Student musicians, comedians, dancers and more will hit the Lied Center stage Sunday for the seventh annual Ovation! talent show, featuring performers from Lawrence’s middle and high schools.
The show, which was originally created by a Lawrence Public Schools student, has annually featured talent from all across the school district. Proceeds for the show benefit the Lawrence Schools Foundation.
For many students, Ovation! provides a unique opportunity to perform for fellow students and community members.
“Ovation! is an incredibly wonderful opportunity for youth in the Lawrence area to share their talents, known or otherwise,” said Free State senior Anna Kober.
“For me, Ovation is a very gratifying, positive experience that I’m so honored to be a part of, for a third year now.”
Kober first performed at Ovation! in sixth grade. She said she was inspired by watching the older kids. Now, as a senior, she will be performing for the last time as one of the oldest in the group.
Some groups, such as the Lawrence Ballet Theatre, regularly perform in the community, but Ovation! gives them unique access to perform for fellow students or others who may not get the chance to watch them otherwise.
“Doing Ovation! is great because we get to perform alongside members of our schools and show something they usually wouldn’t see,” said Lawrence High School junior Finn Lotton-Barker, a member of the Lawrence Ballet Theatre. “It’s also great because, since we are a large group, we contrast with the solo acts and small groups which also shows how much a part of the community we are.”
The show is set for 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Lied Center. Tickets to see Ovation! are $15 for adults and $5 for students and children and can be purchased at the Lied Center website or ticket office.
Performing acts include:
Kaelyn Bell – Dancer
8th grade, Lawrence Virtual School
Members of Dance Hues Studio’s STAMPP Performance and Competition Company
Josi Gill, 8th grade, Perry Lecompton Middle School
Aubrey Atherton, 8th grade, Southwest Middle School
Amora Taylor, 9th grade, Free State High School
Kira Shepard, 10th grade, Free State High School
The Galway Girls – Irish Step Dance
Alannah Lohfeld, 11th grade, Free State High School
Aleisha Lohfeld, 9th grade, Free State High School
Amelia Lohfeld, 7th grade, West Middle School
Rose Kennedy – Comedienne
11th grade, Lawrence High School
Anna Kober – Vocalist
12th grade, Free State High School
Elliott Koger – Clarinet
12th grade, Lawrence High School
Accompanied by Joyce Jordan, piano
Lawrence Ballet Theatre
Photina Adrian, 8th grade, home school
Rhubarb Brubacher, 10th grade, Lawrence High School
Odelia Colvin, 9th grade, St. Teresa’s Academy
Isla Gnojek, 8th grade, West Middle School
Gracia Greenhoot, 12th grade, Free State High School
Henry Horan, 12th grade, Bishop Seabury
Zoe Kaul, 8th grade, West Middle School
Zana Kennedy, 10th grade, Lawrence High School
Nathan Kramer, 9th grade, Free State High School
Annalise Lantz, 8th grade, St. Thomas Academy
Finn Lotton-Barker, 11th grade, Lawrence High School
Belzimere Maletsky, 9th grade, Lawrence High School
Phoebe Morris, 9th grade, Free State High School
Maria Mosconi, 9th grade, Free State High School
Kellar Musser, 9th grade, Lawrence High School
Madi Pierson, 9th grade, Free State High School
Linnaea Radley, 12th grade, Lawrence High School
Jahnava Sibilla, 10th grade, Maize Virtual Prep
Celeste Stinson, 10th grade, Lawrence High School
Mary Swartzlander, 6th grade, West Middle School
Sydney Tiemann, 7th grade, West Middle School
Genevieve Williams, 7th grade, Bishop Seabury
Grace Xie, 12th grade, Free State High School
Harrison Leiszler – Violin
7th Grade, West Middle School
Mary Ramirez – Vocalist
11th grade, Free State High School
Accompanied by Janet Hart, piano
Willow Lotus Sapp – Aerial Silks
12th grade, Lawrence Virtual School and Free State High School
Southwest Middle School Junior Thespians
Dara Adedipe, 6th grade
Marley Doleman, 6th grade
Avery Fox, 8th grade
Tison Johnson, 7th grade
Savannah Lynch, 7th grade
Cadence Mayfield, 7th grade
Bella Neuteboom, 8th grade
Connor O’Neil, 8th grade
Kinley O’Neil, 6th grade
Penny Salb, 6th grade
Tallulah Salb, 8th grade
Quin Schroeder, 8th grade
Layla Simmons, 6th grade
Jensen Wallace, 6th grade
Bodhi Williams, 7th grade
Trish Neuteboom, director
Unity Step Team
Bri Brass, 10th grade, Lawrence High School
Abby DeFoe, 11th grade, Lawrence High School
Nomso Enyinnaya, 10th grade, Free State High School
Joan Epian, 12th grade, Lawrence High School
Maxx Krause, 11th grade, Lawrence High School
Mia Purdue-Brown, 10th grade, Lawrence High School
Jada Reed, 9th grade, Lawrence High School
Kiana Sales, 11th grade, Lawrence High School
Justyss Smith, 9th grade, Lawrence High School
Honesty Starr, 9th grade, Lawrence High School
AR’Myah Vance, 12th grade, Lawrence High School
Addi Whitenight, 9th grade, Lawrence High School
Audrey Trowbridge, coach, Lawrence High School/Free State High School
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Note: This post has been updated to correct a misspelled name.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read more of his work for the Times here.
