The first time seeing Starbrite performances was a magical moment for me, meeting up with the previous winners Clark riders of 2013. What inspired me was that I thought I could do better not knowing that to be a winner like them it takes a lot of effort. Day one went to the Harare Auditions held at show grounds where it took me hours for my turn to come so that I could go on stage and perform due to the huge to the huge turn up of people that also wanted to show their various talents. When my turn came I made sure that I gave it my best, my hopes were high that I was going to be called again.
Second and third audition were held in at Alliance Francaise where I had to wait once again for my turn to come to showcase my talent and this time the competition was stiffer as everyone wanted to make it into bootcamp and only just a small portion of people could qualify. I went on stage and earned myself a sit in the bus.
In bootcamp my anticipation was that we would get there and be taught how to do dance but to my surprise it was all about learning how to adjust to difficult situations where missing a single instruction meant that as an individual or as a group we would suffer the consequences. If there are things I learnt in boot camp it would be to follow instructions, to have self-control, to be creative and to view myself as a better artist fit for the changing world, despite the harsh conditions, never quit.
Quarter finals came and I once again had to prove myself worthy of staying in the competition. On that day my performance was just a regular one which wasn’t exceptional but guaranteed me a sit in the semi-finals despite a not so quite outstanding performance
Semi finals came and this was one of my hardest acts to perform as I had to do three performances. Where one was a blend of the 80s and an urban song. The other performances were all personal choices. Eventually due to the judges’ comments it became clearer that it was going to take a lot to go through to the finals. Semi finals results were announced and I didn’t make it and all my dreams of winning a major competition like this were shuttered and I had to go home with a huge lump of disappointment behind my back
I considered quitting for a while and focused on school with little dance practice which was my favorite hobby. However after a long time I got the call for the Starbrite offices saying that they wanted me to attend a function together with other contestants where I was given a life line to prove myself for the last time. Once again I had to get back in shape and practice hard
The finals that were held in 2015 on the 28th of January were finally set and my last act which was to be held at 1+1 in long cheng plaza. There I gave it my best as I had been practicing for 6 months and had more than enough time to prepare for one act.
Not long after that my heart was racing again as winners were being announced to my surprise I was announced as the winner of the dancing category.
My acknowledgements go out to the whole Starbrite team, my family especially my mother and brother, my friends and colleagues, my dance crew house of illusion and most importantly to God who gave me this talent.
