Dartmouth’s Finest: A night of rubber chickens, glittering suits and bravery

When Dartmouth High School senior Charlotte French graduates, she wants to be remembered as “unafraid.”

And after her winning performance at the annual Dartmouth’s Finest talent show, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Rising from the audience in true Rachel Berry fashion, French sang out the passionate opening lines of “Don’t Rain on my Parade” from the Broadway musical “Funny Girl.” The spotlight followed French as she continued her song among the audience, making her way to the familiar stage that she’s performed on since she was a kid and now the place where she was crowned.

“My whole childhood, I struggled with anxiety, which many people might not know about me because I’m always on stage and I’m very social, but there’s been a lot of things that I’ve regretted not doing because my anxiety gets in the way,” French told the audience during the Question and Answer portion of the show.

“After I leave here, I don’t want people to remember those times when I stepped down and let my brain and anxiety overrule me,” she said. “I want to be remembered for the times I was brave.”

This year’s show featured 15 Dartmouth seniors, all looking to snag the title, but to also put on a great performance for the packed audience. Themed around the 1980s, the show opened with a dance mashup of songs by Michael Jackson, choreographed by students Cecelia Trahan, Arden Dennehy and Avery Smith.

Judging of the show was done by Paul Donahue, math teacher, John Brault, special education teacher, and English teachers Jessica Lassey and John Caron. 

This year’s seniors got creative with their performances. Such as when three students in bald caps, black clothes and covered in green paint entered the stage, putting on an act inspired by the Blue Man Group.

Contestants Townes Moore and Tiago Lameiro were the masterminds behind this comedic performance. Moore said they were on the hunt for an idea that’s never been done before and after coming across a video of the group on Youtube, they decided to give it their own “Dartmouth twist.”

“It was just amazing,” he said after the show. “I honestly wasn’t nervous at all. I was just going out there and having a good time with my best friend.”

Other performances included a somber singing of “The Chicken” from Bo Burnham’s comedy special “Inside” by contestant Mason Langlois to a rubber chicken, a WWE-style take down by contestant Ayden Carreiro that ended with someone going through a table and a full dance number and accompany vocals of “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’” from Disney’s Teen Beach movie by contestant Ray Gramlich, which got him second-runner up.

The show’s first-runner up, contestant Thomas Quinn, began his performance singing “Drops of Jupiter” by Train while playing the piano, which was quickly cut short when he called on three other Quinns to join him on stage. In shimmering suit jackets of different colors, the Quinns danced to a mashup of songs — from “Take On Me” by A-ha to “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. 

The performance-packed night also saw some filmed SNL skits about the school, song covers and additional lip-synced choreography, including the classic “Jingle Bell” dance from the movie “Mean Girls” by contestant Drea Perry and the popular “Pitch Perfect” acapella mashup led danced to by Molly Mckenna and her friends.

Contestants for Dartmouth’s Finest raised a total of $3,372, half of which will go back into their class account and the other half will be donated to Helping Hands, which is a student-led organization aimed at helping their peers who may be struggling financially.

Contestant Zach Amaral was given the “People’s Choice Award” for raising $1,230 of the total funds. On stage, Amaral sang his heart out to “I Did It My Way” by Frank Sinatra — his first time ever performing.

“I just appreciate everyone that did donate,” Amaral said. “It just goes to show how much I’ve been able to impact this community and how many people are behind me supporting me. I can’t thank everyone that supported me enough.”

He said for him, Dartmouth High School is about “being a part of something bigger.” 

As an example he spoke about being a member of the school’s band. Though only a small part of a small group, the band has seen great success nationally. He said even as a small contributor, “it’s truly amazing the kind of stuff you can do.”

Being named Dartmouth’s Finest felt “absolutely glorious,” French said. 

Looking back at her time at Dartmouth High School, she said she appreciates the value the school sees in its arts programs, noting that the school has ensured students have opportunities to “thrive” in music, theater and studio art. 

She said her favorite memory at the school is when she took a dark room photography course, highlighting how this is a unique opportunity for high school students. 

“I spend most of my time there when I’m not being a theater kid,” French said. 

In regard to her time doing Dartmouth’s Finest, French said, “It was just a great experience. I think anyone who is reading this that’s going to Dartmouth and is considering participating, even if you’re not super talented in some performance area, you should still do it because it’s worth it.”

That sentiment was shared by most contestants on and off the stage. Moore said, “For anybody who might be considering — do it. It’s been so much fun. You make so many friends here. It’s just amazing.”