After much journeying, the sixth season of the teenAGE Expressions Tour is coming to a close. In a few days (May 2 to be exact), the winners from all the schools visited will compete to determine who is the most talented teen at Theatre Place in New Kingston. This week, we recap all the experiences of our tours across the length and breadth of the island. In all, 18 schools hosted the Tour and it will be interesting to see who among them emerges victorious. Here is the 2014 Tour Rewind:

Dunoon Technical High School

Dunoon Technical got the 2013-2014 edition of the teenAGE Expressions Tour off to a fine start. The 16 contestants that turned out all delivered commendable performances that were enjoyed by the students. Dancehall artistes Patexx and Darrio also performed to the delight of the crowd. At the conclusion of the festivities, third place was awarded to Shola Samuels, first runner up was Crystal Spence, and Dante and company as winners.

Spanish Town High School

“Swag” was the term used in reference to the talent displayed at Spanish Town High. Among all the memorable moments was the Cool Fruit Drink-off contest for both students and teachers. When all contestant delivered their pieces and the dust had settled, Dark Ice Dancers took third place; Family Frass Dancers came in second and Nickoland Wolfe took first place with his original song.

Decarteret College

Situated in the cool region of Mandeville, Decarteret College delivered a lot of vibes during teenAGE’s Expressions Tour visit. Impressively, there were a number of original pieces performed by the students. In addition to the talents of their peers, students were treated to a fine performance by recording artiste Denyque, who had the girls singing along and the boys eager to join her on stage. The judges decided on which performers would emerge on top, and they decided that Fifth Avenue should be third, Raheem and company second, and Demoy Clarke (the Verbal Assassin) in first.

Holland High

The distance travelled to Holland High in Trelawny was well worth it, given the talents witnessed at the school. The talent was not only vast, but also diverse as there was dance, poetry, song and drama. Students were very engaged and answered multiple trivia questions related to Expressions Tour sponsors.

At the end of it all, in third place was Ghetto Mix-up, with Answele Riley in second place and the first place winner was Sewyane Smith.

Ewarton High School

The variety of talent offered by Ewarton High School this year did not go beyond the usual dub poetry performances and dance routines. That said, the winners representing Ewarton in this year’s finals, a boy and girl twin dub duo, DeJohn and DeJah Brown, will be very strong contenders. Ground was broken at Ewarton High this year, when a teacher, Otis Genius drank his way in a mere seven seconds, to the record holder status of the traditional Seprod Teacher Drink-off.

Yallahs High School

Yallahs High had a lot of dj’s and singjays this year. And from a line up of so many singers and dj’s, a poet was chosen as the winner. Toni-Ann Hyatt will be much a contender but her dub piece Hard Life was one of the most creative on the tour this year. In third place was Alex Lawrence, while Marvin and Company were second. Yallahs certainly had a lot of “vybz” among the crowd. Their crowd reaction to the performances as well as guest artistes Delus and sound selector, Rolexx, was orderly and yet very entertaining.

Lewisville High School

Now, Lewisville High was one of the schools that offered the most variety in their talent line-up. A part from the usual songs and dub poetry, they had two offerings of drumming, as well as a skit. Their winners, Tyrone and Mento, a DJ duo, will be fair contenders in this year’s finals. Ricardo Dennis was secod with Londy-Kaye Samuels in third. Their infusion of gimmicks into their performance might be a crowd puller. Lewisville responded well to guest artiste Tash — former Digicel Rising Stars winner.

Mannings High School

Mannings High’s line up of talent was peppered with at least three comedic monologue/skits which was quite refreshing. The winners on the day were Nickoy Williams in third place, Keimar Ruddock in second place and Winston Grant in first place. Guest performers TOK were well-received by the crowd.

McGrath High

Fresh of the Christmas break, McGrath High ensured that the teenAGE Expressions Tour was still blazing hot. The student performers on the day were all well-received by their peers. Dancehall artiste Bugle also had the school in a frenzy as he performed hit after hit in sync with the students who knew every word. With the judges scores tallied, Javina Wilson was ranked third, Jerome Salmon ranked second, and drama group Straight Up in first.

Clarendon College

Though these students were a bit rowdy, almost causing the show to end prematurely, they gave us a lot of originality. Talent after talent, the creativity just kept pouring in and afterwards, guest artiste, Leftside, performed for them. The C. C. winners were DMA Dancers in first place, Bradley Sutherland placing second, and The Sutherlands in third.

Victor Dixon High School

The talents we got from Victor Dixon were original, creative and highly entertaining. The wide variety in genre proffered catered to everyone’s taste; from comedic skits to gospel songs these students gave it their all. This tour’s winners were, Javani ‘Struggy’ Edwards in third, Andre and Omaine, second and Kemar Scott took first place.

Buff Bay High School

Buff Bay High gave one of the best tour experiences to date. Not only were the students filled with energy and lots of good vibes, but the list of talents that were presented blew us away. Also, getting crowd participation for the various other activities we planned throughout the show was easy, everyone wanted to be involved. The winners for this tour were Navardo and Oraine, third; Kenneal Davis, second and Lethal and Shabar, first.

Eltham Park High School

From start to finish, Eltham Park demonstrated a well-organised and well-coordinated programme. The talented teens as the Spanish Town-based school were certainly not shy in showcasing their creative abilities. To complement the event, recording artiste Chevaughn delivered a great performance as the judges deliberated on how to rank the talents displayed. Their decision — in third place was Donieto Commings, in second place was Chevon Ricketts and Orlando Christie, while copping first place was the dance group New Legends.

Edwin Allen High School

The expressive talent and school support present at Edwin Allen High was unforgettable as teenAGE recaps the Expressions Tours 2014. First on our most memorable list was Sereika Williams and her dub AIDS which ascertained her first position and a place in the finals. Shaniek Boothe performing her Dance Through the Ages, drama piece Shabba Part 2 and YAHMAKAH’s cultural dance were key highlights of the talented show Edwin Allen executed. Dancehall artiste Shane-O graced the students with his presence and made it an even more exciting tour.

Camperdown High School

If anything more memorable than this, if votes were to be taken on this, unanimously the most memorable occurrence on this tour would have to be Brianna-Kay Grant collaborating with guest artiste Bugle on his performance. Shady Squad reppin’ Unite for a Change, entertained thoroughly via their dance routine. Copping first place, Ovaisha Bartley’s Realest was definitely a memorable performance too.

Edith Dalton James High School

Well-behaved students impressed us as teenAGE and sponsors entered Edith Dalton’s auditorium. Icing on the cake was their preparedness and their many performances were delightful and kept the audience on their toes right throughout. Trissania Broughton rocked everyone with Begga’s Delight intensifying the awesome energy at her school, coming first as well. It couldn’t have ended any better than guest artiste Tifa’s enchanting her young fan-base as they chimed in with her throughout it all.

Claude McKay High School

Following the winding country roads, we were led to the beautiful Claude Mckay High School, mere weeks away from the finals. Fresh in our minds, our MML list was not the least difficult to write and Oraine Corney is definitely on it for his mastery display of singing talent brought out in his reggae medley. Dance challenge winner Christine Graham and her Gangnam Style moves as well as place first and second winners Di Crew for “Jacket and Tie” and “Jamaica'”. Not to be forgotten, Norris Ingram’s hilarious prose “Life Pon Di Church” and the exciting affair of the Cool Fruit Drink Off accounted for a lot of laughter making it all memorable.