High School Dancers, Singers, Musicians, Twirlers Entertain a Full House at 7th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Finals

On Saturday, April 8th, 17 metro area high school acts poured their hearts and souls out on stage at the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Finals and brought the crowd to their feet at The Fabulous Fox Theatre. Students competed for more than $30,000 in college scholarships and special prizes (full list of awards here). Our distinguished panel of performing arts professionals - with careers spanning film, TV and Broadway - had the difficult job of judging the acts.

Interpretation, stage presence, technical ability, and originality were all taken into consideration to choose the following students for the top honors: 1st place and an $8,000 college scholarship went to ChrisTina Jones who performed "I Have Nothing" (photo attached). 2nd place and a $6,000 college scholarship, and the $1,000 cash Audience Award went to "Bowser, Lewis and McCall" for their performance of "Feeling Good." Samanvita Kasthuri took the $4,000 scholarship for 3rd place for her classical Indian dance performance to "Rise." (Photos available upon request.)

ChrisTina Jones is a 17-year-old junior at O'Fallon Township High School. Eighteen-year-olds Kianna Bowser, Branden Lewis, and David McCall are all seniors at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. Samanvita Kasthuri is a 14-year-old freshman at Parkway South High School.

Many additional special awards and prizes went to finalists and semi-finalists. A list of all prize winners can be found at the FPACF website. The group of twenty-nine finalists will also have the opportunity to perform at a variety of events around the metro area over the upcoming year, giving them great additions to their professional resumes.

The Broadway-style show was written and directed by Tony Parise (Broadway actor/director) and choreographed by Yvonne Meyer Hare (Professional Dance Center). Last year's first place winner, Royce Martin, returned to perform an original piano piece, "Rags to Riches."

The Finals were videotaped by The Nine Network for a special St. Louis Teen Talent Competition program to be aired on Monday, May 22nd at 7 p.m. This special presentation will give a wider audience the opportunity to see St. Louis' talented teens perform. The 8th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition at The Fabulous Fox has been scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2018.

Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation fosters, promotes, and encourages young people in the St. Louis region to discover and participate in the joy and wonder of live performances.