Students to dance, juggle and more to aid charities

Same theme, expanded generosity.

The fourth annual Evening of Hope, Strength and Joy is set for 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Centennial High School, 10200 Centennial Parkway .

Founder and director John Woodbury returns with his band of multitalented student performers, but this year he has added a few twists to the program, he said.

Proceeds are still to benefit the Southern Nevada chapter of the Make-A -Wish Foundation but also Opportunity Village, a nonprofit group that assists people with intellectual disabilities. Clients of the two charitable organizations are slated to perform in the benefit .

Woodbury sought to expand the fundraisers' recipients because donations doubled in past years, he said.

"It's amazing to me that the Centennial (Hills) community and the community around us really embrace it," he said. "I hear from people all the time they are excited it's coming up."

Twenty-six acts are slated to perform musical numbers, dance, including fusion , a Polynesian routine and juggling. New to the format is free running, an acrobatic form of movement.

"It's more like an art versus a sport," performer and Centennial Hills High School sophomore Rahim Andersen said. "Basically, (it is) getting over, under and around things as fast and efficiently as you can with as much form and style as you can."

Andersen and his triplet brother Shaun are to perform the act together to music. The pair practiced the organized flips and moves for a month before their Evening of Hope, Strength and Joy audition, he said.

"We thought it would be a cool thing for people to see," he said.

The event kicks of a weekend where the Make-A-Wish Foundation is in the spotlight. The 11th annual Run for a Wish 5K, a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser hosted by Kendall Tenney , is planned for 9 a.m. Saturday at Town Square Las Vegas , 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South . Online registry for the walk is closed .

It's the fourth year the events are hosted in tandem, Woodbury said. Performers from the first show are scheduled to graduate this year, he added.

"It's almost like we're a little club," Woodbury said.

Senior Timothy Pagulayan is to sing "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer, an upbeat song with a message to never give up, he said.

Pagulayan hopes to return to future Evening of Hope, Strength and Joy events as an alumnus.

"It's really been an honor for me to be part of the show," he said. "Every time I sing, I feel like I'm helping other kids fulfill their dreams."

Tickets are $10 at the door. There will be no online presale this year, Woodbury said.

For more information, call 245-4040.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.