National Eisteddfod of South Africa
Call for Entries: 22nd Young Performer Awards Competition 2025
The National Eisteddfod Academy NPC, a non-profit organisation dedicated to youth development in the arts since 1997, is excited to announce the call for entries for the 22nd NEA Young Performer Awards Competition. This prestigious event, one of the most significant of its kind in South Africa, offers talented young performers the opportunity to showcase their skills and compete for gold, silver and bronze medals, along with R20,000 in cash prizes.
Competition Details
The 22nd NEA Young Performer Awards Competition provides a next level of participation and is open to all amateur performers and groups in music (classical and contemporary), dance, and drama, who have excelled in any eisteddfod or similar event across the country in 2024. The journey to the awards will unfold over four rounds which will be hosted at various venues in the Johannesburg / Pretoria regions, starting on 3 March and culminating in the final round.
Eligibility for Entry
Eligibility for entry requires participants to have received a diploma award in the National Eisteddfod of South Africa in 2024 or a similar accolade from any other eisteddfod or competition within the same period. Recognising that some talented performers may not have participated in any eisteddfod in the previous year, the NEA has introduced a Preliminary Qualifying Round. This round offers an additional opportunity for promising young artists to qualify for the competition. This option is available for a limited period only.
Award Categories
Participants in the 22nd NEA Young Performer Awards Competition will compete in the following categories:
- Music: Classical and Contemporary
- Dance: Various dance forms
- Drama: Theatrical performances
Key Dates
- Call for Entries: Now Open
- Closing date for entries: 1 March 2025
- First Round: 3 – 15 March 2025
- Second Round: 17 – 20 March 2025
- Semi-Final Round: 9 – 10 May 2025
- Final Round: date/venue to be confirmed
- Video Submission for Remote Participants
Although a live performance in any competition is king, participants hailing from provinces outside Gauteng have the option to perform live or to submit video recorded performances for adjudication in the first and second rounds. These videos will be scheduled and adjudicated in the same sessions as the live performances, ensuring equal opportunities for all contestants. This allowance will be applicable to the first and second rounds of the competition only. This allowance aims to reduce the high cost of travelling to Gauteng, enabling more young talents to showcase their skills without financial constraints. All new video recordings must reach the NEA Office by 01 March 2025.
How to Enter
To find out more about the entry fees, entry forms, the performance categories, as well as the Preliminary Qualifying Round and other information, please visit the website or contact the NEA Office on 011-886-6005 / e-mail: admin@eisteddfod.co.za
Join us in celebrating the extraordinary talents of South Africa’s young performers and support their journey to artistic excellence. We look forward to witnessing the incredible performances and achievements that will emerge from this year’s competition.
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About the National Eisteddfod Academy NPC
The National Eisteddfod Academy (NEA) is a registered non-profit company that creates opportunities for youth development in the arts. The activities of the NEA provide various opportunities where young performers can develop and showcase their talents across the full spectrum of artistic and cultural diversity. Considering that, since the founding of the organisation in 1997 the annual NEA Eisteddfod activities have involved more than 575 000 participants in various rural and urban regions, it is fair to say that the NEA is an organisation that has had a significant impact on youth development in the arts. Notwithstanding the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic the NEA also continued with activities throughout 2020 – 2021 by introducing various alternatives for participation in the annual eisteddfod. The National Eisteddfod Academy launched the Young Performer Awards as a next level competition platform for young performers in 2004; some ten years later a Young Artist Awards competition for visual arts was initiated. The National Eisteddfod Young Performer Awards Competition for young performers in music, dance and drama, is presented annually and has awarded more than R500 000 in prizes in recent years. Mimi Coertse, Ismail Mahomed, Sibongile Mngoma, the late Gloria Bosman, Heinz Winkler, Relebogile Mabotja, Bianca le Grange, Vinette Ebrahim, Iain MacDonald, Roderick Jaftha, Diane Coutts, Petronel Malan, Henry Mylne, Harold van Buuren, Heidi Edelin and Izak Davel are a few of the many, well-known luminaries that have adjudicated in the past.