An evening of poetry and song with Nelisa Kala (pictured)It hasn’t been long since she hung up her earphones in exchange for the microphone but former East Coast Radio presenter Nelisa Kala has been wowing audiences across South Africa with her original sound and powerful lyrics. With a voice that has been described as reminiscent of that of Roberta Flack, Kala’s amazing production, The Awakening, is not to be missed.
The Awakening is a multi-art production which comprises spoken-word poetry and pensive afro-jazz/soul fusion music written and composed by Nelisa Kala which makes its debut appearance at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown running from June 30 to July 10, 2011.
Kala and her team of talented musicians will perform on the Festival Fringe at the Cuervo Room on July 2 and 3 at 22h30 as well as at the Urban Lounge from July 6 to 10 at 11h00.
“The production promotes a spiritual awakening of emotion, positive creative expression and change. It amalgamates several styles of art into one production and explores emotion as it moves through anger, passion, pain, love and finally spiritual growth,” says Kala.
The eclectic combination of various genres of music with traditional Xhosa, Zulu, French and English lyrics intends to appeal to a mass audience. Coupled with moving poetry, this production will lead the way in avant-garde artistic movements. It comprises all of her original poetry and music which, with the accompaniment of a small ensemble, progresses into a divinely-inspired masterpiece.
Nelisa Kala is a highly experienced performer and previous radio personality on East Coast Radio. This vivacious 24 year old is an avid writer whose poetry is often featured online and in print media. Most recently, her works have been a regular feature on dotonline.co.za and Uncut Magazine and she has also been featured on Ses’khona, Studio 53, Amazing Time Detectives and more recently appeared on Top Billing.. She has performed at the Women’s Empowerment Conferences, sharing her poetry with audiences of 500 and more and has also performed at numerous private and corporate functions.
Kala started the trombone at age nine, and has performed at a national level, including performances at the Grahamstown Standard Bank Jazz Festival where she was chosen as a member of the National Youth Big Band annually for a period of four years. She also has a parallel career in theatre and has played in several productions ranging from one-act plays to full scale musicals. She has surrounded herself with an astonishing array of acclaimed performers and art-innovators for this project.
The Awakening hopes to challenge negative perceptions and instil a message of beauty through poetry and song. The production also aims to share a message of strength, endurance and perseverance by motivating change. The high level of audience interaction makes Kala’s performance light hearted and entertaining and guarantees a foot-stomping good time for all.
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