Sometimes you can attend an event with little expectations only for the performers to prove you dead wrong. That is exactly what happened to me on Saturday 30th June. I was invited to attend what was described to me lightly as a dancing competition but which later turned out to be an all-round talent auditions.
Just the way all good things start, the event started with a lot of confusion. It was scheduled to be held at the Madaraka social hall but the venue was changed to Mavoko Secondary School at the very last minute. What did the organizers expect when they chose Madaraka Social hall as their venue anyway? The hall is not yet ready for crying out loud. The construction has since halted and it is high time the County Government of Machakos looked into it for the sake of the youths.
This last minute change delayed the program. After waiting for like two hours, the event finally kicked off a few minutes past 1pm by some display of fine arts. Art exhibition was followed by singing and then rapping. To say that Mavoko Constituency is devoid of talents is a gross understatement. Various artists who graced the stage to face the four-bench panel of judges gave nothing short of powerful performances, cathartic even.
After Esther, a young girl, gave a wonderful rendition of Singer Amani’s song,” I am missing my baby,” the stage was officially opened for dancers and it was all vigour and vibrancy. Every dance group left the crowd in awe and I am sure the judges are having a hellish time choosing which dance group to select and which ones to drop. Christ Seed dancers, Unique dancers, Edu dancer and Supreme Legacy represented Athi River ward.
Other categories included rapping, spoken word, modelling, art and gravity, photography, acting and comedy.
Similar auditions will be held in the other three remaining wards making up the Mavoko Constituency. These include Mlolongo/Syokimau ward, Kinanie ward and Muthwani ward. Those artists selected from these auditions will participate in the Mavoko Talent Festival scheduled for August.
“Little things make a big difference. I always use this saying to advice upcoming artists not to overlook the small things. Every big artist started small. These auditions may appear insignificant but in the long run, they will open doors to young and talented artists from Mavoko to grace the big stages,” Said Wycliffe Oduor, one of the judges.
(judge Wycliff Oduor and Lilian Lucas/ image courtesy of Nicholus Mutinda)
Oduor is also the Chairman of Youths in Mololongo/ Syokimau ward. Other judges included Lilian Lucas, “Professor” from Athi River Ward and “ Masco” from Mlolongo.
“Upcoming artists should not put money first. Instead they should focus on perfecting their talents and then money will chase them. The problem we have with some artists from Athi River is that they glorify money at the expense of quality. We want to change this,” equipped Nickolus Mutinda, famously known as “Zumbu.” He is one of the organizers and a member of Project Management Committee (PMC) of Mavoko Constituency development fund.
(Nicholus Mutinda aka Zumbu during the event. He was one of the organizers.)
Nice one bro
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