She is barely in the second of high school, but is now Tonproater. The youngest of Brabant even. Venne de Regt (13), aka Mientje the farmer’s daughter, threw great eyes during her very first buut.
With tears in his eyes, TonProater André Veldte Welden (61) is in the Etten-Leursse Turfschip. He himself is a multiple winner in the ton. Even, or perhaps precisely, after he had a cerebral infarction, he went through the art. “But it’s time for new growth,” he says. So he took Venne under his wings.
Venne is wearing a checkered blouse, a cloth in her hair and black clogs with bright pink socks in it. “Look, they are completely full of cows,” she shows. The outfit belongs to her alter ego Mientje the farmer’s daughter. The youngest TonProater they know here.
“I expected that they wouldn’t find it so funny, but I got a standing ovation,” she says radiantly. When Venne laughs, the green rubber bands of her cubes of bracket appear. “We have practiced for a long time, especially on the jokes and the movements. And that I had to talk to her. And words like èrbeezie had to say, instead of strawberry. “
She finds her competitors a bit serious. Vennes themselves are joking about the family, about the farming life and life through the glasses of a teenager. “Hopefully more young people will do this,” she says. That seems a lot nicer to her.
Call it nicer, call it important, for André it is mainly to transfer a piece of Brabant heritage. Tonpraten and dialect: that is a piece of culture that is threatened with extinction. “That should just continue to exist,” says André. And there is no discussion about that.
For now, Vennes participation was just for De Leut. She did not participate in a prize, but received tips and tops from the jury. “But actually those were only tops,” she says. “Maybe I will participate in the competition in a few years.”
Crystal clear. A natural talent.