Kelebogile Boikanyo-Standard Bank Young Artist (Music)
Fingo Festival
Bala Brothers
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ILAM Indigenous Music and Dance Festival
Laurie Levine and the Folk Collective
Kaput
Cue TV
Kelebogile Boikanyo is the 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist Music Award Winner and a South African opera sensation. She dazzled at this year's National Arts Festival with her crisp, clear, angelic voice. Boikanyo is a member of the Opera Africa Studio and in this short profile, she reveals her journey with music with snippets from her mind blowing performances.
cueTV meet the Bala Brothers at their debut Grahamstown National Arts Festival shows where their distinct harmonious melodies and well-known tunes get the audience mesmerized and dancing along. Loyiso performed his gospel music at the Standard Bank Jazz festival and Zwai is releasing his first solo album soon. The Bala Brothers give cueTV a taste of their personal and musical lives.
The ILAM Free Fringe Indigenous Music and Dance Festival aims to educate and entertain about the different cultures of South Africa and the importance of preserving these indigenous cultures. ILAM is the International Library of African Music at Rhodes University and has a daily programme of diverse music and dance as part of the National Arts Festival. cueTV takes a look at several performances that challenge the youth's fixation on bling, cellphones and imported lifestyles.
Award winning Singer/songwriter Laurie Levine collaborates with three musicians for her unique brand of contemporary folk music. The group comprises of Wynand Davel on violin, Friso Woudstra on guitar and banjo and longtime collaborator Lize Wiid on accordion and keys. Dan Roberts, Laurie's producer, got the SAMA award for best producer this year.
Taking on macho male personas, Taryn Bennett and Helen Iskander use an unconventional and very funny comment on the construction of women in society. Bennett and Iskander become Raphael and George, two quirky brothers living peacefully on the Mediterranean Sea despite the war that surrounds them. cueTV gets the background to the show.
The National Arts Festival has inspired local Grahamstown artists like Xolile Madinda from Fingo Village to create a Fingo Festival. Although this festival is designed to bring a similar festival experience to location residents for free, it is also open to the general public. Local talent is polished up and given a showcas in the hopes of receiving wider recognition.
The Tree Show
The Tree Show by The Lunchbox Theatre is a fun interactive show for children that promotes environmental awareness. We have a princess who will only get married to the man she loves if he plants a tree in her honour. When it is done, the bad guys of the story -- the nasty builders arrive and spoil the natural environment. Through song and dance, children learn how important trees are and what they do for our environment. After the play is over, the cast take the children outside to plant a real tree and the tree even gets named!
The Grahamstown National arts festival is a creative ground for artists to be able to express their art. This was work Produced for CueTV in 2011.