KAROO NEWS - The vision of Union High School's cultural department is to provide a platform for the assessment of music, art and drama in the community and this year's Camdeboo Eisteddfod was an astonishing celebration of these disciplines.
The Welsh word 'eisteddfod' is formed from the Welsh morphemes: eistedd - meaning 'sit' and fod - meaning 'be' - culminating in the definition, "sitting together".
As strange as this sounds, when one considers that the earliest form of the eisteddfod was a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, it does make perfect sense!
In centuries gone by, the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.
The Camdeboo Eisteddfod took place over three busy days. An increase in entries this year led to logistical and administrative challenges, but thanks to an online entry platform using Googleforms and an extensive set of guidelines, the programme was effectively streamlined.
For three solid days - 14, 15 and 16 August - the school was abuzz with busloads of choirs dressed in stunning regalia arriving from other schools; children carrying sheet music and instruments, smaller children waiting anxiously to read their poems or play their pieces, gorgeous artworks and photos on display; duos and trios singing in harmony; lines being practised in quiet places; moms quickly checking if their dancers had lipstick on; folk from the community relaxing in the audience surrounded by music for a few hours; props being shuffled onto stage; bats removed from the curtains to the squeals of ballerinas; tears when certificates weren't always gold; jubilation when a 'cum laude' was awarded and the general endorphin-filled atmosphere that is associated with the performing arts.
It must be remembered that an eisteddfod is not simply a showcase for the arts, it is an opportunity for the immeasurable to be measured and a very high standard of work is expected from candidates.
As each item was performed - be it a song, piano piece, dance or prose - it was immediately judged, a comment written and a certificate completed.
This could not have happened without the invaluable assistance of Union moms, Marie Oosthuizen and Marsha Bouwer. Sharon Krige printed hundreds of certificates and Mariette Burger was a champion in all promotional respects. The technical expertise of Johan du Plessis and Muhamad Ahmed are also much appreciated. The eisteddfod committee is especially grateful to Donald Kingwill and his team who really went beyond the call of duty from dawn until dusk, fetching, cleaning, carrying and re-arranging during a very busy week.
As the Camdeboo Eisteddfod drew to a close late on Friday afternoon, the organisers, Zelda Oosthuizen, Sanette Brink, Tracy-Lee Chutu and Bronwen Langmead, breathed a collective sigh of satisfaction that it had been a resounding success for the cultural department of Union High.
Hayley Krige singing a solo.
Melissa Marais of Chinelle's School of Dance during her tap number.
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