THE ATMOSPHERE was tense and electric with emotion.  The seven-to-12-year-old children that assembled at the School of the Nations last October all wanted the same thing: A chance to let their star shine.
At the end of it all, 14 were chosen out of approximately fifty who had showed up to compete. These will hit the National Cultural Centre’s stage next Thursday in the Tots and Tweens Talent Mania.
Prepare for an evening of singing, dancing, and in the words of organiser Collette Jones-Chin, “stiff competition.”

The contenders

Jones-Chin says the objective of the show is to nurture and mould the youths, making them more rounded. In this regard, the arts will be used to educate.  
A teacher of Art, English and Drama at School of the Nations, Jones-Chin believes the arts have become more functional than decorative, and it is time to take things to the next level.
Illustrating her point, she described clothing, for instance, as more artistic. A painting also is not only about being decorative, but about what it can do for the space it occupies. Pottery has to do more than just sitting there; it has to be multifunctional, and is now typically a vase or a garden piece.
Jones-Chin has facilitated more than fifteen Organisation of American States’ (OAS)- sponsored workshops throughout the Caribbean by helping cottage artists to become entrepreneurs. She would like to have more teachers participating in her workshops in order for them to be more effective.
“I’m starting from the youth. I believe in education. If the teaching of the subject is not done creatively and attractively, we lose the kids.”
Jones-Chin recalls that when she was in school, she did well in Biology because of the drawing, and thus advocates more visual teaching methods. “If we do that with kids in any subject – maths, science, social studies – it would stick with them if it is dramatized. Instead of telling them Guyana has six races, have them draw the six.
Jones, who has travelled widely, said her thing is to move around, look and learn, and make the best of her creativity. Last August, she launched ‘Young @ Art’, where she worked with children between ages 7 and 14, teaching them arts, drama, calisthenics, voice training and dance. Of the hundred children registered, 85 graduated in August with certificates.
Jones plans to promote the children around the Caribbean, and wants to create a stage to host other young people. After the final ten were found, the dancers were trained by dance specialists, drama specialists trained the actors, and music specialists trained the singers. Tots and Tweens Talent Mania is expected to be an annual event. 
A treasure chest of prizes awaits the winners. The 1st  prize is $100,000  (in a Republic Bank Right Start account), a bicycle, a hamper, plus a trophy; The 2nd prize is  $75,000 from Chris Auto Sales,  a bicycle,  a hamper and  trophy; 3rd prize is $50,000 from Citizens’ Bank, a bicycle,  a hamper and a  trophy.  Each participant will receive a trophy and a hamper.
The auditions were adjudged by Director of Classique Dance Company, Clive Powell; talk show host Olive Gopaul; actor Richard Narine, and the Director of the Tina Insanally Foundation (TIF), Vinood Ramsammy.
The show will start promptly at 18:45h, stressed Jones-Chin, noting that she is breaking the trend. She asks that patrons to the show come early, as children can be part of the ‘Enchanted wonderland’.   
Activities will include face painting by Bravo Arts, and patrons can have a prince or princess makeover.
Other sponsors on site will be Tons-of Fun, Sterling Products Limited, Bryden and Fernandes, Republic Bank Limited and Herdmanston Lodge.
Jones-Chin believes that when Guyanese become more artistically aware and conscious of the aesthetic value that the arts can add to a country, there will be less garbage (literally and figuratively).