Curtis wins 2015 Mr. Blue Devil

By Sebastian Gonzales
Bluedevilhub.com Editor–

The annual Davis High “Mr. Blue Devil” competition took place Friday, Apr. 17, at the IPAB. Joe Rainer, John Paul Leigh and Nate Curtis were the three of the eight total contestants to receive awards.

Beginning at 7:00 PM, the contest first began with a dance integrating all eight members of the competition, and then quickly transitioned into the most anticipated event of the evening: the talent show.

Leigh was first to perform, and wooed the three judges and the audience alike with a beat box that incorporated impressive raw vocals as well as computer sounding clicks and booms. “An incredible performance,” judge and DHS alum Rami Rashmawi later called it.

Next on the stage was Cole Yambrovich, sporting a shirt reading “Twerk Team Captain.” He danced, sung and twerked to Miley Cyrus.

Gabe Leal performed a comedy skit that included humor some thought to be a bit touchy for a high school event. Nonetheless, the judges were happy the adult supervisors allowed him to perform.

“I’m glad they let (Gabe’s performance, along with certain jokes made by the hosts) slide. Usually it’s much more censored. I’ve actually seen them stop the show in the middle of a performance before,” Rashmawi said.

Curtis, Conrad McCarthy and Aditya Tuladhar each performed singing and dancing routines in mood setting, sometimes extremely revealing, costumes.

Jeff Walen executed a gymnastic routine as graceful and elegant as “a dolphin that doesn’t live in the water,” according to judge and also DHS alum Andrija Marquez.

Joe Rainer’s act was one of the most highly anticipate, as it was known to the crowd that he had something special planned that he would only describe as “related to something big that’s happening soon.”

“I’m super jittery, but I’m stoked”, Rainer said before his performance. “But I just want to go out there and have fun.”

When he first emerged from behind the curtain, the hundreds of DHS students, parents and faculty, were clearly disappointed as it appeared as though his was just another dance routine to a groovy 70’s beat. That all changed however, when the lights abruptly went out and a Sith Lord (Senior Jesse Hopp) appeared on the stage, a reference to the newest episode of the famous Star Wars series, set to be released in December of 2015.

He and Rainer ducked, dodged, and dove around the theater, piercing the darkness with their red and green light sabers. With dramatic Star Wars battle music in the foreground, Rainer, the evident Jedi hero, finally struck down and beheaded his enemy to a loud roar of the crowd.

After the judge’s discussion and audience voting during intermission, the three award winners were announced. Leigh would receive the “judge’s choice award”, Rainer the “first runner-up” and Nate Curtis the grand title of “Mr. Blue Devil 2015.”

“I’m honestly really surprised,” Curtis said afterward. “Everyone was so great. Nobody was really in it to win it, we just wanted to go out and have fun with the common goal of blowing everyone away, and I think we definitely did. I’m just really happy I decided to participate, it was so much fun.”