Winners announced for The First Ever 2023 Markham Talent Open Casting Call, celebrating Ontario’s best Performing Artists Nanamie Li and AC5 is the Big Winner of the York Region’s Got Talent

🔊 朗读

MARKHAM, May 14, 2023: It was a showcase of excitement, expectation and applause as the
panel of judges began to announce the awards at the Grand Finale of the 2023 Markham Talent
Open Casting Call.

The winners in the singers, songwriters, dancers, actors, models and other performing artist
categories walked up to the podium on May 13 at the Xinflix auditorium in Markham to be
honored at the event. The biggest award, amidst the resounding sounds of applause, was given
away to Nanamie Li and AC5, the winners of the Markham Talent – 2023 Open Casting Call,
both of whom received a trophy as well as $2000 in prize money.

Winners in other categories also received trophies as well as cash prizes of $2000, with the
second and third prize winners receiving $300 and $200 respectively and the opportunity to get
booked by talent agencies.

The award winners were selected from a large pool of diverse talent who submitted their art and
participated in this first ever Talent contest held across Ontario.

The event opened with a special feature performance by Maya Gamzu, semi-finalist and
recipient of the golden buzzer at Canada’s Got Talent 2023 who charmed the audience with her
mesmerizing voice. Actress and judge in the Actor category Samantha Aucoin, who is also a
singer/songwriter, captivated the audience with her musical voice and talent.

The event, co-chaired by Markham Ward 6 Councilor Amanda Yeung Collucci, Markham Arts
Council Chair Stephen Chait and Markham Arts Council Executive Director Shruti Ganapathy,
was the first of its kind to be held in the city of Markham.

“Markham Talent will be invited for a segment on stage at the City’s Canada Day celebrations
this year that usually attracts an audience of 20,000–30,000 people,” said Markham Mayor
Frank Scarpitti, Honorary Chair of the event.

“We did not realize that there is such a wide pool of talent available in Ontario that was just
waiting to be tapped,” said Councillor Collucci. “It was a delightful surprise to see the energy
and creativity and the diversity of talent that was showcased in Markham Talent.”

The impressive array of judges included Juno Award Board Member – Aideen O Brien;
Brian Levy, Casting Director; Amy Wright, Producer / Dance Choreographer /Casting Director of
The Next Step; Robert Laidlaw, Singer-Songwriter / Juno Awards Nominee; Patricia Jarosz,
Talent manager; Cynthia Cully, Model Agent / Manager; Jessica Gregory, Toronto’s Top
Runway Coach; Lucas Nguyen, Actor / Singer; Samantha Aucoin, actress; David Chester,

owner of Chalet Studio; and Sarah Bay-Cheng, Dean, York University, School of Arts, Media,
Production and Design (AMPD)

“Congratulations to all the winners,” says Stephen Chait, chair of the Markham Arts Council.
“Everyone is a winner as each one of them showed the courage and strength to enter into the
Markham Talent contest.”

All proceeds from this event will go towards helping Markham Arts Council drive economic
growth in arts, culture, and tourism sectors within the City of Markham.

Complete List of Winners:

Group A: 16 and under category

Overall Winner – Nanamie Li, Music
Overall 2nd Winner – Daniel Tamburro, Dance
Overall 3rd Winner – Ethan Sohrabian, Model

Music – Stephen Tang

Dance – Ashley Chau

Model – Brooklyn Williams, Stargo Academy

Actor –
Category Winner – Serena Wang
Category 1st Runner Up – Kelly Hof
Category 2nd Runner Up – Liat Assraf

Group B: 17 and over category

Overall Winner – AC5, Dance
Overall 2nd Winner – Emma Ren, Music
Overall 3rd Winner – Annie Liang, Lindance – Dance

Music – Breanna Ells

Dance – Spread Dance

Model – Truong Ng

Actor –
Category Winner – Kavita Taluja
Category 1st Runner Up – Anju Malhotra
Category 2nd Runner Up – AJ Spatola

About Markham Talent (www.markhamtalent.ca)
 Lead by Councilor Collucci, Markham Talent 2023 Open Casting Call is an event to
promote performing arts and entertainment industry in the City of Markham
 Organized by Markham Arts Council and Markham Ward 6 Councilor’s office, this
exciting event is co-chaired by Markham Ward 6 Councilor, Amanda Yeung Collucci,
Markham Arts Council’s Board Chair, Stephen Chait and Markham Arts Council’s
Executive Director, Shruti Ganapathy
 All proceeds from the event will go towards Markham Arts Council’s mission to continue
to support and promote local Markham artists on a global scale.

About Markham Arts Council (www.markhamartscouncil.com)
● Markham Arts Council is a registered, nonprofit, and charitable organization, first
established in 2004 with a focus on connecting local artists and promoting the various
diverse forms of art in Markham. It was founded to help the local under-served artists
and arts organizations to come together, network, share their resources and grow.
● Over the past 16 years, the Arts Council has played a leadership role in the
community, providing quality programming and services.

Media Contact, Interviews and RSVP:
Grace Zhou,
Executive Assistant to Councilor Amanda Yeung Collucci
905-305-5990/ Email: gzhou@markham.ca

Shruti Ganapathy
Executive Director – Markham Arts Council
Email: info@markhamartscouncil.com