BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - LASTNIGHT (May 21), two Grade Four pupils, Jahmihk Gumbs and Geawn Forbes, gave a scintillating display of talent and confidence at Carnival Villlage and was adjudged the 2009 Prince and Princess of the annual Maurice Hiller Junior School Rainbow Pageant.
The other contestants were Savio Weeks and Serenity Johnson of Grade One, Devaski Percival and Melisha Etienne of Grade Two, Teesonie Wattley and Maluska Hamm of Grade Three, and Jwahir Powell and Andelique Golding of Grade Five.
Despite the late start, the show got in full swing just after 7:00 p.m. with a prayer by the school’s Principal Icilma Springer, which was followed by the singing of the national anthem.
The children then made their first appearance, the Fanfare, where they danced to a song titled ‘Hot up the place’, which is certainly what they did.
Followed by rousing cheers and applauses the children made their first judged appearance ‘Getting to know me’, where they introduced themselves and spoke on their interests and other aspects of their lives.
The Talent segment was a total shock to many. The children seemed to have given their all in this aspect of the pageant, which many patrons considered to be better portrayed than most contestants at similar events organised for adults.
In this segment, Forbes displayed the ‘dance life circle’, where she compared the human life to that of a flower. Her partner, on the other hand, played the role of a photo journalist and depicted the many challenges he faced and obstacles crossed before accomplishing his lifelong dream.
The other contestants also displayed other great talent performances which included keeping the culture alive, playing of the piano and dances. But the performance that was best appreciated by the audience was a dance done by Hamm displaying ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
Although rain momentarily interrupted the event, the children continued with their performances.
The Costume Appearance was no different from that of the Talent in regards to crowd reaction, as the children once again seemed to have given their all. They displayed not only colors, but also creativity in each costume while dancing back and forth on the stage.
This was followed by the Evening Delight Wear, where the children were all nicely dressed to impress. The pageant also included performances by the Okolo Tegremantine Dancers, King Konris and the Grade Four Dancers. Calypso Reggie was the Master of Ceremony.
