A chair-stacking acrobat, a stand-up comedian, a 16-year-old singer.
Those were among the acts Thursday night, as a “Coronado’s Talent” sign in bright, neon colors hung above while roughly 600 people walked into the Coronado Performing Arts Center.
There were 20 of Coronado’s most talented acts and three went home winners from the variety show, which raises funds for the Coronado Schools Foundation and The Coronado School of the Arts.
Check out the slideshow above from “Coronado’s Talent.”
High energy
Show creator Alan Kinzel and co-host Larry Delrose strutted on the stage with high energy, with Delrose in a black suit and Kinzel in a smart white blazer.
Since 2017, Delrose has been the show’s emcee as well as the production architect.
Kinzel and his wife, Lisa, have operated the talent show for more than half a decade, their first show opening six years ago. The pair created the show, produce it and co-host it every year.
“It was the best show of all six years,” Kinzel told The Coronado News after the last performance. “The acts were so good and so diversified.”
Diversified program
And diversified, it was.
The show opened with five kids who go by Kid Tributes, covering a Led Zeppelin song, to a competitive jump rope team known as the Speed Spinners. And the show closed with the Coronado Arts Academy performing a live soundtrack to a new Disney+ show, with 17 other talents in between.
Four judges sat in front of the stage, brimming with emotion by several of the acts.
They were Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey, co-creator Lisa Kinzel, health and wellness coach Dan Boyle and Emmy award-winning journalist Jane Mitchell.
“It was a beautiful night of journeys, storytelling and surprises,” Mitchell said, having been a judge on the show for the last five years.
10-year-old brings standing ovation
One act in particular brought Mitchell and the judges to tears, and that was 10-year-old Rachel Sanders.
It felt like a collective wave of emotion washed over the crowd as cheers and applause erupted from the seats as she sang, reaching the high notes in her song “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman.”
Sanders’ last syllable had barely left her mouth when the judges and the crowd rushed to their feet and gave the night’s only full standing ovation.
Sanders was one of the co-winners, along with two other acts: Emily Smith and the Dream Girls.
“I’m excited, I wasn’t nervous though because I’ve performed the national anthem in front of a thousand people before,” Sanders said.
She had a soft smile on her lips as she walked down the stage with her father and her aunt, her calm demeanour confirming her words.
Her smile widened as people approached her left and right to commend her performance.
As the crowd slowly filed out, the winners stayed to be congratulated by their friends and family.
The energy in the theatre was getting quieter, the echoes of performers and the audience lingering in the air.
“It’s really for the arts,” Mitchell said as she looked around the stage.
