Daily Collegian - 'Fireworks' impress THON crowd
Dylan Moser helped create a spark of energy and sent cheers through the entire Bryce Jordan Center as he started shuffling and singing “Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. The youngster energized the crowd with his performance and impressive dance moves.
Moser helped kick off the first half of the THON Family Variety Show: THON’s Fireworks and helped electrify the BJC by pepping up the crowd 25 hours into the dance marathon. This annual talent show lets kids “find [their] inner Firework” and perform onstage. Students enjoyed the variety show, smiling as they reflected of the performances.
Describing the show as "really cute," Alicia Murray said the Four Diamonds Kids' Variety Show is a great way for the kids to "show us what they enjoy doing, showing us [their] talents."
Murray (freshman-early childhood education) was among the student-packed Bryce Jordan Center crowd.
The stage was then taken over by AJ, Alexa and Annabelle Bobby and the Theta Chi brothers as they rocked the BJC by singing “Sexy and I Know It,” continuing the LMFAO trend.
Tyler Vicidomini showcased his stellar juggling skills by tossing balls, rings and pins into the air while doing creative acrobatic moves.
The performance would not have been complete without a little Justin Beiber and 4-year-old Andrew Woods captivated the audience with Bieber’s number one hit, “Baby.”
Michelle Corbally thought the variety show “absolutely adorable.” Corbally (freshman - forensic science) particularly enjoyed Andrew’s rendition of the Bieber song.
Bryan Weinsheimer then showcased his hula hooping skills and created a fun atmosphere for the BJC, but with a little twist.
Midway through his performance Weinsheimer took off his black Alpha Gamma Rho and Omega Phi Alpha Thon shirt and kept hula hooping in a white beater. He eventually took off his white beater and revealed “FTK” painted on his chest. His performance was concluded by him hula hooping two hula hoops.
Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” and Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” were then performed before Keegan Carter recited the number pi and wowed the BJC with his knowledge.
Katie and Maggie Patterson performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on the piano in memory of legendary football coach Joe Paterno. Their brother, Jack, followed their performance by playing the theme song to Harry Potter on the piano.
The show was wrapped up when Sydney Bush sang Queen's “We Will Rock You” with some Penn State swag, replacing “We will, we will rock you” with “We are, we are Penn State.”
Her sister, Katie, finished up the Queen duo by singing “We Are The Champions” and like her sister, added a little Penn State theme, singing “We are the dancers, and we'll keep on dancing till the end”
Third-year THON attendee Sam Versey (junior-communication, arts and sciences) said the show “reminds everyone of what we’re doing,” while Kathryn Kozak (junior-journalism) liked how the kids had “a moment to shine,” a moment that “build[s] their confidence.”
Ashley Hamiliton (sophomore-marketing) said that "it's great to see [the kids] so happy."
Lindsay Bacik (sophomore-biology) captured the essence of the variety show, saying that it shows the kids “how much PSU students support them.”
A second installment of the Variety Hour is yet to come.