By Brandon HENSLEY

Crescenta Valley High School students in Intermediate and Advanced Dance are about to show the town they have talent, as the school will host CV’s “Got Talent” show Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.

Inside the MacDonald Auditorium, the dancers, as well as various entertainment acts, will put on a show they’ve been hard at work on since the beginning of the semester.

“This is a special event because we already have a great dance show and what we’re doing is offering an opportunity for students to perform in a great venue with professional sound and professional lighting,” said dance instructor Fredda Manzo, “to make them look the best that they can look.”

Manzo said her class has been practicing for the show since September.

“I feel good about next week and they still have a lot of work to do,” she said.

Along with the dancers, student Nathan Hizon will perform tricks with yo-yos, and the band Living in July will try to entertain with their rock stylings.

“It’s a great variety,” said Manzo. “Mainly we ask for musicians, bands singers, specialty acts.”

Lina Vardanyan, a senior who is also the assistant director to the show, said she, Manzo and a couple of other students chose the acts to perform during several auditions.

“We picked the acts and chose the ones that were best for the show,” she said.

In addition to performing, each dance student has a goal to sell 10 tickets for the event, which is the main fundraiser for the dance program.

Aside from organizing the show, including cueing dancers to go on, Vardanyan will perform in a group jazz dance. She said there is some anxiety from the students, but also good nervous energy.

“We’re kinda stressed out because everything’s coming to an end, and we have to clean everything up and prepare, but I’m excited to perform,” she said.

Most people in attendance though will probably be there to see budding dance star Tyler White. White, a sophomore at CVHS, has made a name for himself by appearing as a dancer in music videos for Ice Cube, Chris Brown and Willow Smith, Will Smith’s young daughter.

White was born in Jamaica, and came to Southern California when he was 3. He was home schooled for several years before enrolling at CV.

“I’ve gotten used to [CV] now,” said White. “But before, it was big, and I said, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get through this.’”

But he’s gotten through it just fine. He said his mom got him into dancing when he was 8, and through different agencies he started to make a name for himself.

White did acknowledge that his local fame can bother him sometimes, like when friends  keep asking him to perform different dance moves.

“They want me to do [moves] over and over to show their friends. It gets annoying,” he said.

White said he’s not inspired by any other dancers, past or present. Not even Michael Jackson.

“Nah,” he said. “I don’t like to take other people’s styles. It’s too weird for me.”

In his free time, White said besides schoolwork and dance practice, one of his hobbies is collecting Nerf guns, which, for a teenager in 2010, may seem a bit vintage, especially to his friends.

“They go for paintball, and other stuff, but I go for [Nerf guns],” he said.

With less than two weeks, will the crowd see a good show?

“I think so. Tyler always brings a good audience,” said Vardanyan. The rest of the entertainers also have a chance to impress, and show that they “got talent.”

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