Dancer Lynn Medford has launched Guyana’s latest institution dedicated to the performing arts with the aim of giving artists an opportunity to be professionally certified in 30 areas covering dance, drama, music, and film.
The Academy for the Performing Arts, a non-profit, which debuted last Sunday at the MovieTowne Fiesta Plaza has been in the planning stages since 2009, Medford said, and has built up a large following though it only operated in the field of dance.
According to her, while the academy will open in September, summer programmes will be offered. She explained that the academy will be offering some 150 scholarships to those desirous of studying, and called on corporate Guyana to get on board and assist with the sponsorship of 50 scholarships.
Medford said actress Letitia Wright was the inspiration behind the academy and she was currently in talks with the star to solidify relations with the academy. She stressed that she believes the performing arts have a vital role to play in moulding positive minds and attitudes and that all efforts should be placed in the sector to see more successful artists like Wright.
The academy launched a series of events and programmes for 2023 with the first being its inaugural talent stage, which will be held over the next three months and offers participants the first batch of scholarships, cash, and prizes up to $2 million. At the launch, a few of the participants showed off their skills and wowed the crowd. The talent stage is open to dancers, singers, and other performing artists. A second batch of auditions was held on May 5, 6, and 7 at MovieTowne and another series is expected to be carried out next weekend.
According to Medford, talent stage participants will be awarded scholarships to study and become certified in their craft.
The academy is also looking to host a culture square which will be announced at a later date.
Medford said that all of the academy’s events will be spearheaded by the Enigma Entertainment Group, which she heads.
Meanwhile, the academy is expected to take an unorthodox approach by operating at the grassroots level in communities across the country to promote a kind of yard theatre. It will also have three main locations in Berbice, Linden, and Georgetown for formal sessions where the summer programmes will begin.
Medford stressed that it was her lifelong dream to establish such an academy given that she as an artist had to leave Guyana to receive training and become certified. She said that the mission of the academy is to provide an opportunity for others who would want to do the same without having to leave their homeland.
“We have a wealth of talent but we have limited opportunities… Guyanese are generally very talented,” she stressed.
The academy’s website will be up and running by the end of May. However, it can be contacted on telephone number 656-9608.
