The London School, where the SRAS students in Bishkek study, is located near a small shopping mall known as the VEFA Center. Due to its proximity, VEFA is where most students do their shopping. It also hosts many rotating attractions, however, in the large presentation space at the main entrance. Sometimes this is marketing for new stores, tourism fairs, and even major regional pop culture events.
One snowy afternoon, I noticed mobs of people crowded around the stage area, above which was the Central Asia’s Got Talent name and logo. I had just gone grocery shopping and wasn’t exactly in the mood to stand around with my groceries, but the masses of people waiting for the event peaked my interest. Besides, it was scheduled to start in only a few minutes.
I initially decided that I would only stay for a performance or two, but I was so impressed that I ended up staying for the full two hours. I learned that the performers were not just from Kyrgyzstan, but all over Central Asia. Most performers were quite young – ranging from kids, and teens to young adults. They performed either solo or in groups, dancing, singing, or performing other skills.
The first act was a young boy dancing to electronica. The second act was a young beat boxer I recognized from the open mic Saturday nights at Chicken Star – a local Korean restaurant. There were a couple people around my age who sang solo, all of whom were very good. But I would have to say the synchronized dancing acts were among my favorites. One set of young men came out and did synchronized army marching, which quickly transformed into electronica dancing. Due to these combined styles of performance, I found this performance especially captivating.
There were also child prodigies. About five of them, both boys and girls, came on stage with different skill sets. One could tell you which day of the week of any date in time was. Another could add large sums of numbers in his head quickly.
Among them all, my most favorite performance was a group of five young men who all took turns dancing and displaying their physical strength – despite the fact that two of them were handicapped. One had crutches – the other, a wheelchair. Both, however, could lift the entire wait of their body up with only one arm. It showed the audience that, even with a physical disability, you can still do amazing physical things. This performance to me was truly an inspiration.
Among them all, my most favorite performance was a group of five young men who all took turns dancing and displaying their physical strength – despite the fact that two of them were handicapped. One had crutches – the other, a wheelchair. Both, however, could lift the entire wait of their body up with only one arm. It showed the audience that, even with a physical disability, you can still do amazing physical things. This performance to me was truly an inspiration.
What originally started off as just a regular day of grocery shopping turned into an evening of free, live, great entertainment. Thanks to a little curiosity, I had the opportunity to experience some of the best of what Central Asia’s talent has to offer. Thanks to this event, I got a taste of the show, Central Asia’s Got Talent, which I’ll be tuning into soon.
