Standing in front of four judges, tension escalates as contestants prepare to perform their long-rehearsed talents. Their 3-5 minutes on stage is evaluated by four peers for creativity, performance, clarity and talent.

Students tried out for the West Sierra League (WSL) Talent Show, Jan. 29-30 and Feb. 1. Danny Ibarra, ?11, played My Heart Will Go On on the piano and hopes to advance to the next round of the competition.

?I hope to make it so people can get to know me better,? Ibarra said. ?By knowing what I like, I can meet new people that have the same hobbies.?

The two acts out of five auditions will tour each campus in the WSL. Each act was judged by Micaelah Aleman, ?08, Kara Linkowski, ?08, Mitchell Callisch, ?09, and Paige Powell, ?10.

?I think we need someone down to earth,? Linkowski said. ?There was a lot of talent in the tryouts and I think two of them will represent our school well.?

Thursday performers included Mike Wilson, ?11, improvised guitar solo and Trevor Bodi, 09, Jong-Hyun Cho, ?08, and Zach Marsh, ?08, formed a band to play Laid to Rest.

?I thought that trying out was fun,? Bodi said. ?All the auditions were good, but I really hope our band goes to the next round.?

Friday, seniors Michael Bowen and Taylor Torrence sung and strummed the guitar to Sunsets and Car Crashes, while Jesse Todd, ?10, did a drum solo and Ibarra performed as well.

?Most of the auditions were really good,? Powell said. ?The judges could tell that they were prepared and ready to perform.?

The two finalists will move on to perform at Caruthers and Liberty-Madera Ranchos High schools, on Feb. 14, and Fowler and FC on Feb. 28.

?I felt it went really well,? Cowin said. ?There was a lot of energy and the contestants did great. We had more contestants this year than last year and they were all musical. Last year we had musicians and dancers. Best of luck to the winners.?

Ibarra and Todd qualified for the talent show with Wilson as an alternate.