The Regents’ Talent Show and Battle of the Bands

Anyone who attended the 2016 Regents Talent Show and Battle of the Bands was treated to various acts which were jaw-droppingly good in terms of the standard of creativity, musicality and showmanship. In 5 years of being at Regents I cannot recall another occasion which contained so many truly great performances – some of which would not have been out of place on a genuine National X Factor stage. I was not the only one who felt this way judging by the gasps of amazement and the rousing applause which our students received. In this review of the evening I am going to focus largely on our Primary students as their contribution to the event was astonishing.

Masha from Y6 gave the cheekiest and yet the most artistic and polished dance I have seen in quite some time – delivered with her usual confidence, artistic flare and gusto. Her Cat-costume was beautifully suited to her dance as was her complete use of the whole stage.

Who could forget Eva’s Piano/vocal rendition of Summertime. I know that Eva is a big fan of Ella Fitzgerald and her rendition of this classic song was simply stunning. The piano arrangement itself was difficult enough, but to sing as well, was simply outstanding. Eva has an exceptionally emotive, expressive and mature-sounding voice; an amazing performance.

Ananya followed in Eva’s footsteps with a beautiful song which she also sang and played on the Piano. The power and vocal tone she was able to produce got her a standing ovation from parts of the audience. Ananya manages to sing, play and smile all at the same time.

Doy from Y6 gave a highly moving Piano performance, playing with confidence and yet fabulous dynamics – we could have listened to her all night. Doy is a beautiful Flautist too, but tonight she decided to show us all her amazing keyboard skills.

Pandia from Y5 gave one of the most passionate and heart-felt vocal performances of the evening gaining a rapturous round of applause when she had finished; she put everything into her expressive style of singing.

Suhani, Nicki and Seoyeon treated the audience to a very lively and creative dance routine, ending their performance with a beautiful sculptured heart-shaped pose, complete with confetti - a real visual treat.

The Battle of the Bands was hotly contested. Our Secondary students certainly know how to ‘rock’ and how to involve the crowd with some good old-fashioned audience participation. Yellow house narrowly won, their selection of ‘70s and ‘80s Classic Rock hits going down very well indeed with the judges. Congratulations Yellow House.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and one in which every single act was of a very high quality indeed. And as for our Primary participants – “You’re simply the best”..

written by James Baker, Deputy Head of Primary