Talented teens take stage Aug. 10 at Copley Theatre in fifth annual show
AURORA – The Aurora Public Library's Fifth Annual Teen Talent Show Competition, put on by the Aurora Public Library Young Adult Committee, is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Copley Theatre in downtown Aurora. The competition is free and open to the public, and all the performers are ages 12 to 18.
KISS-FM disc jockey Special K will emcee the show for the third consecutive year. Guest judge is Jim Corti, artistic director of The Paramount Theatre. Corti is a Broadway actor and dancer with credits including the New York cast of “Ragtime,” “A Chorus Line” and “Candide” as well as the national tours of “Urinetown,” “Cabaret,” and Bob Fosse's “Dancin'.”
Last year's Teen Talent Show Competition winner, Kristin Rios of North Aurora, will take the stage to perform during the judges' deliberations. Rios is a sophomore at Aurora Central Catholic High School.
Rios plays three instruments: guitar, ukulele and piano. For last year's competition, she accompanied herself on guitar to the song “Payphone” by Maroon 5. She has been competing in talent shows since she was 9 years old, and has been a contestant in two previous Aurora Public Library competitions.
There are 14 contestants in this year's show. In order of their auditions, they are:
• Soloist DeVaughn Sims of Aurora, a seventh grader at Thayer J. Hill Middle School in Naperville.
• The band, “Iron Legion”: Ryan Lantz and Tyler Daniels of Aurora, both seniors at Metea Valley High School, and Joshua Irby of Aurora, a senior at Waubonsie Valley High School.
• Soloist Kennedy Hayes, a junior at Waubonsie Valley High School.
• Soloist Alyssa Filicicchio of Aurora, an eighth grader at Murphy Junior High School in Plainfield.
• Soloist/guitarist Shannon R. Scott of Aurora, a sophomore at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Institute in Aurora.
• Violinist Ariel Jones of Aurora, an eighth grader at Bednarcik Junior High School in Aurora.
• Rapper Angel Vasquez of Aurora, a Waubonsee Community College freshman.
• The band, “Artic Rush,”: Jose Rodriguez and David A. Tejeda of Aurora, both eighth graders at Cowherd Middle School; Pahola Soriano of Aurora, a freshman at East Aurora High School; and Ivan Rios of Aurora, an eighth grader at Jefferson Middle School.
• Dancer Christopher Jones of Plainfield, a seventh grader at Heritage Grove Middle School.
• Soloist Ive Torres of Aurora, an eighth grader at St. Rita of Cascia School in Aurora.
• Interpretive dancers Teen Top Angels (Ruby Garcia and Celeste Aguirre), of Aurora. Both are freshmen at West Aurora High School.
• Singer/guitarist Jake Julian of Aurora, a freshman at Waubonsie Valley High School.
• Clarinet player/singer/dancer Ameea Love Moore of Aurora, an eighth grader at Jewel Middle School in North Aurora.
• Singer Baili Martin of Aurora, a freshman at Bradley University in Peoria.
The top performer will receive a trophy. The performers, returning winner, hosts, judges and teen volunteers all are donating their time and talents to this community event.