Standing up in front of producers to audition for a national television show may sound intimidating to some, but senior Taylor Best and sophomore Christine Silikowski had no problem showing off their talents at the 2011 “America’s Got Talent” auditions on January 22 and 23.
For Best, the idea to audition came to her Irish dance studio from talent scouts working for “America’s Got Talent.” “My group was requested…what I heard from my coach was that the show has talent scouts who go find acts for the show,” said Best.
Though uncommon, Best began her Irish dancing career twelve years ago after being inspired by a well-known Irish dance performance. “My grandmother saw Riverdance in London, and she brought back the VHS tape for me,” said Best.
Best has experienced much success with her unique talent both nationally and internationally. “I’ve been to the world championships six times, and I’m a world medalist now,” said Best.
Though she has received much appreciation within the Irish dancing community, being recognized by the talent scouts thrilled Best. “I really liked the fact that somebody outside of Minnesota had heard such good things about our dance studio that they would ask us to come audition,” said Best.
The pressure of a private audition may unnerve less-experienced performers, but Best was untroubled. “Most of what I do is competitive based…the nerves have already been pounded out of us. There was a little nerves because we wanted to show them that we were the best at what we do…we serve as a representation for Irish dancing,” said Best.
Best feels good about her studio’s performance and is hopeful that they will be called back. “I think that we did a really good job…we were on top of our game. No one fell or messed up which is always good. They thought we were unique which is a big part of being on that show,” said Best.
However, Best was not the only act that stood out as unusual. “The act before us was a boy who solved a Rubik’s Cube while pogo-sticking,” said Best.
Though she had a good experience, Best could have done without the excessive paperwork. “Most people don’t know about the amount of paper work we had to fill out. Most people think you just walk on stage and do your thing, but there was a lot of behind the scenes work and a lot of waiting too, but it was all worth it,” said Best.
Silikowski, determined to show off her talent in singing, also survived the pile of paperwork and got to the audition in time to be the first contestant in line. “We woke up at like 3:34 am, left my house at 4:30, got there at like 5. First people in line; that was exciting,” said Silikowski.
When Silikowski auditioned, she discovered that the registration seen on television is a set-up done for the cameras after finishing the actual registration process. “After we registered, we actually went back to fake register so they would film it,” said Silikowski.
The audition itself gave Silikowski hope that her talent may be recognized. “It was cool going into the room and being filmed and knowing big people are going to watch you,” said Silikowski.
Silikowski had experienced all of this when she auditioned last year, but she enjoyed her second audition much more. “It was way more fun than the one I did last year in Orlando. Everyone was way [nicer],” said Silikowski.
Silikowski feels confident in her audition, even though she doesn’t know what the results will be. “I don’t know what they’re looking for, but I feel like I did a really good job, and it was the best I could do,” said Silikowski.
Even if she doesn’t get called back, Silikowski would be happy to try again. “It was so much fun and I would definitely do it again,” said Silikowski.
