'Night of the Stars' shines brightly in 2023

October 23, 2023 | Girls’ College | Author: Richard Sibeko

On Thursday 19 October, the Girls’ College Visual and Performing Arts department hosted its Night of the Stars - a celebration of the Visual and Performing Arts Gala Evening at the Bryanston Country Club. This event hosted in association with the Girls’ College Parent Teacher Association (PTA) was a fundraiser for the Girls’ Schools Performing Arts Centre - a space that the students and staff will benefit from in the future. This spectacular evening was filled with laughter, joy, and celebration. Lucky audience members won various spot prizes, including tickets to Mamma Mia and the Sound of Music, which will serve as fundraiser events in 2024 for the Performing Arts Centre - watch this space!

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Category and overall winners in visual art, music and drama with Head of School, Dr James at the Gala Evening.

Leading up to the Gala Evening, our Performing Arts departments hosted three successful performance evenings where the top 3 candidates in music and dramatic arts performed over a series of three nights and were adjudicated by a panel of external judges who are experts in their respective fields. The category winners in each pillar were invited to perform at the Gala Evening.

In the Junior Music competition, our young musicians performed from a wide range of genres which included classical and contemporary piano, voice and a variety of strings and woodwind pieces. The adjudicators were highly impressed by the level of performance at which our junior musicians performed. It is exciting to provide a platform for our young musicians to further develop their performance techniques in front of their peers and parents in a formal setting.

Congratulations to the following junior musicians:

PIANO

Catherine Kidson

Skye Rautenbach

Zihan Lin

Lyre Perumal

Georgia Knight

Sofia Paixäo

Category Winner: Skye Rautenbach

INSTRUMENTAL

Zazi Manzana

Eryn Appalsamy

Iminathi Sambudla

Ngcali Metu

Kihembo Byamugisha

Category Winner: Eryn Appalsamy

CONTEMPORARY VOICE

Eva Rodrigues

Angelina Strydom

Tlotlisang Mabokela

Mia Nupen

Category Winner: Mia Nupen

On Wednesday evening, the Dramatic Arts department hosted its Dramatic Arts competition in the Studio Theatre.

We had two special guest performers in Grades 8 & 9 sharing the stage with our senior performers. Congratulations to Mihle Luthuli (Grade 9) and Olerato Molete (Grade 8)

Bravo to our performers who performed in the following categories:

SOUTH AFRICAN COMEDY

Maite Hamese

Atreya Naidu

Sinqobile Sithole

Category Winner: Sinqobile Sithole

COMEDY

Cayla Dhaeyere

Naomi Hlambelo

Taliyah Thomas

Category Winner: Naomi Hlambelo

SPOKEN WORD

Christine Masters

Loatile Masondo

Reitumetse Mukwena

Category Winner: Reitumetse Mukwena

DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES

Kutlwano Msiza

Afezekile Ngcaba

Phetogo Ramosolo

Category Winner and Overall Winner: Phetogo Ramosolo

Our senior musicians ended our concluded our series of performances in the chapel on Thursday evening.

Congratulations to the following:

WINDS

Boitumelo Phaho

Karabo Morolo

Katherine Leschner

Category Winner: Katherine Leschner

PIANO

Murielle Bogne

Keara Naidoo

Kerisha Dorasamy

Category Winner & Overall Winner: Keara Naidoo

CONTEMPORARY VOICE

Atreya Naidu

Khangiwe Cele

Lethabo Kekana

Category Winner: Khangiwe Cele

CLASSICAL VOICE

Gomolemo Kgosi

Robyn Phipps

Manaka Mwamuka

Category Winner: Gomolemo Kgosi

STRINGS

Category Winner: Zoë Earlam

At the Gala evening, our visual artist exhibited their paintings and drawings which were adjudicated on the evening. The results are as follows:

Best senior painter: Caitlyn Bosman

Best senior drawer: Stacy Roodt

Best junior painter: Jessica Schuurmans-Stekhoven

Best junior drawer: Paige Bradford

Best overall: Jessica Schuurmans-Stekhoven

The Visual and Performing Arts at the Girls’ College allows our students to participate in several exciting activities on offer. This space fosters individuality and our extensive programme encourages students to engage their curiosity in constructive and creative ways. Within this space, our students are encouraged to grow and expand on their individual creativity.

Our goal as a department is to create an environment where self-confidence and self-awareness are cultivated. Where creativity, resourcefulness and resilience are encouraged. The Visual and Performing Arts is a space where our students find the courage to grapple with topical global themes and other important issues while creating wonderful artworks, music, and theatre. With Collaboration, creativity and critical thinking being some of the highly sought-after skills needed in the 21st century, our programme allows our students to collaborate with each other and across disciplines. Our goal is to nurture and develop the innate creative skills of our talented students and to develop students who are empathetic and authentic.

Our Night of the Stars Gala Evening was a successful evening, and thanks go to our PTA members (Mrs Olympia Benfield, Mrs Teresa Knight and Mrs Sam Nupen), Girls’ College staff and peripatetic music teachers and parents for their continued support of the Visual and Performing Arts Department.