Twelve voices, two teams, one stage. NATIN and VWO4 faced each other in the final of the song and dance battle on Friday evening. The tension was palpable in the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall, but underneath that healthy rivalry was something that had grown in recent weeks: friendship. In the end, NATIN took home the grand prize of 10,000 US dollars. But once the results were known, it turned out that winning and losing was not the most important story of the evening.
Text and image Shanavon Arsomedjo
The final started with a message from Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Lalinie Gopal. According to her, all schools that participated in the competition are winners. She referred to the collaboration, talent and especially the desire of young people for a platform on which they can develop. According to her, the quality of the performances showed that there is a need for this. That is why the minister immediately appealed to ensure that Got Talent can return annually. She had a simple message to the young people: keep believing in yourself.
“No cheering winners versus defeated losers. Both teams ran into each other’s arms”
Then the stage was for the young people themselves. A joint dance act from several participating schools got the evening moving, with a guest performance by MC Tirzah Perk. Presenter Priscilla Graanoogst called it a historic evening. Not only because it was the final, but also because both schools had already been in the final battle before.
Moreover, the journey to this evening did not just start. Forty schools were visited, after which ten schools ultimately reached the show round. From August 18, they went to battle on Tuesdays and Fridays in song, dance and drama performances. Every round brought new challenges, new feedback and, above all, new reasons to practice even harder. And that practice had clearly not been in vain this evening.
From locker room to battle
For the big confrontation between NATIN and VWO4, Bblanco was first allowed on stage. As soon as his song ‘Picasso’ started, the audience turned into a singing crowd. The young people at the front sang along loudly and clearly enjoyed the performance. But then it was really time for the final. The two teams had shared a locker room throughout the season. They had laughed together, dreamed, motivated and encouraged each other. They knew each other’s nerves and successes. Now they had to confront exactly those people.
The first round was singing. NATIN appeared with a clearly developed concept. Guest judge Ivanka Ritfeld immediately saw the energy and preparation. According to her, thought had been given to both the presentation and the clothing and the party singing came out well.
According to her, VWO4 mainly showed unity and worked purposefully. Jury member Brigitte Hilversum also saw the school’s strategy. Controlled, focused and clearly prepared, was her assessment. “It’s a heartfelt finale,” she summarized. However, Rodney Deekman kept the teams on their toes. He thought NATIN was a bit cautious in parts and expected more energy. According to him, VWO4 gave him more eagerness and came across as more powerful. He also noticed the fact that several students at VWO4 took lead vocals. The battle therefore remained completely open.
The dance floor
After the singing battle, Kenya Domini caused a short interruption of the competition with ‘Sutu Satan’. At least, officially. The students thought differently. Especially the schools that were at the front spontaneously turned the floor into a dance floor.
Then the second round was announced: the dance battle. It was made up of four parts. First, each team brought their own secret mix. Both schools were then presented with the same Surinamese mix of 45 seconds. Next came the songs that started the Got Talent tour. A buzzer determined when it was the next school’s turn. In the meantime, the audience was given an extra role as a referee with a whistle, when Graanoogst needed extra help.
Ivanka saw clear differences between the teams here. According to her, NATIN opted for large, creative movements, while VWO4 was also able to be creative with smaller movements. According to her, VWO4 really seemed to want to enter the battle. Brigitte then called the finale downright “mind-blowing”. According to her, there were many more tricks and surprises than could easily be predicted. Both teams were hungry. Rodney even seemed to park his jury role for a moment. He bowed to the teams before giving his verdict. He had felt the energy. They wanted to win. They were angry with each other on stage, but mainly because they wanted so badly to show what they could do. According to him, VWO4 threw extra energy towards NATIN and entered the battle fully.
“The school received 10,000 American dollars and a performance bonus of 27,500 Surinamese dollars”
One winner, two winners
While Lingo & Skoomsky treated the audience to a performance before the result, the result hung over the hall like an invisible mist. When the redeeming word finally came, it was NATIN who was allowed to celebrate the victory. The school received 10,000 US dollars and a performance bonus of 27,500 Surinamese dollars. VWO4 went home with 5,000 US dollars and a performance bonus of 25,000 Surinamese dollars.
But the most striking moment came immediately afterwards. No cheering winners versus defeated losers. Both teams flew into each other’s arms. Some congratulated, others comforted. What became visible on stage was what had been building behind the scenes for weeks: a bond that turned out to be stronger than the competition. When the journey video was shown later, the students were again close to each other. Arms around each other, looking together at the road they had traveled.
Kimany Nelzon from NATIN aptly described the feeling afterwards. He was of course very happy with the victory, but emotional at the same time. NATIN and VWO4 had been in the locker room together from day one. They had become close. “There was enmity on stage, but we became friends,” he told De Ware Tijd. And therein lay the double feeling for him.
The last night
The victory also came after a final grueling training day. At midnight the last training session had started for NATIN. The students stayed at school until half past four in the morning. Four hours later they had to be there again. So they were definitely tired. But they managed to use the last bit of energy on stage.
Now comes the peace. Kimany is looking forward to sleeping in and spending the holidays with his friends. But he doesn’t just leave the stage behind. He wants to continue performing and being in front of the camera and will see what opportunities present themselves. According to him, as a team, NATIN will take one lesson from this special journey: tolerance. “Because if you can tolerate each other and go through difficult moments together, you can achieve anything.”
