Donna Collins
The Namibian Championships of the Performing Arts (NATME) awards ceremony ended in Hollywood style with a dazzling variety show last Saturday night.
Top award contestants took part in the world-class talent contest held at the National Theatre of Namibia. A full three days of judging from Thursday, 9 May, to Saturday, 11 May, in six different categories showcasing namely dance, vocals, instrumental, acting, modelling and visual art, kept 100 Namibian contestants on their toes, in age categories ranging from five to 30 plus.
The panel of five qualified judges, which included three from South Africa, one from Zimbabwe and one Namibian, selected 30 talented gold medal Team Namibia winners who qualify to perform in the 2020 World Championships of Performing Arts to be held in Los Angeles.
This feast of dancing, singing, modelling, acting and visual art was the third official NATME event staged and organised by Lomine Brynard. The aim is to grow, develop and showcase Namibia’s variety of talents in a competition that is affiliated to world-class standards.
Brynard pointed out that NATME highlights the creative skills and stand-out performances presented to a panel of highly qualified judges of the arts. It was also mentioned that by holding the event at the NTN Theatre, she aimed to keep the standard on an international level, by adding a Hollywood atmosphere to the competition and inspire the contestants for what lies ahead.
“It is surprising that most of our contestants taking part in the competition, don’t have formal training and yet come onto the stage so gifted, and with such natural talents,” said Brynard, adding that she is very proud of all the contestants who took part.
Brynard said this platform offers the local performing artists exposure opportunities to competitions such as the World Championships in LA, which is referred to as the Olympics of performing arts, where performers from around 60 countries come together. She also said that Namibians who have taken part in the World Championships previously have shone so brightly, scooping top accolades.
This year, the incredible acro dancer Job Le Clue from Windhoek, who also received gold for his performance at the last World Championships, took the 2019 Senior Grand Champion title. The Junior Championship title was awarded to Jamie Oosthuzen, while the Triple Threat trophy went to multi-talented Anri Brynard, who over the three days participated in dancing, modelling, acting and visual arts.
“NATME will continue to create this platform for Namibia’s performing arts talents and to help more young people believe in themselves with the hopes of reaching for the stars. This is not a performing arts competition that is just about winning medals, but one that can change your life and help fast track our Namibian girls and boys to make their dreams come true on international stages,” explained Brynard.