WINNERS of the Jamaican leg of Sandals and Beaches Resort International’s Talent and Model Search have been awarded performing contracts by the company.

The contracts will allow them to be paid while displaying their talents as individual artistes during show time at the respective resorts.

The top models, singers, dancer and instrumentalists were selected at the company’s annual talent showcase held at Sandals Grande Riviera recently.

The Jamaican champions will compete against their counterparts from Sandals/Beaches Resorts in St Lucia, Antigua, Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas for the international crowns, slated for St Lucia on Saturday.

The Ocho Rios region claimed three of the six places up for grabs.

Overall winners were: Kaisha McDonald, Best Female Vocalist; Robert Wisdom, Best Instrumentalist; Rennex Tapper, Top Male Model (Ocho Rios Region); Jamie Green, Top Male Vocalist, (Sandals Resorts International); Karalee Cole, Best Dance Act (Negril Region); and Krystal Nembhard-Reid, Top Female Model (Negril Region).

The event, dubbed ENCORE (Entertainment Now Creates Opportunities Rewarding Excellence), is the brainchild of Sandals’ Creative Director Weston Haughton, and started in 2003 to showcase the vast array of talent present in the company.

Each region: Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios, staged their regional finals to select champions in the respective categories, setting the stage for the competitive Jamaican National Finals.

The Female Model section was one of the highlights of the evening and Nembhard-Reid had to use all her stage technique to emerge victorious in an exciting competition, which drew much applause from the packed venue.

Also riveting was the Female Vocalist category, with all the competitors providing stellar routines. McDonald’s superior vocal prowess and dramatic on stage presentation, proved decisive, however, and captured the hearts of judges and spectators.

Jamie Green, doing an original composition, warmed the audience with a virtuoso performance and was a popular choice as male vocalist. He was a bundle of energy on stage and a clear-cut winner.

Male Model Rennex Tapper had the females in the audience swooning as he showed off his well-toned, muscular physique, to turn back all challengers. The Dance Category was a joy to watch, with Lee’s creativity and brilliantly choreographed movements being too hot for her competitors.

ENCORE was action packed from the start, as all contestants produced high quality performances that ignited an audience comprising Sandals and Beaches management and staff as well as friends and well-wishers.

Judges for the event were Miss Jamaica world 2012 Deanna Robins, and fashion and dance impresarios Mark McDermoth and Fabian Thomas

According to Sandals’ Creative Director Weston Haughton, the company, realising the need to showcase the talents of team members from the various resorts around the Caribbean, a global Sandals and Beaches Talent and Model Search Competition (ENCORE) was introduced to encourage camaraderie, to motivate and to provide unique opportunities to staff to widen their horizons.