Eco Arts Festivals gives local talent a platform

Soweto Theatre in partnership with Eco Arts Academy hosted an Eco Arts Festival, a platform for local individuals and groups to exhibit their artistic abilities.

The Festival was held at Blue Theatre, Soweto Theatre, on August 03, where numerous Sowetans gathered to showcase their various talents.

Founder of Eco Arts Academy, Brandon Ntekele said, “We are here today to provide young people with a platform to display their talents.

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As we have observed, these kinds of festivals are uncommon in Soweto. Most people prefer to perform privately, which leaves them without support.

“For this reason, we invited everyone with a talent to come today and share it, allowing us to support one another’s development.”

Ntekele added that promoting local talent and instilling a feeling of communal pride are the goals of the Arts Eco Festival.

The festival contributes to the development of a vibrant local culture. Instead of flying to far locations to have comparable experiences, it provides a venue for locals to interact with and support their own talents.

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Various performances including theatre, traditional dance, music, and ballet were included in the festival.

Founder of Motion Movement, a youth performing arts group from Braamfischerville, Themba Mdluli said since they are rarely called to perform at theatres, they feel honoured and fortunate to be able to showcase their talents at the festival.

“We are used to performing in the streets, so we consider ourselves very fortunate to have this opportunity today.

“This festival has given us hope that one day we will succeed, and it also demonstrated to us that there are people who recognise our talent,” said Mdluli.

Mentor to a traditional dance group from Dobsonville, Ntombikhona Ndlovu said she’s glad that the platform gave young ladies in her group a chance to highlight how beautiful it is to be Itshitshi.

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“We are delighted to have this opportunity to highlight the value of instilling in young ladies the virtue of honouring tradition. We are also grateful for the affection we are receiving today, and we can’t wait to perform and enthral the public by dancing and singing,” said Ndlovu.