On Friday the 14 October this year, all roads led to Independent School for the much-anticipated S4 Creole Festival: a glittering evening of dances, songs, games and dramatic skits. Invited guests turned up in their hundreds for two sold-out shows planned and executed by the school’s S4 students. The standing-room-only spectacles more than lived up to their billing, with various performances drawing applause from appreciative audiences.
First up was a video showcasing the winning entry in last year’s Inter-House Creole Song & Dance Competition. It was a good stroll down memory lane to the first competition of its kind in the school’s recent history. This was followed by a Moutya song performance titled ‘Leokri’, flawlessly carried off by an extremely talented team of singers and guitarists. A rousing rendition of the traditional game ‘Grandmama babe’ was up next to get the blood pumping. Hot on its heels came ‘Kontredans’, a dance descended from one copied by Seychellois slaves from French grand balls. In the same spirit came a Moutya dance soon after, depicting the suffering and anguish of the slaves.
After a short break came a Creole play, in the Creole language but with a contemporary theme – fidelity in relationships and marriages. It was quite an eye-opening look into social issues affecting our society today. Our special guest singer, Sly, took to the stage next for a stirring song titled ‘reste avec moi’. This in its turn was the perfect preamble for the high-energy, adrenaline-pumping ‘Mardilo’ dance to whip up the audience’s fervour; it was well worth the price of admittance alone.
The audience then cooled its heels with the ballad ‘La Kle’, a current chart-topper on the local music scene, by yet another group of talented singers.
The beautifully recited poem, ‘Kreolite’, a moving portrait of Seychellois culture, was up next. It was then time to bring down the house with a vigorous ‘Sega’ dance, after which the entire performing cast took to the stage for an encore to roars of applause from a thoroughly entertained audience.
A sincere vote of thanks is extended to all the teachers and staff who helped bring off the night’s success, from Ms Debra to Mrs Gedeon, Ms Rachel, Ms Esther, Mr Sessolo, Ms Lynn, Mr Charles, Mr Franky, Mr Herve, Mr Balette, Mr Maina and others. The show also benefited from the absolutely irreplaceable input of parents such as the aforementioned special guest singer, Ms Mary Helene, Ms Lindy Wirtz, Ms Vania, Mr Soomery and so on.
Special mention goes to Anthony Lim Sam of S2 and Ashley Petrousse of S3 for being part of the riotously successful evening. Of course, the amazingly talented group of S4 singers, dancers, thespians, planners, artists and costumiers who planned and executed the whole spectacle cannot go unmentioned. Neither can the caterers, cleaners and staff who kept the wheels turning. Last, but not least, the Principal Mr Esparon and the Vice-Principal, Mrs Balette, and the entire school administration, for their direction and assistance.