Henley’s Got Talent (and lots of it)

THE Kenton Theatre might be the fourth oldest working theatre in the UK but on the evening of Saturday, March 11 it held the young talent of Henley.

Sixteen exceptional acts delighted their audience at HYF Variety with stunning talent in singing, dance and instrumental recitals.

The range of gifted acts was diverse, from hip hop breakdance and improvised contemporary dance to a choral arrangement of musical theatre and a synchronised gymnastics display, seamlessly linked together by the talented compères Isabel Rigby and Bea Bertioli.

Ella Hanley, 14, from Gillotts School, danced with conviction to Sam Smith’s Fire on Fire.

She has grown up dancing and showed control and confidence as she used the whole stage and was graceful in her moves.

Ella told us she was more nervous about singing with the Gillotts Musical Theatre Group later in the programme but this ensemble blew the audience away with their well-practised harmonies and emotional solos in their performance of Seasons of Love from the musical Rent.

Angelika Gwiazda, 15, a fellow member of the group, said that it was a wonderful creative environment and her music teacher, Hannah King, was her inspiration. Another incredible musician was piano soloist Nathan Hendry, a GCSE music student from Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School in Marlow, who played Mazurka in G Minor.

He has been playing the piano for eight years and he executed perfect timing and skill.

Nathan said he “loves” music and the audience certainly seemed to love his recital.

Members of Springbox Gymnastics danced to George Ezra’s Green Green Grass. As well as dancing in a big group, the gymnasts split up into pairs to perform jumps, cartwheels and synchronised turns.

Olivia Wolska, from Gillotts School, said she had been dancing for two years and her friends inspired her to join Springbox.

Frances and Ariana danced to Forget Me by Lewis Capaldi.

They executed the performance with beautiful teamwork and
co-ordination. They were creative with their moves and clearly enjoying themselves.

To prepare for their performance they practised with each other three times a week.

Their advice for you if you want to take part next year is: “Good luck and just enjoy it.”

The Maxwell Sisters, from Gillotts, set the bar high when they opened the second half of the evening singing a duet of Something In The Water.

The impact of their combined voices was considerable; there was barely a dry eye in the house.

Playing the guitar and singing Piano Man, Isaac Urch demonstrated pure talent and created a wonderful atmosphere in the theatre.

The audience were captivated by the passion in his performance.

Isaac, 12, is skilled with the guitar and was clearly enjoying himself while performing and a smile in his voice was evident. He was awarded the Rising Star Award by Muffin Hurst and Laura Lee, the specialist advisers, who described Isaac as oozing “raw talent”.

With Isaac having reached such an astonishing level after only four years of playing, I would have to agree.

His advice for you if you’re thinking of taking part next year is: “Don’t be nervous because when you get into your zone the crowd melts away.”

Eddie Pratt is 17 and has been playing guitar almost his whole life.

He had bundles of confidence and looked at home on the stage.

Eddie was awarded the Elizabeth Griffin Award for special contribution to the youth festival by participating every year since 2014, winning the writing competition, performing with his guitar and even doing ballroom dancing.

His advice for learning how to sing was: “Keep using your voice and it will get better.”

It’s 29 years since the Henley Youth Festival began and
co-founders Afie Hay and Felicity Rutland have certainly achieved their goal of “changing society’s attitude towards teenagers to gain the recognition they deserve”.

This evening certainly provided a space for teens to display their talents. I can’t wait to see what the 30th anniversary festival brings next year.