Founded by Professor Elizabeth Sneddon, the
internationally renowned drama educationist, The National Creative Arts Youth
Festival is a celebration of the achievements of the youth of South Africa.
The festival is directed at young, predominantly
school-going people and has achieved remarkable success in building a broad
multi-cultural base and participation. It is making a major contribution in
building a united nation based on values that serve the interest of the community
in the new South Africa.
The National Creative Arts Youth Festival is
designed to use and promote the Arts - Music, Dance, Visual Art, and Drama - as
fundamental educational tools to nurture and develop Skills for Life,
particularly among young people. The Festival is unique in South Africa in that
it is the only one promoting the visual and performing arts as an essential
part of every young person’s education and it is also a celebration of the
arts, embracing wide and varying forms of tribal traditions, heritages and
cultures.
The Dance Programmes to be presented in the
National Creative Arts Youth Festival of 2015 highlight the growing awareness
of parents, educationists and the community generally, of the dynamic influence
on their children of a creative approach to Education. The Dance Programmes
this year, as has been the case since the inception of the Festival 21 years
ago, are in the capable hands of Stav Bozas and Dudley von Loggenburg.
TERPSICHORE, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre – May 8 at 19h30
Catering for senior dancers aged 13 to 21, Terpsichore is the brainchild of Stav
Bozas and offers a challenge to the choreographic skills of many dancers in the
community, using a great variety of dance forms in the various items - from tribal
to contemporary, according to the choice of the choreographers.
This programme of achievement is beautifully
costumed and outstanding for the range of the age groups of the participants
and for the freshness and vitality of the work, testifying to many hours of
strenuous effort and disciplined endeavour on the part of dozens of young
people, and their skilful tutors, striving to externalise in worthwhile
creative achievements, they joy in developing in their skill in this form of
activity.
The following studios will present a
programme of their own choice: Mary Ann
Salvage School of Ballet; Youngstar
Production (TAGAT); Midlands Dance Theatre Centre; Dance Movement; Sheila’s
Dance School; KZN Dance Academy; Bella Donna Acrobats; Dance Direction
International and Springwood Dance Academy. Tickets are available from
Computicket.
DANCE FOR JOY, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre – May 9 at 15h00
This wonderful and fun-filled programme is
aimed at junior dancers aged 5 to 12. It underscores the fact that a training
of the child’s creative potential cannot begin too early.
The following studios will each present a
programme of their own choice: Betty
Blake Academy of Dancing; Nicole School of Dancing; Springwood Dance Academy; Anwyn
Winterbach Academy; Mary Ann Salvage School of Ballet; Michele Pope Studio of
Dance; Dollhouse Dance; Dance Direction International; Dance Movement; Gail
Smith School of Dancing; Bella Donna Acrobats; Michelle Clark Dance Academy; Jacqueline
Weddell Academy of Dance; FootworX
Dance Studio; Minette de Klerk Dance Academy and KZN Dance Academy. Tickets are
available from Computicket.
BORN
TO DANCE, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre – May 9 at 19h00
This entertaining, charming and fun-filled programme for the
stars of the future supported by many of the leading exponents of dance in
Durban, will delight the audiences with the wonderful spirit of joy which
results from participation in a
challenge as refreshing and innovative and exciting as a programme so ably
convened by Stav Bozas.
Studioes represented include Durban Dance Unlimited; Just Dance; Anwyn
Winterbach Academy; Dance Movement; Betty Blake Academy of Dancing; FootworX
Dance Studio; The Studio; KZN Dance Academy; Bella Donna Acrobats; Gail Smith School
of Dancing; TranscenDance Project; Sue Cook’s Dance Studio; Dance Direction
International; Dollhouse Dance; Michele Pope Studio of Dance and KZN Dance
Centre. Tickets are available from Computicket.
DURBAN DANCE FOUNDATION BURSARY PRESENTATION, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
- May 14 at 13h30
The Durban Dance Foundation came
into being as the result of the desire of many exponents of ballet to pool
their resources to promote the training of young, aspiring, professional ballet
dancers in Durban
.
Founded in 1983 by Dudley von Loggenburg,
Professor Elizabeth Sneddon and Faith de Villiers, the main objective of the
Durban Dance Foundation is to promote Dance in all its manifest forms and to
encourage interest and participation in all forms of Dance throughout all
section of the community, and to organise, promote and encourage festivals,
galas, workshops, demonstrations, master classes, conferences and bursary
performances in the City of Durban and the areas around the City.
Ballet dancers from all ages compete for the
following bursaries: The Nan Girdlestone Bursary (Value R1,000. Age 7 to 8); The
Durban Dance Foundation Junior Bursary (Value: R1,000. Age 9 & 10); The
Lord and Lady Lurgan Bursary (Value R2,500. Age 11 & 12); The Elizabeth
Sneddon Bursary (Value R1,500. Age 13 & 14), and The Faith de Villiers Open
Bursary (Value: R2,000. Age: 15 to 19). Tickets are available at the door.
LOVE
OF DANCE, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre – May 16 (Matinee at 15h00/evening
performance at 18h30)
A great diversity of approaches is to be
found in this programme of Dance. Audiences will evidence the wonderful spirit
of joy that comes with the participation in a challenge as refreshing and
innovative and exciting as a programme so ably convened by Dudley von
Loggenburg, director of the Durban Dance Foundation.
Participating Studios: Pat MacIntosh Dance
Academy; Breakthru Dance Company; KZN Youth
Dance Company; Minette de Klerk Academy of Dance; Parker Studio of Celtic Dance;
Bev and Kerry Hall Studio of Dance, and Winsome Fuller Studio of Dance. Tickets
at Computicket and at the door.
DRUM FOR JOY! Steel Drum Band Competition, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre - May
13 at 10h00
Convened by Bryan Clark, founder of the
Steel Drum Foundation, bands will challenge for top position in two categories:
the Senior Primary School Competition, and the Senior Secondary School
Competition, both adjudicated by Caroline Smart.
Competing bands include Kokstad Junior Primary
School, St Patricks College, St Mary's DSG School, Durban Primary School, the
Browns’ School, Warner Beach Preparatory School, Gordon Road School for Girls,
Hillcrest High School, and Inanda Seminary School.
BRUSH-UP YOUR SHAKESPEARE! DURBAN
GIRLS COLLEGE – May 17 at 10h00
(The competition takes place
in The Lecture Theatre at DGC, 586 Musgrave Road, Durban
The Brush-Up
Your Shakespeare! Inter-School Quiz Challenge, the brainchild of Prof
Pieter Scholtz, was started in 1990. Currently in its 25th year, it is hosted
by the National Creative Arts Youth Festival
Secondary School teams consisting of three
pupils each are required to study 10 Shakespearean plays for the Preliminary
Round and another 14 for the Second Round. After the Preliminary Round, in
which all participating schools are required to answer a written questionnaire
on The Life and Times of William Shakespeare and any two of ten Tragedies and
Comedies, the top four schools compete in a series of quiz competitions before
live audiences. Scoring of the public round will not be on a knock-out basis
but on a points basis so that the top two schools will go through to final.
Participating schools will be paired as
follows:
10h00: King David High School Linksfield 2 vs
Westville Girls' High School Juniors and King David High School Linksfield 1vs Westville
Girls' High School Seniors
14h00 Final Round: The Winning Team will
receive R4,000 and R1,000 for the Coach. The other finalist team will receive
R1.000 for the School.
There is no charge for attending these
stimulating presentations and a chance to: Brush
Up Your Shakespeare. More
information can be had from the Festival Office, on 083 952 5714 or email:ncayf@iafrica.com