2026 Gators Got Talent show channels “Love Island” villa

Jan. 28, 2026 — After packing their sunscreen and donning their best tropical print outfit, audience members of the Jan. 10 University of Florida College of Medicine talent show were transported to paradise at “Gator Island.”

The 2026 Gators Got Talent show — where College of Medicine students came together for a night of performance and artistry — adopted a “Love Island” theme, inspired by the hit reality TV show and complete with British accents from emcees Zainab Asad and Alexander Yates and matching tropical outfits worn by the management team, Anvitha Addanki, Pavan Gudoor, Michael Colantuno and Ethan Benevides.

As in previous years, this year’s Gators Got Talent collected donations from attendees to support the student-run Equal Access Clinic Network, which offers no-cost health screenings and care throughout Alachua County. This year, the event raised over $2,500 thanks to generous donations from the 200 students, faculty members and loved ones in attendance.

The first act featured vocal and instrumental performances by medical students, with a wide array of styles performed. Second-year student Isabella Lewin took a classical approach to her violin performance, while first-year Angela Jiang played a medley of pieces from popular movies like “Up” and “Howl’s Moving Castle.” In an ode to the recent premiere of “Wicked: For Good,” first-year Bari Weiner and first-year Harmony Moore wore their finest pink and green gowns to sing the duet, “For Good.”

The second act featured lively performances of dance, comedy and even hamboning — a form of body percussion. For his unique performance, first-year Aidan Garemani slapped his thighs, smacked his chest and clapped his hands to demonstrate his talent. In an original rap, second-year Ricardo Stewart told his story of community and overcoming obstacles. Audience members got out of their chairs to salsa dance for Los Caimanes Salseros’ group performance of “Baile Inolvidable” by Bad Bunny.

Best vocal performance

“For Good”: Bari (Ari) Weiner and Harmony Moore

Best instrumental and dance performance

“Ani Maamin”: Sarah Blair

Best group performance

Bollywood Medley Dance: Abhinav Penmetcha, Anvitha Addanki, Ashley Amontree, Divya Reddy, Eduardo Mejia, Harini Sankar, Lily Lamb, Madeline Canal, Niki Patel, Rehan Shah, Ronak Kanodia, Sasank Desaraju, Shirsika Kummeta, Angitha Reji, Suman Sonty, Sweta Srinivasan and Vishnu Prasad

Best overall performance

“Baile Inolvidable”: Rodrigo Alcala, Vladimir Hernandez, Gissel Garcia, Henry Okonkwo, Jake LeClaire, Karol Aleman, Melanie Gonzalez, Michelle Martinez, Victor Mendez, Franco Terrero, Keenan Mike, David Weber, Eduardo Mejia, Gab Perry, John Mitchell, Jose Badillo and Audra Mosely

Best artwork

Oil paint on canvas: Arielle Ayotte

Performers

Grace Cheng, Noelle Dorvault, Alyssa Hamende, Harmony Moore, Audra Mosely, Sarah Paul and Aparna Prashar

Band — “Dreams” by The Cranberries

Mary Geary

Vocal — “Somewhere” by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, from “West Side Story”

Angela Jiang

Violin — A medley of “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “The Godfather” and “Up”

Maggie Zawoy

Vocal and piano — “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John

Yasmine Gillespie and Gab Perry

Vocal and piano duet — “Chasing Pavements” by Adele

Isabella Lewin

Violin — Chaconne in G Minor by Vitali

Sanjana Ravi and Eric Zeng

Vocal and piano duet — “When We Were Young” by Adele

Bari (Ari) Weiner and Harmony Moore

Vocal duet — “For Good” from “Wicked”

Aida Bibart

Vocal and acoustic guitar — “Aeroplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel

Rory Cawley

Original stand-up comedy

Sarah Blair

Violin — “Ani Maamin”

Matthew Jordan

Contemporary dance — “Save Me” by Noah Kahan

Aidan Garemani

Hamboning

Trevi Perez, Aida Bibart and Michael Rossen

Acoustic guitar trio — “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses

Rodrigo Alcala, Vladimir Hernandez, Gissel Garcia, Henry Okonkwo, Jake LeClaire, Karol Aleman, Melanie Gonzalez, Michelle Martinez, Victor Mendez, Franco Terrero, Keenan Mike, David Weber, Eduardo Mejia, Gab Perry, John Mitchell, Jose Badillo and Audra Mosely

Vocal and dance — “Baile Inolvidable” by Bad Bunny

Kunal Hanchate

Instrumental — Tabla

Ricardo Stewart

Rap — “Statistics Can’t Aim” by Rico

Abhinav Penmetcha, Anvitha Addanki, Ashley Amontree, Divya Reddy, Eduardo Mejia, Harini Sankar, Lily Lamb, Madeline Canal, Niki Patel, Rehan Shah, Ronak Kanodia, Sasank Desaraju, Shirsika Kummeta, Angitha Reji, Suman Sonty, Sweta Srinivasan and Vishnu Prasad

Dance — Bollywood Medley

Arts in Medicine showcase

Arielle Ayotte — Oil paint on canvas

Alyssa Hamende — Pen on paper

Erin Kim — Colored pencil on greyscale paper

Elyse Larson — Digital art print

Evelyn Larson — Yarn

Jasmine Primus — Oil paint on canvas

Shruti Kolli — Acrylic paint on canvas

Eric Han — Oil paint on canvas

Ursula Spence — Mesh, paper, plaster and latex paint on canvas

Sally Lu — Watercolor

Alyssa Davis — Crochet

Management team

Anvitha Addanki, Pavan Gudoor, Michael Colantuno and Ethan Benevides

Emcees

Zainab Asad and Alexander Yates