Colonial Forge High School Highlights: Students Got "Talont"

Colonial Forge’s “Talont” Show was on Thursday, March 7. There was a huge crowd, and tickets sold out the night of.

All of the acts were amazing, starting with Ian Bast on the piano, playing a personal piece. After his performance, he spoke of his inspiration to play at the show.

“I’ve never really shown anyone what I can do. I kind of kept it to myself, so I thought it was a good idea to show people.”

And people definitely saw what he could do, with multiple people coming up to him, showing their appreciation for his talent after the show.

Next was Cordillia Kargbo, who sang her rendition of “Pearl Diver.” Her dramatic performance was a great way to kick off the many singing acts that night.

Duo Mia Polley and Xavier Brewer performed “Another Ugly Autumn.” This was their second year performing.

“We did it last year, and it went pretty well. So we just decided, we might as well do it again, and so you know, we just chose one of our favorite songs,” Xavier Brewer said.

Despite this being their second year, performing in front of a crowd always comes with some anxiety.

“I’m like belting and the beginning is already like a really high note. So you have to go full send at the beginning, or my voice will crack. So that definitely caused some nervousness,” Mia Polley (‘25) explained.

With Xavier on the guitar and Mia singing, the duo left the crowd wanting more.

Colonial Forge Teacher Ms. Takara Shinard read self-written poetry.

The poem was touching and spoke of a narrator losing her father to a drunk driving incident, warning the listeners not to act so recklessly and to avoid meeting the same fate.

After her touching reading, Bailey Dias performed a hula to He Ui by Kawika Alfiche.

Dias was able to power through her music, stopping mid-performance, and continued her dancing as the track eventually resumed, going on to win third place.

Despite the technical difficulties, the show continued, making way for the compelling performance of the dance group Supernova Kpop. The group consisted of girls Victoria Phinizy, Ella Otchere, Railyn Washington, Savannah Fogle, Freddi Chambers, Doris Gatluak, Reilly Washington, Gabriella Kang, Catherine Cartwright, Nana-Ago Abeasi, and Miiva Nebuladde.

The group did a fantastic job and wowed the audience with their dance moves.

“I love dancing and just wanted somewhere to put that energy,” Nana Abeasi said.

With all the hard work put in, they were able to win first place and the money prize of 200 dollars.

“We have so many members, so the money is going to be distributed among us. I think we’ll all get about $18 each. It’s okay, though, because it’s not about the money. I’ll probably get McDonald’s with it,” Victoria Phinizy shared.

A crowd favorite, up next came James Sites, a solo guitarist, playing Enter Sandman by Metallica. He had the crowd roaring for his skills.

“My favorite performance tonight was probably the guy that played Metallica. His guitar skills were really good,” Daniel Thomas, a Mountain View audience member, shared.

After intermission, Act 2 started with a bang. Possibly the most eccentric act of the night, Wesley Maxfield and Daniel Hunter performing Night Witches by Sabaton.

“We did the song Midway last year, and it had an amazing crowd reception. So immediately, Daniel and I knew if we were given the opportunity, we wanted to do this again,” Wesley commented.

In the background of their performance was a photo of two female pilots. Although this left some confused, Wesley was able to clarify.

“We wanted to do something by the same band because it’s our favorite band and we want to try and put them out there more. Unfortunately, there aren’t many songs that fit within the three-minute time we were given for the audition. And so we found one that would work because it’s about female pilots. And we figured, hey, it is Women’s History Month. So we thought it would be an appropriate choice,” Wesley continued.

Speaking of bangs, when Elizabeth Mehltretter experienced many mic issues, including a big “bang” sounding off in the middle of her performance, she continued on without a hitch.

Despite the way she took it all in stride, prior to her show, there were lots of nerves.

“At first, I was really nervous. I had to take a break from warming up and stressing, so I meditated for a little bit. I took a shower and did some other stuff. Then I came back and tried to practice again, and it went really well,” Elizabeth shared.

Another fan favorite of the night was Gavin Flynn, a sophomore performing Shine Bright Like a Diamond by Rihanna.

However, there was one difference in his performance: his reluctance to be there.

Gavin participated in a fantasy football league, and unfortunately for him but lucky for the crowd, he lost.

His punishment: perform at the school talent show.

Luckily, a huge crowd turned up for him, with dozens of students shining their phone flashlights and cheering him on as he sang.

All in all, it was quite a showcase of talented Forge students.