Talented Dancers and Musicians Advance to the Next Round of Bill Riley Talent Search

DES MOINES, IA (08/16/2022) (readMedia)-- Five talented Sprout division acts (ages 2-12) and six Senior division acts (ages 13-21) have advanced to the semi-final round in Bill Riley's 62nd annual Iowa State Fair Talent Search. Each act will perform again on Thursday, August 18, Friday, August 19 or Saturday, August 20.

The names, ages, hometowns and routines of the sprouts acts are:

Dawson Huinker, 12, Musical Theater Vocal Solo; West Des Moines

Addley Agan, 9, Contemporary Dance Solo; Ackworth

Ryker Stock, 11, Piano Solo; Urbandale

Emily Weiss, 10, Acrobatic Dance Solo; Burlington

Mia VanTomme, 9, and Kenedy Klenk, 9, Hip-Hop Duet; Grinnell and Brooklyn

The names, ages, hometowns and routines of the senior acts are:

Carter Hayden, 21, Vocal Solo; Blairstown

Bailey Miller, 21, Lyrical Dance Solo; Gowrie

Hannah Thomas, 17, Vocal and Guitar Solo; Little Sioux

Josiah Bailey, 18, Vocal and Guitar Solo; Cedar Falls

Aubrey Klipdel, 13; Betsy Lehman, 13; Ella Varley, 12; Dance Trio; Urbandale

Elle Clark, 17, Vocal Solo; Humboldt

The Bill Riley Talent Search has put Iowa's young talent on stages across the state each summer since 1960. Acts competed statewide to qualify for competition in this year's Talent Search, where there are seven days of preliminary competition for Sprouts (ages 2-12) and Seniors (ages 13-21), followed by the semi-finals and, ultimately, the selection of one Senior Champion. The Sprouts do not compete beyond the semi-finals, but perform in the Championship Show as Sprout Champions, set for Sunday, August 21 at 1:30 p.m. on the Anne and Bill Riley Stage sponsored by Pepsi and media sponsor iHeart Radio.

More than $20,000 will be awarded to the Senior and Sprout divisions combined. The Bill Riley Talent Search is presented by Meta.

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The Iowa State Fair is one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country and the single largest event in the state. The Fair began over 160 years ago and is now considered one of the best events in the nation, attracting more than one million Fairgoers every year from all over the world. The Fairgrounds are located at East 30th and East University, just off the interstate and minutes from Downtown Des Moines. Find Your Fun at the Iowa State Fair, August 11-21, 2022. For more information, visit www.iowastatefair.org.