WATCHING the crème de la crème musical Dreamgirls on stage, I felt like taking a grass handbroom and ululating on stage

That's one of the prime ways of appreciating what somebody is doing.

It was just so good!

Everybody pulled their weight, giving the performances of their lives. But the person who stole the show was Lindiwe Bungane, who played Effie White. You could tell that the talented lass had done her homework and more.

These people had to rehearse for a short time and ensure that they imitate the original cast members while infusing their own personalities. Talk about flawless accents. You could have walked in there and thought that this was an all-American cast.

We've always known Tshepo Mngoma as a brilliant violinist. We have in the past weeks followed his progress as a director of conducting.

We were thrilled when he took his baton and went on like a seasoned pro. I happened to be near his wife, Swazi, and their two children during the show.

They were all so proud of him.

I happened to catch my "twin", Sibongile Khumalo, who is looking lovelier than ever. But she did not have a chance to say much since she was pulled this way and that to do interviews or to accept congratulations on her son's sterling performance.

Lion kings

For me the The Teatro at Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg, has become synonymous with black excellence.

Remember that it was initially built for The Lion King season. That was when we had a deluge of international big names, including Oprah, her best friend Gail and her lover Steadman, among other luminaries.

The country and the world had come to pay their accolades to a talented young man by the name of Lebo M.

He, like most township boys, had started playing soccer on the streets of Soweto because there were no facilities. He and his friends used newspapers rolled up in an old pantyhose to make a soccer ball.

He rose above that to become a world icon who never forgot to empower others by sending artists to various countries to take part in The Lion King.

On Sunday we saw raw talent rise from the ashes of obscurity to become world stars. They can go anywhere in the world and they will still get the standing ovation they got at The Teatro. Not to mention the continuous deafening applause and whistles.

Amazingly for a Sunday, anybody who is anyone and more came to be part of that historical moment. A lesson I took from that stunning night was that when we invest in our own we surprise ourselves by how many rough stones become blinding diamonds after a little polishing.

Best of all, we prove again and again that we have arrived and we can take on anyone in the world, or kanjani...