Glittering performance at Sandals Festival of Arts
THE OCHO Rios region covered itself in glory by winning seven of the nine categories in the local finals of the Sandals and ATL Group Festival of Arts Talent and Model Search Competition, held recently at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort.
In what was an amazing showcase of song, dance, instrumental and modelling, the brightest stars in the hotel group’s constellation shone brilliantly with some riveting and magnificent performances.
The Festival of Arts (formerly ENCORE) was created in 2003 to foster and develop talent within the Sandals and Beaches hotels and has seen major improvements each year since its inception.
The highlight of the night was undoubtedly the female vocalist category, which saw Shelly-Dean Bartley, an entertainment coordinator at Sandals Ochi, who sang Mariah Carey’s Vision of Love, engage in a dingdong battle with crowd favourite Mellow Shakes from Negril. In the end, Bartley’s stage presence and vocal clarity gave her the nod in what was a battle royale as both ladies were at the peak of their powers.
AMAZING FALSETTO
In the male vocalist section, Justin Morris from Sandals Ochi had the ladies screaming for more with his amazing falsetto and proved a clear winner with both judges and audience alike.
Other Ochi regional winners were Gerine Thompson, Spoken Word; Jevaughn Graham, Best Instrumentalist; Ashley Thomas, Best Female Model (from Beaches Ocho Rios); Patrick Ramsay, Best Male Model; Shevaughan Sewell and Reynaldo Gray, Group Dance.
The other winners were Toni-Gay O’Meally from Sandals South Coast for Best Solo Dance and Jason McIntrye, Beaches Negril, Best Clash DJ.
According to Sandals group manager of entertainment Joel Ryan, “Our company continues to create a platform for employees to showcase their talent. The feedback we have gotten from the public has grown tremendously and has progressed into an event that is highly anticipated.”
The international finals, showcasing winners from across the Caribbean, will take place in September at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort.
The Festival of Arts (formerly ENCORE) was created in 2003 to foster and develop talent within the Sandals and Beaches hotels and has seen major improvements each year since its inception.