Dubai: The task was cut out for the three judges at Dubai Festival City last Friday — choose the ‘right ones with the best abilities’ for the finale of Kid Starz 2013.
It was easier said than done though. “All of them [the contestants] were great in their own right,” said Fiona Du Vivier, who along with Fayez Al Nusari and Shelley Frost were assigned the task of short-listing 18 contestants – 15 individuals and three groups across three categories – singing, dancing and music — to take part in the finals of Dubai’s first mall-talent show this Friday.
“It gets difficult when some of them command a greater fan following or a bigger crowd support. It’s heart-breaking then if we have to, sort of, go against that wave at those times. But we have to look beyond all that and focus on the stage presence of that performer. The amazing talent wins,” explained the self-styled creative guru who’s been fostering Dubai-based talent through her own company for the last three years.
Some made it extremely easy for the jury though. Swayam R. Bhatia, a six-year-old American of Indian origin, swept everyone off their feet with an astonishing version of Bollywood number Lungi Dance. “If I could take you home, I would, only to watch you dance everyday,” said Du Vivier.
Callum Thomas Bell, 13, from the UK and year-nine student at Jumeirah College (JC) who’s previously won a recording session in a studio, one of the several prizes here as well for having won a talent show in school rocked with Feeling Good by Muse. He will play his own composition in the finals. “I love the feeling of being up on stage and facing the audience. That is what I absolutely adore,” said the bespectacled Adele fan who looks more like a lab scientist than an aspiring pop star.
Another teenager, Natasha Adellina Eric, 14, from India amazed one and all with her near-perfect rendition of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep. “That’s a powerful voice from such a skinny girl,” remarked Frost of the lanky tenth grader from the Indian High school. “I have seen several professionals. In fact, I handle them daily, but never have I come across someone with so much depth in the voice as you have,” added the South African who runs The Fridge, Dubai’s leading artist and entertainment booking agency promoting locally based musicians.
It wasn’t all modern beats only as Boglarks Dora Kurucz, 12, from Hungary showed with her performance of Don’t Rain On My Parade a popular song from the 1964 musical Funny Girl that was also featured in the 1968 movie version.
Then there were musical treats from Ahmad Hossam Hussein, 14, from Egypt and Iskander Avazmuratov, 11, from Uzbekistan. Ahmad played the traditional Arabic Oud while Iskander rendered It’s Hard to Say Goodbye on a piano.
While these talents impressed with their vocal prowess, there were others who let their feet do the talking. Nidhi Liza Thomas, 9, from India did a Bharatnatyam piece Ganapathi Stuti. It’s an extremely precise ancient Indian classical dance form meant to narrate a story, usually mythical. Canadian Charlie Shae Waddell, 12, did an amazing Hip Hop Solo to the tune of Lose Control. Seven-year-old C Ryan Somaiah from India dressed like Michael Jackson paid a tribute to the legend by performing Smooth Criminal. While D. Fashionista Girls, a group comprising nine-year-old Isabelle Fransesca Cueva and 11-year olds Sheena Mae Ann Celis and Heart Ryan Evangelista — all Filipinas, showcased their repertoire of K Pop, Hip-hop and Reggaeton. They also performed a Kat De Luna number called Run The Show to some deafening cheers.
There was more Korean stuff on display thanks to Olivia Mercien Ferol, 8, and Noa Mercien Ferol, 6, both French-Australians who performed a dance fusion, hip hop, acrobatic routine to Fantastic Baby by Big Bang, an up-and-coming Korean band.
The diversity of the show was not lost even in the day’s final performance by Megha Satish, 12, from India who sang the famous Arabic song Ya Tabtab by popular Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram. “And it wasn’t even one of the languages she speaks,” said Du Vivier.
The finals are on Friday.
