With a multitude of talented individuals in the Kouga region, the South African Championships for the Performing Arts is encouraging people in the area to showcase their talents at the auditions on August 12, at Nico Malan High School which could potentially see them making it onto an international stage.
According to Anna-Lene Mc Carthy, who together with her family moved from Gauteng to Jeffreys Bay in 2021, prior to 2019 the contestants from the Eastern Cape were regulars in the SACOPA, a national platform for individuals to showcase their talents, but the numbers have decreased drastically.
She said she was surprised to see that when her daughter, Zadine Mc Carthy, represented the region last year she was the only contestant from the Eastern Cape.
With the decrease in the number of participants in the province, Mc Carthy was appointed by SACOPA as director of the Eastern Cape in September last year to present the national competition to all the talented people in the province.
She said that SACOPA has been active for 25 years and has upheld their aim to identify and develop the talent of their contestants, by providing a national platform for them to showcase a multitude of talents.
“The Eastern Cape has such huge talent and I want to showcase this as a new resident at SACOPA,” she said.
“This province, its people and their talents, are something to be proud of.”
Well-known talents namely, previous Miss South Africa and Miss Universe, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, South African comedian, Schalk Bezuidenhout, and TV personality, Minnie Dlamini, were all spotted as contestants at SACOPA.
To offer the opportunity to residents in Kouga to showcase their talents, SACOPA’s semi-final round will take place at Nico Malan High School on August 12, from 11:00 which will be the only elimination round for the region.
All singers, dancers, models, actors, and musicians of any age can enter the competition.
Mc Carthy said the talent competition was, however, not limited to these categories and both individuals as well as group entries were welcome.
“The semi-final at Nico Malan is the one and only elimination round for Kouga with the final round taking place in Rustenburg in September this year,” said Mc Carthy.
She said to enter the talent competition contestants can apply on the SACOPA’s website or on the SACOPA’s mobile app which can be downloaded free.
Mc Carthy said as part of the entry process, contests need to register under the Eastern Cape with her name and surname to be used as the director.
“The opportunities that we present, such as workshops, boot camps, and many more, all add up to such enormous value in terms of talent development,” said Mc Carthy.
She said all gold medal winners at the final round in Rustenburg would be provided with the opportunity to represent South Africa in Los Angeles at the World Championships of The Performing Arts.
- For more information contact Anna-Lene Mc Carthy on 083 377 5680.
