Spanish singer Edgar René performed at 12^th Street Auditorium on Wednesday, Mar. 27 for  Spanish classes from high schools all around the area.

The concert had many interactive elements like a tongue twister competition, learning to salsa dance and playing instruments with him on stage.

Ten students had the opportunity to dance on stage with René to the song Baila Baila. Those students were sophomores Hope Kisner, Nic Park, Maia Lummus, Mylah Potter, Reanna Green, McKenna McBride, Amanti Debelo, Kassidy Winter, Kaitlyn Suppes and Marrissa Raynesford.

Kisner choreographed the dance they performed and they practiced during the last 30 minutes of their Spanish class leading up to the day of the concert..

“It was a little stressful to think of easy choreography and also make it look good,” Kisner said. “It was also hard to try and find Spanish dance moves to incorporate.”

The majority of the students on stage didn’t have any dance experience, they just volunteered to do it for fun.

“I think the dance went well,” Kisner said. “It seemed like everyone enjoyed it and it was entertaining so we did our job.”

Sophomore Caitlin Leiker also had the opportunity to perform on stage with René, she sang Mira Hacia Tu Alrededor with him.

“Señora told me about it one day between classes and I thought that it would be a really interesting opportunity,” Leiker said.

Leiker used time during her Spanish class to prepare for the concert and only got to sing the song twice with René before the performance.

“I didn’t read music for any of it,” Leiker said. “I just used the lyrics in the packet that Señora printed out for us and marked the places where I needed to practice the quick pronunciations of the words. I also wrote out the translation of the lyrics so I could tell the song’s story properly.”

This was an exciting experience for Leiker, but as soon as she stepped on stage all nerves went away.

“I was a little apprehensive at first during the rehearsal, but Edgar’s super positive attitude helped loosen me up a lot,” Leiker said. “I honestly felt at home on stage with him.”

Leiker feels the performance went amazing and is grateful for the opportunity to sing with René on stage.

“When it was over, I wanted to get back up there and sing the rest of the concert with him because he made it so much fun,” Leiker said. “One of the best feelings in the world is when two musicians are performing, they make eye contact, and suddenly their minds are working in tandem. Even though we couldn’t understand each other at times, we were able to express our thoughts loud and clear. That’s what I love about music. There’s no such thing as a language barrier.”

21abrooks@usd489.com