New London - Dance, rap, poetry, song, and comedy burst onto the stage at a packed Garde Arts Center Friday night, with the region's youth front-and-center.

More than 1,450 kids, parents, and fans came together to take in New London's first youth talent show, and - judging from the roars of approval from the crowd - the lineup did not disappoint.

The audience waited patiently for the performances as the host, Youth Officer Anthony Nolan, urged people to fill every seat since so many people were waiting to get in. But once under way, the show took on a life of its own.

The opening poem recited with passionate intensity by Shariena Hill, a 13-year-old New London High School freshman, set the tone embodied by the very idea of this event - a show put on by New London youth to celebrate what is good in the city in the wake of the recent slaying of resident Matthew Chew.

Hill spoke mysteriously of a "darkness that comes uninvited," "an evil hiss" she called "it," and then identified as pain, anger, frustration, agony, bullying, violence and suicide.

" 'It' is hard to escape by yourself," she said, but friends can help because "there's always someone out there who cares ... 'It' has been conquered. 'It' has been destroyed."

Acts that followed included rap with backup keyboards by Kirshon Augmon, Frank Colmenares and Justin ''Jus Cuz'' Dozier, a solo rendition of "Hero" by Claudia Perez and dynamic dance moves by the JMD Latin Heat and a second group, Twist.

And that was just the first half of the first act. A total of 21 performances were on the bill.

Garde Executive Director Steve Sigel called the show a "salute to the city, a tribute to Chew, a statement of pride for a community that didn't want to be defined by a single horrific act."

Schools Superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer said the acts were "fabulous."

Students "needed a place to come out and be themselves," he said, and did so with dignity and an abundance of talent.

Watching from the aisle, Naje Papathanasiou, 14, said she came to seat people, hand out fliers - and to have a good time.

"There are other people coming to New London and I want to show them New London hospitality," she said.

Colmenares, who conceived the idea of an annual talent show at the first New London Anti-Violence Forum in December, already has 12,000 hits on YouTube for his rap songs, the M.C. said by way of introduction.

"I don't think y'all understand how much this means to me," he told the crowd. "I don't think y'all understand how much this means to New London.... If I had to pick my favorite performance tonight, it'd be y'all."

Proceeds from the $5 tickets will go to Writer's Block Ink.

p.daddona@theday.com