The spirit of Amateur Night at The Apollo came to Sac State on Thursday, March 6 for an Apollo-style talent show.

UNiQUE and Campus Life hosted the event where it showcased 15 student performers  who displayed a wide-range of their talents.

In keeping with the tradition of the famous night, Sac State featured its own Apollo dancers to open the show. Julia James, a freshman, and Bailey Brooks, a sophomore, set the atmosphere with the famed wave of the feathered boa dance.

The Apollo in New York has a motto: “Where Stars are Born and Legends are made.” Leha Hawkins, a programmer with Campus Life for three years, agrees with the Apollo motto and said it could easily be applied to Sac State students.

“We have stars on campus,” Hawkins said. “We should be highlighting them.”

Hawkins said the goal of Campus Life is to create a space where students feel like they have a place to be involved to showcase their talents in different ways.

“Apollo is also a big piece of the Black community’s history, and what I found when I was planning this was students didn’t even know about it,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said it is important to keep the history of this venue alive. The fame of The Apollo was born with Amateur Night in 1934, at that time people of color didn’t have the opportunities, nor did they have a venue to showcase their talents.

From there numerous careers of Black artists were launched, including the Jackson Five.

Hawkins said that Sac State President Luke Wood pitched the idea of this talent show because he wanted to have more activities like this.

UNiQUE program advisor Ajamu Lamumba chimed in and further acknowledgedWood’s role.

“We are fortunate to have a president who is forward thinking like that,” Lamumba said.

UNiQUE and Campus Life welcomed guest stand-up comedian Tristan Johnson to host the show. Johnson used comedic banter to break the ice for contestants as they nervously entered the stage.

Johnson’s skillful comedic interludes had the crowd roaring in laughter. This was Johnson’s first appearance at Sac State, but hee had previously been a host to a similar talent show called Sacramento Hot Showcase at the Guild Theater.

Although the crowd was instructed to “boo” if warranted, the audience did not “boo.” Instead, they cheered and clapped for every act in support of the student contestants.

Johnson said he felt a different energy with Sac State’s audience and the talent showcase.

“It was amazing. I felt like the audience was being too respectful,” Johnson said. “I think the audience was trying to go to heaven.”

One by one, the 15 contestants walked onto the stage and rubbed the wooden stump for good luck before performing. The tradition of rubbing the wooden stump started at the amateur night in New York.

The original Amateur Night at The Apollo consisted primarily of African-American performers, but later, the Apollo welcomed a diversity of amateur entertainers. Apollo Night at Sac State was no different, featuring performers of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

A table of judges composed of Sac State’s own professors and staff scored each participant. They looked for skill in the chosen talent, stage presence, originality, overall performance and audience engagement. The audience’s cheers made the final decision in who the winner would be.

The top four acts with the highest scores were brought to the front center stage. As their names were called out and Johnson waved his hand above their heads, the crowd cheered for each until there was no dispute as to whom the crowd’s favorites were.

In order of third, second and first, the names were revealed. The third place winner, junior deaf studies major Tikia Dion, won $200 for singing “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry.

“Winning third place was very unexpected. It really caught me off guard. I was very grateful to be a part of the experience and also to go home with a prize,” Dion said.

The second place winner of $300, senior communication studies major Mikayla Ray who was introduced as “Big Mama,” won for a spoken word and performance piece entitled “The Muvaa’s Garden.”

“I almost gave up. I’m glad I did not let my anxiety get the best of me,” Ray said. I’m happy I got to express my true self.

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In first place for the $500 prize, junior communications major Majanique Anderson performed a compelling and thought-provoking spoken word poem entitled “We Are Americans.” Tears flowed down her face she realized the thunderous cheers from the audience were for her as their favorite act.

“I’ve been writing poetry since I was 12 years old,” Anderson said. “It’s always beautiful to be acknowledged for my artistry.”

Liberty White, a sophomore biological science major and Black Student Union member who joined the audience, said it was a pleasant surprise to see a variety of acts other than just singing.

“I was expecting to see a lot of singers. It was nice. They had magicians, dancers and comedians,” White said.

The talent show turned out to be more than just a talent show. It was a true display of self-discovery and pride for participants that educated the audience about the significance of The Apollo Theater for people of color.

Lamumba said a lot of these programs are being shut down on campuses, but UNiQUE and Campus Life are being encouraged by Wood to continue to showcase talents and ethnicities and to take pride in diverse identities.

“Our goal is really to inject campus pride into the campus, to where students are not just coming here to get a good education, but also to create positive college memories,” Lamumba said.