National Eisteddfod Academy – new horizons for talented performers:
14th National Eisteddfod Academy Young Performer Awards competition.
All amateur performers that received diploma awards (or 90%+) in local arts festivals, eisteddfods or competitions are invited to participate at national level by entering the 14th NEA Young Performer Awards Competition. This offers every aspiring performer in the country the chance to be awarded the Best Young Performer in South Africa and share in the prize money in excess of R50, 000!
Founded by the National Eisteddfod Academy, the annual NEA Young Performer Awards Competition provides a national platform where the best young performers in music, dance and drama, as identified at various festivals and competitions, can compete and showcase their talents. The NEA also manages the National Eisteddfod of South Africa™, the largest eisteddfod platform in the country.
There will be four rounds of adjudication
The first two rounds will take place at the Basement Theatre, starting with the first round from 20 – 22, 27- 28 February to 1 – 15 March.
Main Theatre: 10 – 11 and 25 March
Quarter Final Round at the Basement Theatre from 27 – 30 March 2017.
All sessions will start at 15:00 on weekdays and 09:00 on Saturdays.
Ticket Price: R45 per day per person – learners in school uniform free of charge – (if both venues are running on the same day you’ll only need 1 ticket for both venues). Tickets will be sold at the door.
The NEA has proven to be a springboard for many future achievements: Henno William (silver medalists in the NEA Awards 2015) and Isabella Jane Snyman were both finalists in E-TV’s recent SA’s got talent competition; Andile Ndlovu and Camille Bracher were top achievers at the 2007 International Ballet Competition. Ndlovu, also a finalist in KykNet’s “Dance, Dance, Dance”, is currently with the Washington Ballet, one of the USA’s most prestigious dance companies; Camille Bracher is currently dancing for the Londen Ballet Company; Carmen Pretorius, a rising star in the entertainment industry, has performed in Mamma Mia, Cinderella, Jersey Boys and the South African movie Lien se Lankstaanskoene, amongst others; Rough Silence, the talented guitarist duo of Jason Day and Merrick Kyle, recently won the Marshall Music Acoustic Competition; Ying-Shan Tseng, the 2009 Most Inspiring Performer even attracted the attention of the Chinese government and Death Rattle, a dance group, was invited to perform for the title shoot of a TV programme (2009).
The final deadline for entry (live performances) into this competition is 6 February 2017. Entry forms, entry fees and additional information are available on the NEA website www.eisteddfod.co.za.
Mimi Coertse, Ismail Mahomed, Sibongile Mngoma, Gloria Bosman, Heinz Winkler, Relebogile Mabotja, Bianca le Grange, Vinette Ebrahim, Iain MacDonald, Roderick Jaftha, Diane Coutts and Jan Engelen are a few of the many well-known luminaries that have adjudicated in the past. The National Arts Festival director Ismail Mahomed, a judge at the 2013 Awards said, “If the NEA Award winners represent the next generation of artists, I am filled with great hope for the creative industries” while Dawn Lindberg said, “Des and I were knocked out and delighted by the stunning talent revealed at the recent NEA Young Performers Awards at the Roodepoort Theatre!”
For further information please contact the NEA Office at tel: 011 886 6005 / fax: 011 787 3534 / e-mail: info@eisteddfod.co.za
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