Spectacular Talent Acts

David Arnesen is a 13 year old musician from Wheaton Illinois. 

Discovering music very early in life, his primary instrument is guitar.  Influenced by his favorite players James Hetfield, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, Zakk Wylde, and Alexi Laiho, his style favors hard driving riffs and furious solos.

David plays with School of Rock Naperville and has performed at several events and school functions.  He is currently working on original material and always l

My name is Donna Christopherson. I am 41 years old. I am a mother to an amazing son named Aiden and recently married my soul mate Sean. I have had a passion for singing since I was a teenager. I have spent countless hours belting out songs in my car and living room. For years I didn’t have the courage to share my gift and mostly just sang alone. Over the past three years I have been given opportunities to grow in my gift. I began singing on the Worship Team at my Church (which I LOVED). I then met Sean, (my now husband) and Bob (my now dear friend), both of whom play guitar, and we formed a band called “Bad Penny”. We play a lot of recovery based events and are now expanding to other arenas. My favorite genre to listen to and sing is Country. I also love singing worship music. I love God. I love people. I love to sing. I’m excited to see where God leads me and I’m so grateful to be sharing the gift he blessed me with.

Sean Christopherson is a musician and chef, who loves playing music with other people, especially his wife, Donna.

Katie Wresch is a Financial Advisor that loves to read, spend time outdoors and especially loves to Dance! Katie began Dance Lessons at the end of 2022.  Katie's favorite dancing is all Ballroom style dances, Bacha-Tango and Team Dancing. Through dance, Katie has found this helps her with self-expression, performance anxiety and relaxation. Katie is grateful to her Dance Instructor for his patience and non-judgement while she is learning to improve coordination, balance, and feel the Body & Music Connection differently through dance.

Abraham Soto, Father of 4, works in New Home Construction as a Warranty Manager. He enjoys Graffiti Painting, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Fishing, and his new found love for Dance!! Abraham has always wanted to learn how to dance and has been dancing for almost a year, thanks to the encouragement he received from his friends.

Ashlynn Hill is a Project Manager. She currently resides in Lake in the Hills. In her free time, Ashlynn enjoys reading, going to concerts, traveling and hanging out with her friends, playing pickleball, and loving on her two dogs, Daisy and Duke. She started taking salsa lessons at Cinnamon’s Dance Works Studio Fall of 2022.  Dance is her favorite activity. She found herself loving it so much that she did her first Dance Showcase in December and joined the Dance Team. Dancing has become a huge part of her life and has helped her build self-confidence. She has also made many friends through dance.

I'm Shravya Panchangam. I'm an IT enthusiast with a deep passion for exploring technology and its advancements. I've also cultivated a deep love for Kuchipudi classical dance, representing the rich cultural heritage of India. Beyond my professional pursuits, I am happily married and a proud parent to a wonderful son, who brings immense joy to my life. I believe in embracing the harmony of diverse passions and experiences to enrich both my personal and professional journey.

Justine Izewski, known by her pseudonym “anajusteen,” received her bachelor's of Choral Music Education and Vocal Performance degree at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Recently, her original songs called “Free” and “Wild Life” aired on the Nova Radio North East 102.5FM in the U.K. They are streamable on all platforms and the music videos are available on Youtube. In 2020 she performed with Vocal Star on Amazon Prime and Roku (founder and producer George Caceres) and she won 2nd place attending IMTA 2021 Vocal Competition in Orlando, Florida. In addition, she was the winner of the ACPC Marcella Kochanska-Sembrich 2018 Vocal Competition. In college, Justine traveled to Italy where she performed with an opera program called Scuola Italia in Sant’Angelo. Her roles included, “Zerlina from D​ on Giovanni, Colombina from ​Pagliacci, Suzy from ​La Rondine​, an Cherubino from Le nozze de Figaro. She was also cast as Virtú in UIUC’s opera L’incoronazione di Poppea. Some of her other accomplishments include performing with the Lira Ensemble in Chicago, performing with the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, and premiering a Polish piece by Michał Kleofas Ogiński, “Wieją Wciąż Wichry" for the Chicago Chopin Society Convention in Chicago. Currently, Justine is working on writing her own music and collaborating with music labels, while advocating for the arts as a

Eva Green was born in Chicago and raised in Milwaukee until just after high school when she returned to the Windy City. She discovered her passion for comedy while working as a videographer for local comedians during college which inspired her to take a chance at stand-up. Alongside her love for performing in local theatre productions and as the lead singer in the original Chicago-based band Loa Hex, Eva has dedicated her career as a multimedia producer working in public television and for various housing, child welfare, public education, and community health initiatives. In her spare time, Eva enjoys dancing, cleaning up after her elderly dogs, and overthinking things.

Born second in a family of eleven kids, Karen started her musical journey at home. After the tragic death of a friend in high school, she turned to her guitar to cope, and began a regular writing practice. Time spent on a music filled TV show starting at age seven, auditions, singing to hospice patients, commercial work on radio, band and solo shows to small and large audiences across the country, working as a Wiggleworms instructor at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, all added to her experience that helped create her recent independent solo album release-Moodswings Part 17 

The Iskra School of Ukrainian Dance is a cultural program of the Palatine, Il branch of the American Ukrainian Youth Association for children four years of age and older. The goal of the school is to instill a love and appreciation for Ukrainian culture through dance and to preserve and allow this beautiful art form to evolve, which is important now more  than ever in light of Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine. The war has touched every single member of our program.  Over the last two years we have participated in fundraisers, and performed at events that raise money for humanitarian and medical aid for Ukraine.  

Today's dancers represent the oldest of the 180 dancers in our program. 

Their costumes are traditional and hand-made in Ukraine. The dancers will perform the Hopakwhich is the most popular and well-known of Ukrainian dances where the dancers “show-off” their skills. The dance was choreographed by Roxana Dykyj-Pylypczak, artistic director of the renowned Hromovytsia Ukrainian Dance Company based in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood in Chicago.