Who’s Got Talent?

Well, it’s official.  Boo and Pumpkin Girl are audition for “America’s Got Talent” on Saturday.  Apparently, the producers of the show contacted their Mexican folkdance teacher, looking for “cultural talent” to audition. Both the adults and the children of the company are auditioning.

I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand, how fun and educational it will be to go through the audition process, not just in front of judges, but in front of cameras and crew as well.  I have no illusions of grandeur in thinking my children are the next Big Thing, but getting used to performing or speaking in public is a good thing.  It’ll be interesting to watch the whole proceedings from behind the scenes and to see the other people who perform.  I’m pretty sure that I’ll walk away from the whole thing never wanting anything to do with the entertainment industry again.

Normally I am very protective of my children.  I want to keep them away from any negative influences until I feel they are mature enough to reasonably handle them.  It’s not about creating hot house flowers that only bloom when carefully attended.  It’s about equipping them with the skills they need to deal with people and situations on their own.  Thrusting them into the limelight of a nationally televised TV show and subjecting them to that level of criticism is not usually the kind of thing I do as a parent.

However, there is safety in numbers.  They have been dancing with the other children for two years now and they all get along really well.  They will perform as a group and fail or succeed as a group.  Odds are, they won’t make it past the DC auditions, but it will be a unique experience for them.  Something they’ll remember forever.  I’ll be there the whole time, as long as the producers let me.  I bet they’ll probably allow the parents to see the actual audition, seeing as how they are all minors.  Who knows, though.

One cool thing is that the auditions are taking place at the very next exit down the highway from where I live.  No fighting traffic downtown and getting lost.  Unfortunately, there are no dressing rooms provided, so everyone has to show up in costume and make up and not mess themselves up for however long it takes them to be called.

The other thing is this…their teacher picked their weakest dance to perform.  It’s a polka, the very one that fell completely apart on the first night of their last show.  I think it’s one of their least favorites, too.  And a polka – really, does that say “Mexican Folkdance” to you?  I didn’t even know that Mexicans even danced the polka until my children learned it.  Oh, and I need to make Pumpkin a hair peice before Saturday.

I was hoping they’d do the children’s favorite, easiest and most impressive looking dance, “Los Machetes.”  This is the quintessencial Mexican dance.  Boys in sombreros, with flashing and clashing machetes, girls in huge, swirling, colorful skirts with matching ribbons in their braided hair.  It’s a simple dance in terms of footwork, but with the girls weaving in and out all over the stage and the boys in the center with their machetes, it’s an exciting dance.

Oh well.  As Philip always says, “it is what it is.”  The children will have fun and that’s what matters most.

According to the contract I have to sign, I can’t tell you what happens on Saturday.  I guess at some point if I mention that I’m flying to LA, you’ll know the company was selected to move on.  Or maybe I’ll just let you know which night the Washington auditions are set to air and what to look for and you can see for yourself.

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