A performance Nachiket Gadpayale did two weeks ago at a Humber College talent show changed his life.
“Everything changed after my performance. Now, everyone knows me at Humber, I got lots of messages on Instagram, and other students are asking for collaboration,” Gadpayale said.
The Advertising and Graphic Design student at Humber College won the second place award in the dance category for performing a Bollywood dance style. He told Humber News he participated in some dancing competitions in India, however, he called the talent show a “tough competition.”
Chantelle Bailey-Johnson, an international student advisor and organizer of the event, agreed the contest was tough.
“There were some great talents, a lot of feedback, and surprises,” she said. “Everybody loves talent shows.”
She told Humber News this was the first time students performed live since March 2020. The show was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That was wonderful that people were able to perform live,” Bailey-Johnson said.
She said only international students had a chance to perform as the event was organized to help them socialize on campus.
“Both international and domestic students could attend and watch the show but only international students can be auditioned to perform,” she said.
The show presented different genres, dance, acting, and music, and each category had first- and second-place awards.
“I’m so impressed after seeing all performances,” said Fravlin Kaur, a first-year international student at Humber College who attended the event near the Book Store with friends. “There are talents from different parts of the world.”
Bailey-Johnson said the volunteer judges were chosen from various departments.
“They had to give each performer a score out of five under creativity, preparation, and delivery,” she said.
Nachiket Gadpayale, an advertising and graphic design student at Humber College, won the second award in the dance category calling a competition "tough". Photo credit: Courtesy/Nachiket Gadpayale
Gadpayale said he received more exposure and made new connections on campus after the show which made him feel “more confident.”
“It was unexpected when I heard that I won the (second-place) award for the dance category because I had already lost my hopes after watching the performances of my competitors,” he said. “The judges gave me very good feedback saying that they felt like they’re watching a live Bollywood movie performance.
“I want to continue dancing and will soon start dance workshops in Canada.”
Bailey-Johnson said there will be more opportunities for performers to win in the future as some new changes will be implemented.
“I’m hoping that we could have more prizes for those who performed,” she said. “So, we’ll put more categories to let more students win a prize and get more engagement.”