Chesterfield’s Got Talent

The new Central Park amphitheater was all about showmanship on Saturday, ranging from music to dance to comedy to magic for a new event called Talent Bash.

Talent Bash organizer Frank Schmer said his group has been planning the event for nearly four months.

“It was important to us that the event was live, local and inclusive, and there’s a lot of talent in the area,” Schmer said. “The amphitheatre is a great venue--how many kids get the chance to perform in a seven million dollar facility?”

The six-hour show was divided into eight sets that represented a variety of ages and acts. A rotating panel of judges from KTRS, Chesterfield Arts and West News Magazine provided positive feedback for all the performers.

Family, friends, coaches and performers flooded in and out of the amphitheatre seating throughout the day to catch glimpses of the acts.

Dance teacher Medha Limaye brought three different groups to compete at Talent Bash.

“They are excited to perform,” said Limaye, who has been formally teaching for three years.

The Talent Bash competition was broken down into solo/duet and group categories, with winners in youth, teen, young adult and adult age groups.

Votes were cast by placing Talent Bash guitar picks in boxes labeled with performers’ names. Judges were given guitar picks to vote, and audience members could buy 10 guitar picks for $5 to cast their votes.

A portion of the guitar pick sales proceeds was donated to the Saint Louis University Liver Center and Whole Kids Outreach.

Among the winners were:

Youth Solo/Duet: Joshua Harman- Vocal
Youth Group: Million Hits- Rock

Teen Solo/Duet: Evan Robinson- Vocal
Teen Group: Ska Force One- Rock

Young Adult Solo/Duet: Shannon Slattery- Vocal
Young Adult Group: Dance Incorporated- Dance

Adult Solo/Duet: Gary Sluhan- Guitar, Vocal
Adult Group: Dancing Thru Life- Dance

Grand Champion: Ska Force One- Rock

Most Patriotic, presented by the Army National Guard: St. Louis Strutters- Dance