanthropic angle, via the Global Action Club,” said Global Action Club president senior Leila Stoll. “I think that through the talent show, people can share their talents, others can experience those talents, and everyone can know they’re contributing to an important cause.”

The philanthropic component comes in the form of an opportunity to donate to the Rustic Pathways Foundation, a community development organization that supports causes like housing, education, and conservation.

Yuen, Stoll, and Dance Club co-president senior Katie Stephens began brainstorming for an in-person talent show before the pandemic hit California last March. This fall, they wanted to “try and emulate a similar event to still help raise money in a way where [they] could embrace the talents of Campolindo,” Yuen said.

Yuen served as their link to the Leadership class, as she was “able to bring this up in our class and put it into motion,” she said.

While “it was hard to reach students and spread the word” due to distance learning, Yuen said, “an advantage of having this talent show recorded is that there’s a wider selection of types of talents that were submitted, and it encouraged some to send submissions who may not have been comfortable performing live.”

The clubs hope to collaborate with Leadership to host more events in the future. “If this one is a success, we hope to continue doing talent shows throughout the year, possibly with different themes depending on the season,” said Stoll.