Sometimes it’s hard to stay interested in talent competitions. It seems like they’re all the same these days, an outstanding singer, an impressive comedy act, a magician, and then some sort of death defying act that practically makes you want to turn away. Rarely do you get a group (of kids nonetheless) that legitimately leave you wanting more. Enter: the light balance kids, a dance group of kids ages 11-13 from Ukraine that mix light illusions with the power of dance. One of the youngest members described it best “We are a dance group, but it’s not just dancing. It’s also lights, programming, coding- theres a lot that goes into this to make a whole good performance.”
After the judges ask their usual round of questions getting to know the group, they settle back in their chairs as the lights go out, excited for what kind of show they are going to get. Before we see any dancers, a school bus flies down, and seems to land on the stage, confusing the audience until 5 stick figure like school kids jump out and start their routine. Their moves flow effortlessly with the background graphics that at one point make them look like they take off in a jet pack.
But the moves don’t stop there. There are light illusions that make it look like there are floating heads, missing body parts, and then they all sort of morph into what looks like a big robot, who appears to bring in a basketball court and some payers. What makes this group really stand out is that some of their features are three dimensional. more than seeing things just head on, we see the court turn as one of the players dunks so we get close to a real life action shot, even though its all light effects.
As soon as the performance is over, the first thing that guest judge Ellie Kemper says is “I want more!”, summing up what everyone in the audience, and everyone watching at home, was thinking. The performance that these kids put on was such good entertainment it’s clear that everyone wanted more of them. However there were only seven spaces to fill and there was a lot of tough competition.
When the lights came on, and everyone walked back out onstage, the kids were greeted with a standing ovation, putting smiles on all of their faces. The judges all had amazing things to say about the group, from their amazing creativity to the fact that this is something people would easily go pay to see live. When the comments got back to judge Ellie, everyone knew they were great, but were unsure of the vote. Playing the crowd and toying with the performer’s nerves she said “there are only seven acts that can go forward, and I just wish there were some guarantee to get you guys through to the live shows.”, just before she hit the golden buzzer sending them through to the rest of the competition. There was more cheering, hugs, and tears knowing that all their hard work had paid off.
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