Monday, November 29th, 2010
Once more the spirit of Mzansi will be celebrated through a vibrant collaboration of local performing artists. This entertaining and exciting arts extravaganza brings the best of Mzansi’s artistic talent to the stage, including performances in music, comedy, dance and drama.
Kirkness Guesthouse is the perfect accommodation solution for anyone coming to see the wonderful productions on offer.
The nineteen day arts festival kicks off on 1 December 2010 with a march from the Union Building to The State Theatre, where all will be entertained for free by the music of Chomee, and dancing by pantsula, gumboot , Hip Hop and traditional Tswana and Zulu dancers.
The festival features some of SA’s best music, queen of Soul & Jazz – Lira, South Africa’s leading rock band Prime Circle, kwaito group Big Nuz from Umlazi, Hip Hop artist Pro together with Jozi one of South Africa’s newest and already prominent Hip Hop crews and Freshlyground, the winner of the MTV Europe Award in the category Best African Act. Another highlight of the festival is Carols go Jazz, with the award winning Melanie Scholtz and Africapella.
Gospel in this year’s festival will be presented by Solly Mahlangu, winner of SABC Crown Gospel Award 2009/2010 for Best Gospel Song of the Year as well as a performance by the Tshwane Gospel Choir.
Mainstream theatre performances in the festival will feature the following productions:
Bombarded by Maishe Maponya, Breed, by Janet and Andrew Buckland, Tseleng, The Baggage of Bags by Sara Matchet, Dowwe Dolla 007: Geskud, Nie Gepluk Nie directed by (an Afrikaans production) directed by Hennie van Greunen, Spirits and Bones, directed by Thapelo Mofokeng and Tselane and the Giant, directed by Galeboe Moabi.
Fringe theatre is performed by fieldworkers and local community groups, and is the result of a partnership between the SA State Theatre. Productions to be staged are: Zollie, Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Sophiatown, The Prophecy, We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, Gangsters, Asinamali, Love, Crime and Johannesburg, Tselane and the Giant, Weemen, The Nurse, So What’s New, Issues, Corner Street and Tseleng, The Baggage of Bags.
Dance performances will be presented by E-Boys, an all male dance season featuring four dance pieces by leading South African contemporary dance choreographers showcasing the “masculine states of poetic grace” (Adrienne Sichel – Star Tonight).
The hour-long performance is set in their dressing room, meaning the dancers will be changing onstage and introducing the works they are about to perform with their bodies doing the real talking.
The festival’s comedy offering will feature entertainer, MC and comedian, David Kau, who was discovered by accident while doing a corporate gig, and is now at the forefront of South Africa’s comedy scene. He has headlined numerous comedy festivals and performed his own comedy specials. He also co-created and hosted the stand-up comedy show Blacks Only.
The festival ends on 19 December, 2010
Tickets are available at Computicket and at the door.
Official Festival opening ceremony on Church Street outside the SA State Theatre:
BREED is the award winning production of Ubom!’s which premiered at the National Arts Festival in 2010 and was a recipient of a Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award. Having directed Ubom! Previously, Andrew Buckland felt it was time to step on stage with the company. An exciting production was conceptualised and devised under the artistic directorship of Janet Buckland, and an exciting, moving and touching show was unveiled.
Eers was daar Plenty O’Toole, Honey Ryder, Pussy Galore en nou Dolla, Dowwe Dolla – 007. Sy hou van haar sjokolade MoShaik gepluk, nie geskud nie. Dolla sluit aan by die Departement van Oninteligensie (sy’t hard gesoek, want daar’s baie van hulle in die staatsdiens). Haar missie: om die misterieuse organisasie DOM (Diaboliese Onnosele Morone) te infiltreer waar hulle ookal skuil: in die politiek, die sportarena en die glanswêreld?
Freshlyground formed in early 2002, and is made up of seven talented and diverse musicians from South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Fronted by the diminutive but dynamic Zolani Mahola, the band exudes a live performance energy that has been the bedrock of their success.
Lira stands out as that rare thing in a global music world brimming with solo female performers. She’s an artist who has been able to create a formidable career without compromising the very values that feeds her creative soul. Lira started her music career
in 2000, when, just in her 20s, she was punted as South Africa’s newest R&B “starlet”.
Popular funny man David Kau was the recipient of the inaugural Mzansi Star Comedian award at the first annual Stars of Mzansi Awards and is the host and judge of the SABC1 reality talent show: So You Think You’re Funny!, which premiered on 4 November, 2008.
His comedy is fresh, edgy and urban, and not to be missed!
The name Big Nuz is derived from the ‘Big’ things the group wants to achieve and NUZ, beingthe license plate of one of the biggest townships in South Africa, Umlazi Durban. Big Nuz consists of 3 artists: Mandla Maphumulo aka Mampintsha, Mzi Tshomela aka Danger and Sbu Khomo aka R Mashesha. The group was formed 2002 and are based in Johannesburg. They have released 3 studio albums and have been the busiest Kwaito group in the country, doing shows from Cape Town to Manchester, England.
Prime Circle is a South African rock band success story. They’ve gone from a rehearsal room in the small town of Witbank, to one of South Africa’s most popular and talked about bands since their formation, in 2001.
They have quickly became the most active touring outfit on South Africa ‘s live circuit, performing in many major clubs and headlining a number of major live festivals around the country.
An all male dance season, featuring four dance pieces by leading South African contemporary dance choreographers, showcasing the unique talents of the wonderful male dance students at the Tshwane University of Technology.
Tseleng: the Baggage of Bags is a one-woman play, told through the eyes of four dynamic characters: A successful writer living the life in London, an energetic little girl growing up in hot Gaborone, A devoutly religious teenager in Pretoria forced to turn against everything she believed in, and a cocktail sipping Cape Town City girl, who’s not afraid to confront the controversial.
Spirit and Bones is a musical production about Abangomas (traditional healers). The production addresses the stigmatized thinking of inyangas or isangomas, being perceived as witchdoctors, who are evil and unholy. Spirit and Bones unashamedly sings the praises of Abangomas through music, dance and drama, celebrating their roles within our society from days gone by to present day,
being the individuals who uphold and preserve the local traditions, culture, and heritage of this great continent.
Carols Go Jazz is a programme of soulful jazz-inspired traditional Christmas carols and carefully-chosen contemporary festive songs featuring award winning Melanie Scholtz and Africapella.
The Tshwane Gospel Choir was founded by Bheki Langa, a Pretoria businessman, who believes in developing young and talented people, particularly from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Posted in News, Pretoria, Upcoming Events | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
The 2011 Expo4Brides will be held in Pretoria on Saturday 19 February 2011 & Sunday 20 February 2011.
Kirkness Guest House invites all brides-to-be to come and stay with us for this special weekend, a mere 6.6 kilometers from the Tswhane Events Centre where the Expo will be hosted and you can see what you can do to arrange a dream wedding. More than 120 specialists in the bridal business will be exhibiting their products and services.
There will be photographers, videographers, jewelers, dresses, venues, flowers, cakes, candles, table gifts, hiring companies, music, bridal accessories, cars, co-coordinators, honeymoon planners and much more. No bride-to-be should miss this! Ample safe parking & good security at the venue.
There will also be an exciting bridal competition at this bridal expo with stunning prizes. All that you need to do is to write in 10 words why you would like to win a wedding dress worth R12 000 from Lise Designs (082 683 5226).
Entry forms will be available at the entrance. Place your entry in the box at the entrance / hand in at the Bruidsgids stall on/before Sunday 20 February 2011.
Only couples planning their wedding between 1 April 2011 and 28 February 2012 may participate and need to attend the expo 4 Brides in Pretoria, Gauteng.
| 1. | Head northeast on Bond St toward Farenden St | 92 m |
| 2. | Take the 1st left onto Farenden St | 400 m |
| 3. | Turn left at Park St | 2,1 km |
| 4. | Continue onto Nelson Mandela Dr/M2/M3 | 57 m |
| 5. | Slight right at Skinner St/M2 | 1,2 km |
| 6. | Slight left to stay on Skinner St/M2 | 650 m |
| 7. | Turn right at Potgieter St/R101 | 500 m |
| 8. | Turn left at Church St/R104 Destination will be on the left | 1,4 km |
Posted in Upcoming Events | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Established in 1990, the UNISA Music Foundation’s mission is to promote music in all its forms and expressions at the University of South Africa, as well as in South and Southern Africa.
To achieve this goal, the Music Foundation is responsible to maintain and administer a viable way to organize and present national and international music competitions, concerts, master classes and music tuition projects.
The Music Foundation has built a collection of music instruments for use in the development projects and is also charged with the responsibility to maintain the Rieger Concert organ, Steinway Grand Pianos and the Booth Harpsichord as valuable assists of the University in good order.
The staff of the Music Foundation schedules and manages concerts in the various venues of the different campuses to ensure the optimal use of these facilities and to project a positive image of UNISA.
Under the esteemed patronage of the “Princess of Africa” Yvonne Chaka Chaka, this annual Music Festival aims to explore and promote new talents. The various sections include baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music for the instrumental category, while the vocal category range from opera to jazz, traditional, kwaito, etc.
Prize money is available for each age group, as well as main prizes for the top achievers. The aim of this music festival is to raise the general performance standard and to encourage participants to dedicated study of their instrumental and vocal skills.
The UNISA Music Foundation is passionate about introducing music literacy and basic instrumental skills to as many of our talented youth as possible on a countrywide basis.
The office of the Music Foundation organizes music lessons on Saturdays during the school term in Soshanguve, Ga Rankuwa, Mamelodi, Tembisa and Atteridgeville while funding projects in other province such as the Musikhane Music Projects in Potchefstroom (Ikageng), Umlazi (KwaZulu Natal), Soweto, various correctional institutions, East London, National Youth Choir Course.
The Foundation evaluates requests for instruments form various community music schools and purchases good instruments with the aid of sponsored funds. These instruments are distributed on an annual loan agreement to the various recipients. The Music xamination Fees of needy students are also sponsored.
Many success stories have emerged from these community projects where the learners are introduced for the first time in their lives to study instruments ranging form the recorder to all the string instruments, woodwinds, brass and keyboard. A good example is one particular learner who started from scratch on the recorder and made such rapid progress that he passed music as a matric subject with only three years.
The UNISA Music Foundation presents two concert series annually in the first and second semester, comprising about 50 concerts a year, catering for a wide variety of tastes, styles and instruments.
Apart from providing performance opportunities to local professional musicians, these concerts also feature visiting international artists, frequently in collaboration with embassies in Pretoria.
The Music Foundation presents national music competitions in exactly the same format than its international music competitions with the specific aim to accustom young South African musicians to the stringent standards applied internationally. So far a national organ, two piano and one string competition preceded the UNISA International Music Competitions in which the first prize winner and runner-up competed against a selected number of young overseas musicians.
The first International Music Competition (for piano) was held at UNISA in Pretoria in 1982. The winner of this event a Canadian pianist Marc-André Hammelin has since then established himself as a sought after international pianist. Other prize winners at UNISA include sopranos René Flemming and Summu Yo, tenor Johan Botha and Kobie van Rensburg, cellists Alexander Knasyer, and Jerôme Pernoo, violinists Benjamin Schmidt, Dmitri Makhatine. Famous judges include Guido Agosti, Georgy Sandor, Marie Claire Alain, Maria Kliegel, Martina Arroyo, John O’Conor, Sergey Dovensky etc.
The 4th UNISA National Piano Competition 2011 is presented to give young South African pianists experience with the requirements and procedures of an international piano competition.
The intention is that the preparation for, and participation in this event will toughen competitors for possible participation in the 12th UNISA International Piano Competition 2012. That is why the repertoire requirements correspond very closely to that of the 2012 international piano competition. Furthermore, competitors will be subject to the same adjudication criteria and processes applicable to international piano competitions.
Kirkness Guest House is only 3.5 kilometers from UNISA. This beautiful and elegant guest house is the perfect place to relax while you are away from home. Combining old world charm with contemporary living, Kirkness Guest House will provide a safe and comfortable haven, in the hub of Pretoria.
Tags: accommodation, kirkness, music foundation, Pretoria, unisa
Posted in News, Pretoria, Upcoming Events | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Summer Christmas.
It is already November, and if you are reeling with the realization that the year is nearing its end, you will need stuff to take your mind of things.
Here is a few of the things happening in November and December, hope it helps!
Since 2008 The Singing Christmas Tree was re-invented and hosted by the University of Pretoria Jakaranda Children’s Choir. Some 3800 Children from the Greater Tshwane and surrounding areas take part in this event. Each year announces an increasing number of schools interested in being part of such a wonderful performance. An event of this magnitude, standard and popularity, however, has also been made possible through the co-operation and dedication of principals, teachers, parents and learners.
Performances:
Enjoy a fun and family orientated night out!
Eat, drink and be merry at the Hazel Food Christmas Market
Grab your loved ones and enjoy a fabulous romantic evening market resplendent with twinkling lights and the aroma of scrumptious food. Shopping in Tshwane for the Festive Season has never been this easy or pleasurable.
The marketplace will be transformed into a fairy land with oodles of Christmas lights, delectable eats and wonderful gifts, crafts and décor items.
More than 80 stalls will offer superb food products that Hazel Food Market is renowned for as well as unique gifts and handmade Christmas decorations. Eat wonderful food, drink delicious wine and browse the many stalls for that special gift.
Heaps of entertainment for kids will be on offer including a jumping castle, jungle gym and kiddies corner. Be sure not to miss this wonderful event.
This year’s market will take place from 2 to 4 December 2010 incorporating two evening markets and one morning market. Open 16:00 – 21:00 on 2 and 3 December and from 08:00 – 13:00 on 4 December.
05 November 2010 – 05 November 2010
Sea Shepherd SA are participating in a worldwide Anti-Whaling Protest. This year Japan will once again illegally and inhumanely use grenade tipped harpoons to brutally kill more than 1,000 whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary near Antarctica, using a loophole in the international moratorium on whaling that allows catching whales for so called “research” purposes. Please join us outside the embassy with banners wearing black and get your creative juices flowing to signify DEATH of the whales… and death of the oceans.
06 November 2010 – 06 November 2010
Sword fighting,Fire dancing,Stunt show,Mediaeval Village,Market, Food stalls,beer tent
open to public
08 November 2010 – 08 November 2010
Mel Botes will be releasing his tribute album Crazy Diamond at the Barnyard Menlyn. Botes is a phenominal producer / guitarist / songwriter and his Crazy Diamond shows has sold out time after time.
20 November 2010 – 20 November 2010
Christmas market with 167 stalls selling anything from antiques to hand-made gifts
20 November 2010 – 20 November 2010
Endurance race day for racing cars and motorcycles. A spectacular 3 hour endurance day will be held at Zwartkops Raceway on 20th Nov 2010. Sprint races for categories Silver cup, Sports Racing Association, Lotus and Thunderbikes will entertain the crowd.
Over 40 teams already entered for the endurance race. Kiddies entertainment and VIP facilities available.
30 November 2010 – 30 November 2010
Unique sculptural art work of Anton Van Wouw that have never been availed for public viewing, form part of the biggest one man show exhibition this connoisseur artist (Anton Van Wouw). The exhibition is a must see and is displayed at the Villa Museum at University of Pretoria
Posted in Upcoming Events | 2 Comments »
© 2011 Kirkness Guest House | All Rights Reserved | Website Design and Development by 