Open call: Young Performer Awards 2024 competition in SA

The competition’s prizes include gold, silver, bronze medals and R20 000 (about $1 000) in cash. The competition is open to all amateur talented young performers and groups in music (classical and contemporary), dance and drama that have excelled in any eisteddfod (festival) or similar events anywhere in the country in 2023. It is presented over four rounds, starting on 1 March and concluding with the final round on 11 May 2024 at Roodepoort Theatre.

Participation and adjudication in the first and second rounds will allow both live and video recorded performances. To even the playing field in the adjudication and ranking of live and video performances, each will be rated separately in both the first and second rounds. The final quarter-final ranking will then comprise the top achievers from both groups.

To qualify to participate in this competition, the would-be participant should have received a diploma award in the National Eisteddfod of South Africa in 2023, or a similar award in any other eisteddfod or competition in the same period. To assist those talented performers that did not participate in any eisteddfod last year and therefore do not qualify to enter, the NEA has introduced a new preliminary qualifying round for those performers by means of a video-recorded submission.

“Our industry absolutely needs what the NEA is doing more than ever, especially in these trying times since the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted so many of us in our industry,” director, choreographer, dance teacher and adjudicator Harold van Buuren said.

Van Buuren described the Young Performer Awards competition as “events of an excellent standard and representative of artists from all walks, creating a beautifully diverse melting pot of talent.”

The closing date for live performances application is 23 February 2024. Video recorded performances must be submitted before 17 March.

Click here to find out more about the entry fees, entry forms, the performance categories, as well as the preliminary qualifying round and other information.

Email [email protected] or call 011 886 6005 for more information about this call.

View the original call here.