Tensions ran high in a small upstairs room at the Prosserman JCC on Jan. 8, as eight brave souls auditioned before a panel of judges for a spot in Jewish and Modern (JAM)’s upcoming talent show Jewish & Talented.
The show, which will be held Feb. 12 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, is a brand new initiative for JAM, a volunteer-run, not-for-profit group focused on strengthening Toronto’s Jewish Russian-speaking and Russian-Israeli community through social and educational events – typically for young professionals aged 22 to 40.
“We have so much talent in our community,” said Tanya Grabarnik, one of the judges and an event co-ordinator at JAM, who said she first pitched the idea of a talent show to fellow JAM organizers back in April. “People often don’t have a place to show their talents, to show what they’ve got. That’s exactly why we’re doing this.”
The eight auditioning that night, whose talents ran the gamut from singing to magic tricks to impressions, were, along with 21 people who submitted video audition clips, vying for one of the coveted 12 spots at the show.
The sense of nervousness in the room was palpable, but despite the obvious sense of competition, a spirit of camaraderie seemed to prevail among the contestants. As they took turns facing the panel to showcase their talent, those waiting gathered in the hallway outside and proceeded to engage in a companionable sing-a-long.
The strains of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah could be heard seeping into the closed audition room, as individuals mostly in their early 20s – several from Israel or of descent from the former Soviet Union – eagerly attempted to woo the judges.
Sasha Liknaitzky, 20, a singer-songwriter who, accompanying herself on guitar, performed a song by the group Kodaline as well as one of her own songs, spoke graciously of the competition.
“It seems like everyone’s got different kinds of talents,” she said. “But, at the end of the day, we all love the same things: music, the same TV shows…we were all totally nerding out!”
Dan Fridmar, 20, born in Israel to a Russian family, performed a rendition, in Russian of poems by Russian poets Alexander Pushkin and Sergei Yesenin. “I’m doing this because I love performing,” he said. “Whoever gets it, as long as there are amazing people performing – that’s great,” he said.
Leah Bassett, who had the judges chuckling with her comedic characterization of a vain and buxom Mexican conchita, said, “There’s not really a lot of opportunities for me to utilize my skills, or gifts. I thought this would be a great opportunity.”
Zack Liknaitzky, 24, Sasha’s brother, performed a series of impressions. “Everyone else was busy singing,” he said. “I was like, ‘Whoo, I’m in a different category!’”
Judges Grabarnik, Ilia Dobkin and Oren Kats have been promoting the show via Facebook and word of mouth, and, with other organizers, will select the 12 talent show acts.
Dobkin stressed that the show, which they hope will become an annual event, is meant to be a community affair, and their aim is for the audience to include a broader age demographic than the usual bracket JAM targets.
“I think Jews in general are very talented people,” he said.
Before the show, which will be judged by several members of the community involved in the arts (the complete roster of judges is still being determined), there will be a showcase of visual art made by members of the community.
“I know personally how you want to show what you can do and share it with your community,” Grabarnik, who is herself a circus performer, said. “When you enjoy doing something, that comes through in the performance. It brings out joy, pleasure and happiness and everyone is united in that experience. It’s really important for people to have opportunities to go to shows and to perform.”
JAM’s goal is to sell 180 tickets for the Feb. 12 show, which will begin with a reception at 7 p.m. The talent show will start at 8 p.m.
www.ticketmaster.ca/JEWISH-AND-TALENTED-tickets/artist/2075031