The choral segment of the Kaapse klopse competition is finally in full swing as the teams from Section One went head-to-head on Saturday at Athlone Stadium.
The venue was packed to capacity and supporters were lustily cheering on their teams from the stands.
The Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association (KKKA) has also implemented a new order in which the singing takes place, starting the day with the juvenile sentimentalists.
For me this is a clever move because it once again contributes positively to time management.
In the past, the juniors used to perform with their singpakke in between the moppie and combine, which meant that they would have to sit in the stadium for hours until their next performance, and often the audience was left without entertainment.
The Juvenile Sentimental troupes once again outdid themselves.
Toby from West London All Stars, who is the defending champion, came through with a good performance of Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All.
The youngster from Golden Gate also stood out for me.
The Juvie Boys have a young female singer, Talitha, on this item and this singing sensation delivered a great performance.
In my opinion, this young lady is definitely ready to compete with the adult females with her ability to capture the audience and tell a story.
She has gained much experience since she first popped up onto the scene and is a definite star on the rise.
As far as the senior soloists go, I was quite impressed by the singer from the Hip Hops who gave a powerful performance of the classical song, Nessun Dorma.
He was a pleasant surprise, much to the delight of the audience at Athlone Stadium.
Nizaam Sing followed shortly thereafter and gave a wonderful rendition of The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli.
HIT: Nizaam Sing sang Andrea Bocelli The Prayer
I am not sure what the judges are looking at but they had a variety to choose from, because not only were we entertained by classically-trained singers but also popstars like Mujahid George who gave a sterling performance singing Whitney Houston’s I have nothing for the Fabulous Woodstock Starlites.
The competition, however, was all about the moppies and the combine chorus, as these are the two items that keep the klops kamers going throughout the year.
I am happy to say that all round, the combine chorus was of a high quality for all the teams.
POP: Mujahid George sings Whitney track
The Seawinds went big and showed why they have been Carnival Kings in the past with a stunning performance.
West London All Stars coached by Sam Crouch also looked like they shifted a gear this year, sounding like a professional choir.
I like that some teams have added women, it really brings something different to the item.
The Juvie Boys on combine are shining, much to the delight of their coach Ameer Williams, who seems to be pushing the Juvies to new heights.
In the moppie there were some very lekka performances.
We got to see Shadley Schroeder in action for the Fabulous Woodstock Starlites. Schroeder’s performance of Bolla doen die voorloper dans was energetic and memorable.
ENERGY: Shadley Schroeder sang ‘Bolla’
One of my favourite moppie performances of the day came from Raeez Domingo and the Hip Hops singpak.
They sang Auntie Fiela and one could sense the unity between the voorsinger and singpak.
They had nice harmonies and the crowd loved the moppie.
UNITY: Raeez Domingo, a favourite at event
The Juvies have a new voorsinger, Raeez Adams, and boy has he made a name for himself this year already.
Wow, he can sing and dance and he is definitely one to look out for in the future as his performance of Biggie’s Dames was hilarious and entertaining.
The day ended off with a klopse jol by all the teams which was again a clever move by the organisers because people left the stadium in a lekka carnival mood.
With that said, I think all the teams did well and the competition is definitely of a high standard.
Raeez Adams
I am looking forward to Section Two this coming Saturday at Athlone Stadium.
The competition starts at 12am so for a lekka dose of Kaapse culture, book your seat at Computicket en kom maak ‘n draai.