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Nhlalwenhle Ngwenya
ORGANISERS of the Dream Star Zimbabwe talent show have begun searching for talent in the country with auditions being spread to universities.

Dates for the auditions have been announced with the first round pencilled for Masvingo at the Chevron Hotel today.

Established by the Chinese Federation of Zimbabwe (CFZ), Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation, DreamStar Zimbabwe Talent Show is an entertainment platform that seeks to empower talented youths aged between 12 and 40 to help them rise from the backstage to the big stage.

Tinashe Kitchen, one of the organisers, said auditions would also be held in Mutare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Harare. Dates for university auditions are yet to be announced.

“For the first time, we’re going to be holding talent auditions at universities as we believe there’s a lot of untapped talent there. So far, we’ve engaged two universities, University of Zimbabwe and Chinhoyi University who’ve agreed to partner us,” said Kitchen adding that they were in talks with other universities.

Bulawayo auditions will be held on August 12 at the Rainbow Hotel with Gweru auditions being held on the next day at the Midlands Hotel. Kitchen said their talent search was unique in that it does not only focus on singing and dancing but also incorporates comedy and any other outstanding talent.

The winner will walk away with $3 000 with the first and second runners up set to receive $1 500 and $750 respectively.

The organisers have also engaged the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe to assist them reach a wider audience.

“This year, we’ve also reached out to the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe which is going to help us reach a wider audience and manage to get the best talent to make the talent show even more intriguing.”

Other than scouting for talent, Dream Star recently launched a scholarship platform for its participants to go and study abroad in China.

“We’re working hand in hand with the Embassy of China who facilitated for six participants of last year’s Dream Stars edition to work in the Nanjing province of China. They’ll be back in Zimbabwe in March next year.

“We’re also offering academic scholarships to China Universities to all successful participants,” said Kitchen.

Last year, the competition was won by beat boxer, Tafara Dondo from Marondera, following in the footsteps of another beat boxer, ProBeatz who won the 2015 edition. He won $3 000.