Company Announcement - The Tsogo Sun Arts Academy All Stars, as the top young stars of the Tsogo Sun Arts Academy programme are affectionately known, yesterday appeared in a music video with top SA Afrikaans singer and host of Be Your Dream on DSTV’s Kyknet, Anaïs Marais.

These children, the cream of the crop from the 12 schools in the Tsogo Sun Arts Academy who, due to their innate talent are given additional training in the performing arts, were selected to perform in the music video for the track entitled Dance Like David - a co-lab between Anaïs and Nate Butler, an award-winning American songwriter, music producer, and recording artist, whom the children were also able to meet and interact with.

Nate has been instrumental in the international sale of 45 million records and has worked with multi-platinum artists such as Luther Vandross, Victoria Beckham, Craig David, Backstreet Boys, Christina Milian, Stacie Orrico, JoJo, and others. In addition, Butler helped launch the careers of many artists, including 3LW, S-Club 7, Blue and Sugerbabes.

The music video was filmed in Diepsloot yesterday and comes just days after Anaïs and Nate presented a full-day workshop with the children at Silverstar Casino in the West Rand of Johannesburg. The session, designed to expose the children to exciting new experiences within the field of the arts that they would never normally have, saw Anaïs and Nate talk on their individual perspectives of the industry, both locally and internationally, and encompassed everything from acting to modelling, singing and dancing. The children were taught what to do, not to do, and what to expect when going into the industry, before being surprised with the news that they would be appearing in the music video, which is due for nationwide release in two weeks.

Says Anaïs, “It was a privilege to work with the All Stars children and be able to offer them a little insight into the performing arts industry in South Africa. I hope that I made a difference, even in a small way, to broadening their horizons and perspectives on the world around them and the South African performing arts industry at large.”

Even more exciting, is that that six of the Tsogo Sun Arts Academy All Stars children were given a spot in the finals of the New York Film Academy’s Musical Theatre School bursary programme. The workshop was used as an audition in which six of the children outshone the rest for a place in the final of the bursary selection process, which will be held at Silverstar Casino on 16 May. All 12 children will perform at the opening of the finals.

The Tsogo Sun Arts Academy programme currently supports 480 children across 12 underprivileged schools – 40 in each school – in Diepsloot and Mayfair in Gauteng. The full-year Arts Academy curriculum is designed as an all-encompassing programme that uses the arts as the foundation for opportunities for growth and learning for the children in both primary and high schools. It covers the basics of drama, dance, vocal training and voice projection, as well as carefully structured life skills course that empower the youngsters to make sound choices throughout their lives.

The fact that the Tsogo Sun All Stars were last year invited to perform at corporate events such as conferences and the SA Business Women’s Council, and have already received numerous requests to perform at events this year, bears testament to the momentum gained in only four short years and the credibility of The Tsogo Sun Arts Academy programme.

“The workshop and music video experience is just another in the many efforts the programme makes to reflect the dreams and aspirations of the youngsters,” says Shanda Paine, Tsogo Sun Group CSI Manager. “It is opportunities such as these that we hope will give our top performers the confidence and ambition to go on to make a career of the arts.”

“This is the goal of the Arts Academy, which is a perfect fit for Tsogo Sun with our strong base in growing the arts in South Africa through our various theatres, but also because investment in people to enable them to progress in life is a core philosophy of our overall business strategy.” For more information go to www.tsogosun.com