RapSohD's Mission

RapSohD is a non-profit community organization focused on helping teens, both girls and boys, with talents in the performing arts achieve higher educational goals.

One of our initiatives is an annual talent competition for girls aged 13 to 17 years old, with demonstrated talents in the performing arts and who maintain a good academic standing.

The young lady who is the winner of this competition will be able to participate in the annual Hal Jackson Talented Teens International Scholarship Competition (HJTTI) , usually held in New York, USA, but often in other locations such as St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, or, as was the case for 2005, in St. Maarten/St. Martin, W.I.

This is a week-long performing arts event culminating in a talent contest, where the overall winner gets a $5000 US scholarship to the college or university of her choice, in addition to other valuable prizes including a diamond ring and several trips to such fascinating destinations as Europe and the Caribbean. The girls ranked second through fifth also get scholarships in lesser amounts. Each year there are also some other special scholarships awarded.

How do we do this?

Our mission is to find a young lady who meets this profile and have her represent Canada in the HJTTI annual competition. The preliminary selection process requires an audition consisting of a short self-introduction (20 seconds) and the talent performance not exceeding 2 minutes. The performing talents to be considered include (but are not limited to) singing (any style), any musical instrument, dancing, gymnastics, theatrical monologue or juggling. Modeling, however, is not among the talents that are sought.

It is to be stressed that this is NOT a beauty pageant, but rather a performing talent competition. All performances have to be in good taste and the content and delivery have to reflect a healthy, youthful and moral lifestyle, appropriate to the age of the contestants. For more precise details of the RapSohD competition requirements please refer to our application form.

The winner, who will be crowned Miss Talented Teen Canada 2006, as well as the first and second runners-up will be selected during a public performance by all the contestants retained after the preliminary selection. The winner will have earned the prize of a trip with a chaperone (provided by RapSohD), to the international scholarship competition, in which she will participate as Miss HJTTI Canada.

This event will be held in New York City, NY, USA., July 22 - 30, 2006, where she will meet about 30 other girls and prepare for the competition. They will be kept busy with sightseeing, visits to various entertainment venues, shows, press conferences, luncheons, banquets and rehearsals for the final competition in which they will all perform on stage as a group, in addition to the finalists' talent performances. For greater details of the international competition, please see the HJTTI web site.

Who's our current Miss RapSohD Talented Teen?

The 2005 Miss RapSohD Talented Teen, who represented Canada at the 2005 HJTTI Competition, is fourteen-year-old DeCarla Clarke, from Montreal, a very talented young poet and actress who greatly impressed the RapSohD judges with her stage presence and delivery.

When and where will it happen again in Canada?

The 2006 RapSohD auditions will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2006 at the Black Studies Center, 1968 boul.de Maisonneuve West, Montreal as well as on Sunday, March 19, 2006 at the Pierrefonds Cultural Center, 13850 Gouin Boul. West, Pierrefonds starting at 10:30 am. An appointment is necessary. The finals will be on Sunday, April 29, 2006, also at the Pierrefonds Cultural Center.

Prospective participants are urged to contact RapSohD early by telephone, email or by filling out the application form. The application and all material must be received early in the year of the competition in order to register for the preliminary selection. Information sessions and rehearsals are usually scheduled at various dates prior to the finals at the Pierrefonds Cultural Center to which are invited all the contestants selected after the auditions, together with their families. Please check our site messages often to find out more details.

Good luck to all our talented young ladies!