18th Twinkle Twinkle Little Star show a resounding success |21 August 2023

The weekend’s 18th Twinkle Twinkle Little Star show was a resounding success (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

The 18th Twinkle Twinkle Little Star show was a resounding success!

On both days, Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th, the show was held inside a packed International Conference Centre (ICCS).

The show kicked off at exactly 4pm, and this year once again the hosts were the show’s creator and artistic director Bennet Accouche and Vurna Payet Mondon.

After a hiatus of three years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, instead of 15, this time 18 little stars performed on the stage with the encouragement of the public.

We heard songs in French, Creole and English accompanied by special gestures/dance and the interaction of the children which made the crowd go wild.

In addition to the young contestants, the show featured various guest performers such as Walter Larue and his grandchild Riri, Sophie Morgan, one of the first participants featured in the 2001 show, and various groups of children and young people.

Moreover, during the show, Sir Bennet also announced the creation of a new children's choir and noted that the choir will also include some of the young singers who took part in the 18th Twinkle Twinkle Little Star show.

“It was not easy and amidst challenges, I think we pulled off a lovely show and there is no looking back. We came back stronger and I was surprised by the number of children who showed interest in participating in the show. I had to choose 18 children out of more than 150 kids,” said Sir Bennet.

“This year also we added a child of 10 years old and this will be a regular feature in the show. I had to look for sponsors and you have to be very strong” shared Sir Bennet.

What did Sir Bennet do to make the children gain such confidence on stage?

Sir Bennet shared humbly that it is his inner strength. “I have been to one of the worst schools, Les Mamelles school and I experienced quite a bit. At the age of 17, I was able to slowly get some of the youths together and form the first school band. We even took part in a national day celebration. So, I always said to myself: ‘If I was able to achieve so much at 17 years old, I can do much more!’ It is also natural for me to work with children. What you see today requires a lot of work and I think I was able to instill confidence in these children,” shared Sir Bennet.

First Lady Linda Ramkalawan attended the entire three-hour show on Saturday, and enjoyed every single song and performance. “It was formidable and spectacular. It exceeded my expectations and the level of confidence demonstrated by the children is just amazing. I do not know what method Sir Bennet uses with them but it is very positive. My wish is to see many more children get the opportunity to show off their talents and develop their talents. One Twinkle is not enough!” said Mrs Ramkalawan.

Honorary Cultural Ambassador Patrick Victor was overjoyed with the performance of the children. Among the 18 songs, two were Mr Victor’s compositions. “This is a positive sign for the country and Seychelles has indeed a pool of talents waiting to be tapped into. I would like to make an appeal to the government, to the private sector to look into how to finance these types of programmes. It is a shame that year after year artists have to run around to look for funds to run such programmes. Our small country keeps producing talents and we need to have in place a proper support system,” said Mr Victor.

During the show, ailing artist Jean Quatre was recognised by Sir Bennet and Education Minister, Dr Justin Valentin, one of the first presenters of the show in 2001. The sponsors were also recognised.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a talent show specifically designed for children aged between five and nine years old. It serves as a platform for these young individuals to showcase their unique talents and skills. Since its initial debut in 2001, the show has become an annual event, welcoming children from all corners of the country.

The accompanying photos were taken by our photographer Louis Toussaint.

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