‘Moutya Otour Dife’ showcases heritage of paradise |12 August 2016

In collaboration with the Seychelles Music Association (Seymas), Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino hosted a ‘Moutya Otour Dife’ evening event. 

The evening started with the unveiling of the picture frame of early days of Seychelles by the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St Ange and Berjaya Resorts area general manager (AGM) Gulab Rai, who were accompanied by the National Arts Council’s chief executive Jimmy Savy in the presence of representatives of artists in the country. At the same time, Seymas also marked the fourth anniversary of its Moutya Festival, which was initiated by the music organisation in July 2012.

“The ‘Moutya Otour Dife’ event portrays Seychelles’ culture and tourism on the same coin,” expressed Mr Rai.  

Having spent three years at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino, the area general manager stated: “I have learned a lot about the warm Seychellois hospitality yet this is another platform to showcase the Creole culture not only to locals but to our clients flocking in paradise around the globe. The team focussed on key elements as all the components of the historical photo frame wall projected were classy that cherished treasured memories down every Seychellois memory lane. At the same time, it would not have been possible without the support of the marketing team of the tourism department.”

For the last six months, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay has enjoyed an average occupancy of 75% on monthly basis.  

“This remarkable achievement could not have materialised without the strong synergy between staff and associates. The idea of creating a history photo frame wall was prompted by one of our associates to showcase the early days of Seychelles,” said the area general manager of Berjaya Resorts.

“Everything you do, every new thing that happens to you, every challenge you face, all become part of you and one day you will draw from these experiences and be glad you had them. The journey has been a great challenge but as a team we have accomplished our goals,” concluded Mr Rai.

“The foremost objective of Seymas is to promote, to represent and to defend the rights and welfare of the musicians, artists and members. Seymas needs to raise funds for the purpose of carrying out the objectives of the association,” said Jean- Marc Volcy, the chairperson of Seymas.

The highly anticipated show of ‘Moutya Otour Dife’ would not have been complete without live performances from Sandra Esparon, Jean-Marc Volcy, Jany de Letourdie, Berno Cedras, Isham Rath, Norville Ernesta, Antoinette Dodin, Ruben Larue, Andreix Rosalie and band Leve Tradisyon who showcased the upkeep and preferment of Seychelles most revered music heritage. As the local singers entertained the evening, moutya dancers gave guests an artistic medley of traditional and contemporary dances around the bonfire.

Minister St Ange said when he addressed the event that he needed to congratulate Seymas for its determination to continue to raise the level of music in Seychelles without losing sight of the island's culture and traditions.

“Tonight as I say words of congratulations to Seymas, I also need to say thank you to the GM and staff of the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino for working with the Seychelles musicians to stage this anniversary event. Our culture is today more than ever before the plus we have as a tourism destination. Let us all rally to have more of that culture in our tourism establishments and this through music and dance, through our Seychellois Creole cuisine, though our visual arts in all its forms and also through seeing more Seychellois in frontline positions at our tourism establishments,” Minister St Ange said. 

‘Moutya Otour Dife’ ended with a Creole disco, as guests danced the night away to classic Creole songs and also relished the traditional Creole midnight soup.