New London — Sixty young people from the city and surrounding communities performed at Saturday’s fifth annual New London Youth Talent Show, dazzling the full house at the Garde Arts Center with their poise and talent. 

The production that began five years ago as a response to the brutal murder of Matthew Chew, a beloved member of the city’s arts community, and the subsequent arrests of six local teens, has taken on a life of its own. 

This year’s show took on the theme of #ItTakesAVillage, and the adults who coordinated the show marveled as the performers, ages 10 to 25, came together and relied less on the adults for direction. 

“There’s a lot more training from the kids to the kids,” said Anthony Nolan, a city councilor, police officer and youth advocate. 

Backstage before the show, the performers were helping one another with costumes, hair and self-confidence. 

“They’re like my second family,” said Sara Coley, 11, of Preston, a student from the Interdistrict School for Arts & Communication (ISAAC), of her fellow performers. “They cared for me when I was crying the other day.” 

Saturday night, Coley fearlessly sang a solo rendition of “Mamma Knows Best” by Jessie Jay. 

Many of the performers were veterans who said that their past involvement with the talent show had led to other opportunities, including TV appearances. 

“This talent show brought our crew to new heights,” said Todd Belcher of New London. His former group, WTO Dance Crew, landed a performance on BET’s 106 & Park in 2013. He was performing Saturday with another hip hop group, Team Elements. 

“It’s so universal and uplifting and hopeful,” he said of the music. “It travels to every race.” 

The talent show has brought hope and healing to adults involved as well. 

“When my friend Matt got killed, I felt there was no reason to live,” said Marco Frucht, a friend of Chew who serves as the instrumental talent coach. 

When in 2010, Frank Colmenares came into a meeting, “ranted” about the need to show the city’s youth in a positive light and suggested a talent show, “I wasn’t blue anymore,” Frucht said. “Every year has been better than the other.” 

The young performers are aware of how the show started, but director Curtis K. Goodwin said, “we don’t have to touch on it so much.” 

“There’s so many people with so many stories,” he said. “We have people with diseases to diabetes to autism to homelessness performing tonight.” 

Chew’s family has never attended the show, but his mother, Marilyn Chew, said in an email from California that she and her husband, Rick, are “very much aware of it and have been kept informed about it every year.” 

“We are so happy that it was established in Matt’s memory and feel this is a great way to show that there are so many wonderful and talented kids in New London, who are not defined by a few bad kids who look for trouble when they get bored,” she wrote. 

After a performance by the New London High School Marching Band, Colmenares — who is also known as rapper Frank Grams — and Eric Jones, backed by a choir of young people, performed a remix of the song “Glory” from the movie “Selma” before the entire ensemble came on stage. The song hit upon some of the challenges faced by young people, such as having young parents, lack of programming and the effects of social media, but also sent a hopeful message. 

“We can’t change the past,” Colmenares told the audience. “But we can change the future.”

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN