After a two-year hiatus, the Garden of Dreams talent show returned to Radio City Music Hall last week. And the voices of Children’s Aid youth filled the famed auditorium.

The annual talent show, a partnership with the Garden of Dreams Foundation that allows young people to showcase their talent in front of family and friends, was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. But on April 13, six Children’s Aid youth sang, rapped, and danced across the stage.

Kaycee Santiago, 20, performed “The Schuyler Sisters” from the musical “Hamilton.” Though Kaycee has been singing since she was a child, this was the first time she showed off her voice to an audience.

“It felt good because my friends have never really seen me perform before,” Kaycee said. “It was fun for them.”

Kaycee, who interned at our music studio at the Next Generation Center in the Bronx, originally tried out for the 2019 talent show.

“I didn’t get in because I was really nervous, and I never perfomed in front of a panel,” she said.

In 2020, she knew what to expect. But Kaycee would have to wait two years to get on stage after her debut was canceled.

When it was finally time to rehearse, a coordinator for the talent show suggested she sing a duet with another Children’s Aid performer. Though Kaycee and Gianeé Martinez had met before, they had never sung together.

“Our voices synched nicely and it shocked me,” she said. The duo only rehearsed twice before performing on stage in front of hundreds of people.

Kaycee is studying education at Iona College, but she views her performance as a building block to recognize a dream of hers.

“One of my all-time dreams is to perform on Broadway, and I feel like this is a step in the right direction,” she said.

Denzel “Zel” Rodriguez began attending Hope Leadership Academy in 2017, where he honed his cooking skills as part of the culinary arts program. While his participation in his high school’s speech club meant he couldn’t devote as much time there, he continued to keep in touch with the staff.

Through his connection to Hope Leadership Academy, he was invited to watch the Garden of Dreams Talent Show in 2018 and decided to try out for the 2020 show. Originally a singer, Denzel became interested in writing his own raps in middle school.

“I love performing,” he said. “Performing is what keeps me sane. It keeps me distracted from the lifestyle I could’ve been living.”

Denzel was elated to get a call inviting him to perform at the 2020 talent show. But the world quickly shut down after he received the good news.

“I’m not going to lie, I was like, ‘We’re going to come back after spring break in April,” he said. “That did not happen.”

Denzel tried to be optimistic while he waited to perform, he said, and used the time to “self-reflect.” Rehearsals for the show finally began in January 2022. Denzel performed an original song called “Divinity” about a conversation he has with God.

“It was amazing – the intensity, the adrenaline, the nervousness,” he said. “I loved it all.”

In addition to being a rapper and a singer, Denzel is working on establishing his acting career. He has landed roles in the hit STARZ series “Power,” the television series “The Last O.G.,” featuring Tracy Morgan, and “Blue Bloods.”

Last summer, he shot a movie called “Showing Up” that features Michelle Williams and André 3000.

“I’m still ascending,” he said. “I’m still auditioning. I’m signed to an agency. I’m just trying to make my dreams come true.”