The Island’s young people jumped, flipped, sang, played and pirouetted their way into the hearts of audience members at the Bermuda Glee performance yesterday afternoon.There was not a glum face in the house after nearly 60 young talents wowed us with their writing, performing and technical abilities at the Berkeley Institute cafetorium.The teens got a standing ovation from all in attendance with even Premier Paula Cox, Governor Sir Richard Gozney and Education Minister Jennifer Smith getting to their feet in awe of the performances.To put it plainly, it was an afternoon filled with laughter and entertainment, but perhaps the best way to describe the two-and-a-half-hour spectacle was ‘uplifting’ a genuine example of the level of talent on our shores.The show started at 2pm as people from all walks of life flooded into the hall to take their seats.Light comic relief was provided by the MC for the afternoon Bruce Barritt and feedback was given to each of the four performing groups by guest panellists who have made a name for themselves performing overseas, Rebecca Faulkenberry and Daren Herbert.Ms Faulkenberry has been lighting up the stage in the musical ‘Rock of Ages’; while dancer Mr Herbert has been featured on the big screen in hits like ‘Dreamgirls’.Team Unify, comprised of 15 young people, hit the stage first and blew the crowd away with a strong rendition of Christina Aguilera’s emotional hit ‘Beautiful’.While it took the group a few minutes to overcome a few technical glitches, they ended on a sweet note with synchronised singing and dancing, with the over-arching message of ‘judge only yourself’.The second group to the stage was Team Just Misfits, which included several stand-out performances, including break-dancing and comedy by characters known as Gemi and Ni and guitar playing and jokes by a stereotypical school jock.The skit, which centred on the danger of spreading rumours and having cliques, featured musical genres like hip-hop and pop, and had a great happy ending.Team SWAG had a more dramatic and solemn skit with more acting and less singing and dancing, but the message of going after your dreams was just as poignant.The skit’s characters all struggled to be true to themselves and find a life path that made them happy. The message hit home when the young performers belted out chart topper ‘Firework’ by Katy Perry.The afternoon’s final group was Team Essence whose high energy routine was packed full of wonderful vocal and dance numbers, reminescent of the television show itself.With a topical theme (having their school music programme cut due to budget restrictions) the eclectic group featured singing, miming and impressionistic dancing. They appeared very cohesive and ended the afternoon on a very high note.This writer wasn’t the only one impressed with the young people’s performance. Wendy Davis Johnson, president of the Argo Foundation, said she was extremely proud of what they were able to accomplish in ten days.“I am completely overwhelmed. The kids have been amazing all week and even though many have been struggling with colds and been very tired, because it has been an intense experience, they have been so committed and worked so hard together and it has been an inspiration.”She said the Foundation wanted to invest in education, but didn’t want to exclude any particular school. They opened the project to all young people, hoping to use performing arts to break down some of the barriers that exist between different schools.Student Chrisante’ Bean, 15, said shortly after the performance: “I was really excited. I think the performance went great.”She said her favourite part was the “end result and practising and enjoying the time we had together”.Hailey Manuel, 16, from Bermuda High School, said she loves to sing and dance and got involved with the project because she thought it would be a fun and challenging experience.“I think given the time of just having ten days we did an amazing job. It was a struggle, but in the end we managed to pull through and nail the performance.”The young people, under the guidance of John Woolridge, have produced a recording of their song ‘Curtains Up: Barriers Down’. It is available for all Digicel customers to purchase as a ring tone.The Argo Foundation is a philanthropic arm of reinsurers the Argo Group. Bermuda Glee was its contribution to helping eliminate some of the barriers that separate our community.