The cultural group known as ‘Tjommies’ who hail from Hanover Park on the Cape Flats are keeping their community’s flag flying high as they compete to become champions of the first ever Malay Choir and klopse online competition.
The competition, The Jive Culture Shock, is the brainchild of Loukmaan Adams and Oddball Concepts.
The competition was pre-recorded at The Artscape Theatre and for many of the young Tjommies members it was their first time performing on a professional theatre stage.
And that within itself is already a great achievement for this troupe.
Tjommies was established in 2006 and since then have been a part of nearly every top klopse team over the last 14 years.
I met the troupe at one of their practices and was delighted to see young faces who are excited to participate and contribute to keeping our culture alive.
They are all between the ages of 13 and 23, so they are fresh, youthful and full of energy, of soes die ou mense sal sê, “hulle is nog honger vir die ding”.
I loved how their faces lit up when the band played their moppies and they jolled with such happiness, which made me see just why they could make a huge impact on the competition this year. They are enthusiastic and have a real love for the culture.
The moppies and the Nederlandslied is coached by Malik Petersen who is also one of the team’s musicians and is assisted by Rameez Carter.
The Tjommies also have an ace up their sleeve in their junior solo, in the form of the extremely talented Talitha Luiters.
Tjommies spokesperson Washief Losper says: “Dis ‘n groot experience vir ons om te perform innie Artscape met ‘n mic voor jou gesig.
“Ek is bly vir die youth en die experience wat hulle kry deur Culture Shock because ons doen die oek maar net om vir hulle vannie pad en verkere dinge weg te hou.
“So ons is grateful vir die opportunity en hoep dat die Tjommies gaan onse hometown, Hanover Park, en almal proud maak.”
The team also secured sponsorship from Monaki Flat Iron which means that for the duration of the Culture Shock competition they will be known as the Monaki Tjommies.
Jean Marie, the owner of Monaki, says: “Hulle is so sweet, hulle is my nuwe Tjommies.”
It is always good to see sponsors donating to such projects because it can cost lots of money to keep a troupe going, and during this tough economic times and the Coronavirus pandemic it is even more difficult.
So let’s encourage more businesses to get involved and help make a difference in the lives of our youth and to push the klopse and Malay Choir culture to the next level.
Culture Shock producer Loukmaan Adams says: “Jive Culture Shock is delighted to have the Tjommies on board and they are worthy competitors and definitely will make an impact on the competition.”
He says the playing fields are level and anybody can win the competition, because despite the judges giving their opinions on each performance, they do not have the final say – the public at home gets to vote for the winner.
So what makes this competition different is that the power is in the hands of the viewers.
If you like the Tjommies, you have the power to support them by voting them into the final.
With that said I wish the Monaki Tjommies all the best for the competition and may the young troupe become only bigger and stronger in the years to come.
Catch them live on the first episode of Jive Culture Shock taking place on 26 September.
Purchase your tickets at R60 via Quicket and please note that you can only vote if you have bought a ticket.