ASB Student Events Committee hosted the Hoscars, the annual Harker talent show, on Jan. 16 in the Patil Theater. 46 students showcased their talents, and acts ranged from performances of original songs to contemporary dance routines.
“[Hoscars is] an opportunity for everyone to showcase their own talents outside of what they might do at school or after school,” performer Patricia Li (9) said. “It’s really about building community and letting other people have the spotlight. One of my favorite parts was watching other people perform, because there’s so many people who are just incredibly talented.”
Students performed dances throughout the show, ranging from contemporary to ballet. Sophomore Evan Yuan presented a dance to “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan, and sophomore Cynthia Wang delivered a performance to “River” by Bishop Briggs. Senior Anwen Hao followed with a ballet entitled “Giselle Albrecht Variation.” Dance group “The Divas,” comprised of junior Venus Perkins, sophomores Kayla Chen, Hannah Jiang, Jennifer Liu, Brianna Madrigal, Aurelia Spura, Chelsea Xie, Evan Yuan and frosh Tanvi Dhoot showcased their own choreographed dance to a mashup of multiple trending songs, including “Sticky” by Tyler, The Creator and “Diva” by Beyoncé.
“We had a little bit less time to rehearse than we thought, and we had a lot of ups and downs because people were missing and then people left, but we pulled through,” Aurelia said. “It was fun dancing with my friends, and it turned out really well.”
In addition to dance, students showcased their singing. The show opened with “Pollyanna,” a multi-instrument and singing performance by seniors Harrison Chen, Arthav Goel, Nelson Gou, Kyle Li, Harriss Miller, Rohan Ramkumar, Agastya Ravuri, Jason Shim, Pranav Sukesh, Varun Thvar and Grant Yang.
Sophomores Megha Unny and Sophia Zhu harmonized in a cover of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” while Harker Signature, composed of junior Savitha Satish, sophomore Ava Cruz and frosh Terry Li and Patricia Li, sang an a cappella version of the popular song “Dancing Queen.” Junior MacEnzie Blue sang her original song “LOVE,” and sophomores Andrew Shin and Pascal Qin were a fan favorite with their joint rap of “Off the Grid” by Kanye West.
“Rehearsing for us mostly consisted of just listening to “Off the Grid” nonstop for hours,” Pascal said. “We were just memorizing that song and figuring out how to deliver the flow so it sounds as authentic as possible. I really enjoy rap because it’s like poetry with rhythm, and then when you add in the lyrics and you actually analyze the context behind songs, it’s a lot of storytelling.”
AP Art History students closed off the show with a humorous skit including a tableau, and seniors Naiya Daswani and Hasini Namala performed a rendition of “Calm Down” on traditional Indian instruments veena and tabla. After performing twice at Hoscars, Hasini and Naiya also plan to start a band outside of school playing their respective instruments.
“We actually did [perform together] last year, and I do wish we started earlier because we only got to perform together twice,” Hasini said. “It’s been a great experience the two times that we did perform and it’s taught us a lot about playing together and performing.”
The Student Events Committee celebrated each performance with a uniquely named award, like “the ballet routine I always wait for in Hoscars” or “the contemporary dance that gave me the most goosebumps.”
Junior attendee Ariel Zhang expressed her admiration for the performers after the show.
“My favorite part while watching [performers] would be when they would make eye contact and smile,” Ariel said. “I thought that was just something that makes music feel very real and alive, to see the people performing it enjoying and smiling.”