(Seychelles News Agency) - A platform to identify young children in Seychelles who have got talent, especially to sing without having any stage fright; that is what the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star show is all about.

Hosted for the very first time in November 2000, this year saw the twelfth edition of the show which sees tickets sold out for two consecutive shows each year.

Fifteen boys and girls aged between 6 to 10 years old from various districts on the Seychelles main island of Mahé, as well as second most populated island of Praslin, entertained parents and friends gathered at the Seychelles International Conference Centre last weekend, on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 August.

Elegantly dressed, some of them clearly depicting the theme chosen for this year’s show, ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ the fifteen little starts interpreted local and international hits, choosing to sing either in Creole, French or English, the three national languages of the island nation.

The kids amazed their audience with their choreographed moves as they sang.

Every year more than a hundred parents register their children in the hope of being chosen to participate in the show.

This year auditions which started in June saw some 116 boys and girls trying out their luck to win a slot on the show but in the end only four boys and 11 girls managed to secure a spot.

At the helm of the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’s show from the start Bennet Accouche, the show’s producer and artistic director expressed his satisfaction and joy following the performance adding that each year he is blown away by the talents displayed by the children.

“I am very happy. I did not know what to expect from the Little stars. Some of them were very shy and quiet during rehearsals but when they got on stage, they were completely transformed and became a real star,” Accouche told SNA.

One important aspect of the show as the performing artists are very young children is to get them at ease and relaxed to face the crowd. This year, Accouche had local comedian, Vurna Mondon, as co-host, who he said did a wonderful job in bringing more humor thus helping to relax the children.

For Accouche Twinkle Twinkle Little Star helps to build the confidence of the children.

“We have seen that some of them have become artists, some beauty queens (Miss Seychelles) while others even participated in other singing contests after a few years like in ‘Sesel I anan talan’ (Seychelles Has Got Talent), the Indian Ocean islanders' mix between US talent competition ‘American Idol’ and ‘Britain's Got Talent’ competition in the UK.

“This is the platform where children start to develop their hidden talents and skills, it starts on this stage and it becomes their passport for the future.”

SNA presents a collection of photos taken at the Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars Show (Patrick Joubert, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY