Twinkle Twinkle Little Star show |21 August 2014

Little stars put on brilliant performances

Against a magical Arabian décor, the 15 little stars of the 12th edition of the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star talent show excelled and the public was fully entertained.

The show, hosted by Bennet Accouche and Vurna Payet, was held on August 16 and 17 at the International Conference Centre to a packed house.

The ambassador for women and children’s affairs, Dr Erna Athanasius, was also present at the event.

The show started with the dynamic duet of Jaimine Nibourette and Shawn Cecile interpreting A whole new world. Famous local comedian Vurna Payet joined Bennet Accouche in welcoming the little stars and the spectators were all set for a two-hour ride of pure entertainment and laughter.

The performers were divided in three groups where they interpreted songs in French, Creole and English. The songs interpreted during the show were Butterfly by Anea Andoise (8 yrs), Greatest love of all  by Elka Laporte (10 yrs), Mersi manman, mersi papa by Teresa Adelaide (7 yrs), Top of the world by Emma Naidoo (8 yrs), Just the way you are by Rohan D’Offay (10), Achy Breaky heart by Chloe Abrams (7 yrs), Lavi rezete by Angie Boniface (10 yrs), All of me by Joshua Valentin (10 yrs), Madanm Edwar by Mitchella Legaie (9 yrs), Unconditionally by Rona Pirame (10 yrs), Bato Lafarin by Lusca Uzice (6 yrs), Someone like you by Samia Lablache (8 yrs), Pa ale by Carlos De Commarmond (10 yrs), I have a dream by Abigail August and Jonas by Francesco Albert (7 yrs).

Again this year, special guests were invited to perform. From the School for the Exceptional Child and the Rehabilitation Centre, Shanick Malvina and Marius Cedras performed an act accompanied by the song Attention le Docteur. This performance grabbed the attention of all those present and was highly acclaimed.
 
Seddick and Saddiqua Fanny Al-Abdulla sang Le telephone qui pleure, Dion Payet not only sang You raise me up but also played the guitar. The school’s choir interpreted Santiano and Rasanble tou bann zanfan. The guest artist for this year was Alahnah Payet who interpreted her famous song Butterfly.

Bennet Accouche, producer and artistic director of this children’s talent show, expressed his satisfaction and joy with the performance of the children.

“I am very happy. I did not know what to expect from the little stars. Some of them during the rehearsals were very quiet but on the stage they completely transformed and became a ‘real star’. I discovered them the same day as the audience and for sure the décor played a role in that. Vurna, my co-host, also did a wonderful job in bringing more humour thus helping to relax the children,” said Mr Accouche.

He said that taking part in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star boosts the children’s confidence, with some eventually achieving bigger things in life  such as becoming artists, beauty queens, with some even featuring in the famous singing competition Sesel I anan talan.
 
“The child starts developing their hidden talents and skills on this stage (Twinkle) and this becomes like a passport for the future.  We would not succeed in bringing this show to the public without the unconditional support of the parents and friends. All the children performed really well and we were able to provide pure entertainment to the public,” Mr Accouche added.

At the end of the show, all children present were invited on stage to sing and dance together with the little stars in a grand finale.

Dr Athanasius was quite impressed with some of the talents and mentionned that some of them might get invited to take part in the annual International Children’s Festival.
 
The accompanying photographs show the 15 little stars in action during the show.

Vidya Gappy