There have been singers in every genre from country to pop to opera, dancers — both troupes and solo acts — rock bands, rappers and even a Cirque du Soleil-style contortionist.
The range and calibre of performers that have graced the stage of Langley’s Christian Life Assembly during the past four years has only supported what organizers of the annual Langley Has Talent competition set out to prove in 2011, said organizer Peter Luongo — that the community is ready for its own dedicated performing arts centre.
And over the next three weekends, Langley Has Talent’s audition judges will be looking for even more variety among the performers who try out to be part of what is expected to be the competition’s final season.
“We’d love to see more classical musicians, more dance troupes and groups of musicians,” said Luongo of his hopes for this year’s auditions, which begin on Saturday, Jan. 31 and continue on Feb. 7 and 14.
“There’s a perception that singers win this thing,” he said.
The first Langley Has Talent competition was won by pop singer Tiffany Desrosiers. But since then, a dancer (Lauren Tokiwa), an opera singer (Kari Culjat) and a musical duo (A Guy and A Girl) have all taken the top spot.
A rock band and a young dancer have also finished in the top three, he noted.
“The talent that wins is not necessarily just vocalists. There’s no bias toward any one art form or another,” said Luongo. “Excellence will be rewarded in the prizes, no matter what form it takes.”
Once again, the top act will be rewarded with a cash prize of $2,500. Second place wins $1,500 and third takes home $1,000. There are also a number of industry related prize packages for the top performers to choose from.
All of the prizes have been supplied by community sponsors, to whom Luongo offered his thanks.
Asked why the Langley Has Talent committee plans to make 2015 its final year, Luongo said that was always the intent.
“Our plan from the beginning was a five-year commitment,” he said.
This will be it, unless something unexpected happens, he added.
Luongo, who has been instrumental in the show’s production each year, is satisfied that the committee has achieved what it set out to accomplish.
Its goals, he said, were to showcase local talent; to show, through a demonstration of that talent, that there is a legitimate need for an arts facility in the community; and to prove that, together, Langley’s four Rotary Clubs could engage the community in an effort to see such a facility built.
Luongo is a member of the Langley Rotary Club, which along with the Aldergrove, Sunrise and Langley Central Rotary Clubs, have worked together to present Langley Has Talent since it debuted in the spring of 2011.
Raising money to help pay for a dedicated arts centre has never been among the group’s aims, he said, but this year, they are hoping to put aside a bit of cash that could be used in the event there is any follow-up to a commissioned study that was carried out last year.
That report, which cost $50,000, split among five participating groups, (both municipalities, Langley’s two universities and the school district) called for a 600- to 650-seat theatre with a range of amenities.
The estimated cost of such a theatre, had it been built when the report was released last April, was $30 million to $37 million, excluding land.
Because Langley does not yet have an arts centre, the competition has been held annually inside a local church — space for which the LHT committee is greatly appreciative.
Both the semi-finals, which will take place on March 28, and the final competition, set for April 18, will be staged once again at Christian Life Assembly.
Whether it’s singers, dancers, comedians, bands, gymnasts or jugglers, audition judges are hoping to be wowed by a wide range of talent.
“We’re looking for a really great response,” said Luongo.
Registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 30. Auditions will take place at Kwantlen Polytechnic University between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Jan. 31, Feb. 7 and Feb. 14.
An orientation meeting, which is mandatory for selected participants, will take place at James Hill Elementary school on Thursday, Feb. 26. For a registration package and more details, go to langleyhastalent.com.
