22nd National Eisteddfod Academy Young Performer Awards Competition
The 22nd National Eisteddfod Academy Young Performer Awards competition, presented annually by the National Eisteddfod Academy (NEA), a leading non-profit organisation for youth development in music, dance, drama and visual arts, is reaching its final stages for 2025.
This competition was again open to all amateur talented young performers who excelled in the National Eisteddfod of South Africa® and other festivals during 2024. Following on from the quarter-final rounds that involved a total of 237 individuals and groups, 104 young artists and groups will now take to the Roodepoort Theatre’s stage on 9 and 10 May in the four semi-final rounds of this competition.
They will compete in four separate events in the following four categories:
- 9 May 2025, 15:00 – 17:30 Dance Section
- 9 May 2025, 19:00 – 21:30 Classical & Crossover Music Section
- 10 May 2025, 15:00 – 17:30 Speech and Drama Section
- 10 May 2025, 19:00 – 21:30 Contemporary Music Section.
The winners of these four events will then compete in the Final Round on Sunday 11 May at 15:00 for the gold, silver and bronze medals, when they will be adjudicated by a panel of adjudicators comprising well-known local artists and personalities.
The adjudicators’ panels for these events comprise Harold van Buuren, Dr Tiffany Higgo, Magda De Vries, Lesta Erasmus, Pinto Ferreira, Gill Girard, Linelle Wimbles, Carly Graham, Sigongile Mngoma, Tebogo Kgobokoe, Matt Stern, Christine Ludwig, Samantha Peo and Aneliswa Phewa, amongst others.
Many past winners and participants in this competition have gone on to excel on the professional stage. Top achievers in Ballet - Andile Ndlovu and Camille Bracher forged international careers: Ndlovu, with the Washington Ballet and Bracher, the Royal Ballet Company; the young pianist, Iman Bulbulia, performed internationally and at the prestigious Carnegie Hall; Carmen Pretorius, now an established musical theatre and TV star in the entertainment industry with leading roles in Mamma Mia, Cinderella, Jersey Boys, Chicago and others and the actor Cantona James, the winner of the drama section in 2015 Young Performer Awards, received the Best Upcoming Artists Award at the 2019 Woordfees and was nominated as Best Newcomer in the Royalty Soapie Awards 2020, received a kykNET Fiësta Award, Best Performance in Spinners at the inaugural Dakar Series.
Ismail Mahomed, a judge at the 2013 Awards, former National Arts Festival director and CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation, now Director at the Centre for Creative Arts: University of KZN, remarked: “If the NEA Award-winners represent the next generation of artists, I am filled with great hope for the creative industries.” This statement highlights the significance of this project in developing our future stars.
Tickets for the Semi-final rounds will be available at the door.
Tickets for the Final round on 11 May can be booked online at https://www.webtickets.co.za/ or on the Roodepoort Theatre website, https://www.roodepoorttheatre.com/