Day 2 - Wednesday 30th September 2009

It’s the second night of heats for MK’s Top Talent competition, running all of this week. The acts were incredible - from dancers to singers, actors and even some Parkour experts, tonight’s show proved that Milton Keynes really has got talent!

The show was kicked of by 12 year old Maarten Round who shocked the judges with his interpretation of Michael Jackson’s classic ‘Thriller’.  The judges loved the song choice and felt that he got the choreography ‘spot on’.  His moves were clean and precise and the judges felt that he was’ incredibly brave to come on stage first’. Next up was Sophia Benhayoun. At just 14 years old, Sophie’s rendition of the classic ‘Ain’t No Mountain Higher’ got mixed reviews from the judges, some saying that it was ‘a great number’ and some saying that ‘the song didn’t build’. However, it was clear form the audiences’ response that they all loved Sophie’s performance. Next up was the oldest contestant of the night, Robert Rix. With banners form his family saying ‘Robert’s got the Rix factor’, everyone was expecting a great performance, and no one was disappointed! He sang the song ‘Gold’ by Linda Eder and finished the song by getting a n explosive applause form the audience. The judges applauded also, saying that his performance was ‘very solid and clearly honest and truthful’. One judge even said that he was the ‘best so far in this competition’. The next act came from 14 year old Fatma Al-Bakri who sang Beyonce’s ‘Dangerously In Love’. She got a great reception form the judges, even Kevin, who’s been nicknamed ‘the judge with a grudge’ due to his harsh comments in last nights heats. He said that ‘she sang it beautifully and taking a risk with a song like that clearly was the right thing to do’.

The second act opened with 16 year old Sian Magill who gave her own interpretation of Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours’. As she sat on her stool, playing her guitar, the audience was in awe of her talent and so were the judges. ‘You have a really distinctive voice and your diction was perfect, something that lacks from most singers nowadays’ says one judge. Sian describes her sound as ‘quirky but soulful’, this song obviously shows that! Amy Cook, a 9 year old from Woburn Sands, was next to perform. She sang ‘Maybe’ from acclaimed musical ‘Annie’ and along with her characterisation and adorable costume; she made everyone in the theatre smile. ‘You have just done such a believable performance and Annie is a difficult character to master, you should feel very proud of yourself’, one judge commented. While another said ‘you are enchanting, keep working on your dreams’. The next act was Natasha Beauchamp, a 13 year old hip hop dancer that gave a unique performance to her very own dance mega mix. She filled the space really well and her energetic routine got a lot of praise from the audience and the judges. The last act of the night was Sabrina Toledo, a 12 year old girl that sang ‘Somewhere’ from ‘West Side Story’. The judges thought she was really talented for her age and told her that she had amazing potential to get to where she wants to be.

It was a difficult to pick out of the ten contestants tonight and the judges had an exceptionally hard decision to make. However, the two acts that went through, however, to Saturdays final were MK Parkour, Milton Keynes’s free running group and 3 dancers that call themselves ‘The Original Genesis’. MK parkour impressed the judges with their comical routine that incorporated dance, free running and acting into an excellent performance. They even had a cow costume to pay tribute to the concrete cows of Milton Keynes! The judges made various comments about the boys not being ready for the pantomime and their choreography being slightly messy at times but overall, the one word that kept popping up was ‘Wow!’ ‘the Original Genesis’ were the next act to go through with their inspired routine that they created themselves.  One judge even said ‘you are the best dance act of the competition, do us proud!’, and they really did by getting through to the final on Saturday.

The standard tonight has been phenomenal and all the acts were excellent. I for one, cannot wait for the next few heats and the live final this weekend. Get yourself down to MK theatre and pick up a ticket now, you really shouldn’t miss this!

By Esther Pandya