Sonoma Valley High School’s “Next Top Dragon” talent show awarded Senior Valentina Esper with a first-place prize of two free tickets to prom at the event on April 9th.
As prom approaches at SVHS, many students look forward to attending the event for a variety of reasons —whether it is to go with someone special, to have fun with friends, or simply in the efforts to not miss such a pivotal event in American high school culture. However, the high ticket prices of this event in comparison to events such as Homecoming left many students discontented with the financial burden of buying a ticket, making it difficult for many to attend.
This led to the creation of the annual talent show here at SVHS named “Next Top Dragon,” at the little theater on April 9th, which helped students with aspirations of attending prom completely for free.
To truly be the “Next Top Dragon,” participants had to impress the judges, including social studies teacher Mr. Tierney. They started off by introducing everybody, alongside asking them why they joined the show. Some wanted financial assistance. Others joined just to pass the time. As one participant said, “Because why not?”
Some of the talents that took the stage this year included students playing the harmonica, ukulele performance, and the ability to do an arm stand, but one that intrigued many in the audience was the talent to draw anything within 30 seconds.
Ultimately, Esper’s talent of doing a handstand won her the first place price.
The judges wanted to see more of the contestants, so members of the student committee proposed secondary activities, one of which was a lip-syncing competition, which included charismatic songs such as “Boomerang” by JoJo Siwa and “What Does the Fox Say?” by Ylvis. Alongside lip-syncing, a trivia section came with questions such as the school’s history and niche fun facts about the teachers on the campus.
Ending the competition, the last activity was a joke contest. Some jokes included “why did the bee get married? Because it found its honey,” and “what do you call when a strawberry gets run over in the street? Traffic jam!”
Overall, the talent show not only showcased the unique talents of SVHS students but also revealed many of their ideas, passions, hobbies, and personalities that shape their unique identities. After the show, one of the contestants, a senior named Alejandro Torres Serrano was interviewed on why he joined and which part of the event was most exciting to him, to which he replied, “The thought of getting a prom ticket was the most exciting part,” and “Because I had no money.”
