As early spring warms South Africa, the feet of 50 enthusiastic and creative minds from Tsogo Sun’s SunCares Arts Academy descended onto the Montecasino outdoor event area to witness the ever-popular annual SA Tattoo dress rehearsal.

Tsogo Sun’s SunCares Arts Academy is based on a holistic model encouraging the comprehensive development of the child, by encompassing talent development and skills development within an extra-curriculum framework. As part of the curriculum the determined children are given the opportunity to view professional productions, many of these young children have never had the chance to see a live show. These excursions help build the cognitive possibilities of the students’ awareness, that many different forms of art can come together to create an international show of excellence.

“As an entertainment complex, Montecasino understand that outings such as these broaden a students’ understanding that art is an array of possibilities which is only as limited as the mind that creates the idea.” Glenn Joseph, Montecasino’s General Manager.

The afternoon began with Montecasino treating the arts academy students to a late lunch at Spur, and was followed by a SA Tattoo guided backstage tour of the venue, giving the SunCares students a practical experience of the work and planning required in a production of this type and magnitude.

The dress rehearsal began to an enthralled crowd of excited students and select guests, as they were delighted with dynamic sounds and a visual conundrum of possibilities, featuring Just Jinjer as the headlining act, sensational international acts from France and Switzerland. “This is a show that brings pride to so many South Africans, and I am proud to share it with as many people as possible.” Simon Carter, Executive Producer of SA Tattoo.

“We welcome any collaborations and partnerships, as it is these initiatives that help make the Tsogo Sun SunCares Programmes a success, the great initiative taken by Montecasino and SA Tattoo to invite the SunCares Arts Academy students to a prestigious venue to create an unforgettable experience that will add value through the acquiring of knowledge and new experiences to the lives of these enthusiastic children”, concludes Shanda Paine, Tsogo Sun’s Group CSI Manager.

For more information on Tsogo Sun’s SunCares Sports Academy, visit www.tsogosun.com.

About Tsogo Sun

Tsogo Sun is the leading hotels, gaming and entertainment company in South Africa, providing a vast variety of hospitality and exciting entertainment and leisure experiences. Combining an established heritage with a professional and energised approach, the group proudly encompasses 14 casinos and over 90 hotels in South Africa, Africa, and Seychelles.

The company’s hospitality interests offer the widest distribution of hotels in Africa, providing world-class accommodation across all markets, including elegant, individually branded Deluxe Hotels and well known trusted market leaders in the premier through budget segments, including Southern Sun Hotels, Garden Court, SunSquare, StayEasy and Formula 1 hotels.

The exciting urban and resort casino portfolio includes the most popular entertainment destinations, strategically located throughout South Africa. In the Gauteng province, Tsogo Sun owns the group’s flagship property, Montecasino in Fourways, which features, amongst other attractions, the award-winning Teatro; Gold Reef City Casino and Theme Park in Southern Johannesburg; and Silverstar Casino to the West in Krugersdorp. Additional properties are owned and operated in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, including the Jewel on Durban’s Golden Mile, Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World.

Tsogo Sun (“TSH”) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The key shareholders of Tsogo Sun are Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (“HCI”), a JSE listed investment holding company, and SABMiller PLC (“SABM”), the London listed brewing company. The remaining shareholding is held by various financial institutions and the general public.

SunCares is Tsogo Sun’s environment sustainability in tourism programme, which consists of three pillars through which Tsogo Sun aims to be a catalyst for change. These pillars are the company’s CSI programme, encompassing the SunCares Sports Academy and SunCares Performing Arts Academy; Entrepreneurial Development, primarily through the established and impactful Book-a-Guesthouse programme; and Environmental Management. These pillars are creating a solid platform from which Tsogo Sun is able to leverage its considerable resources, experiences, and geographic spread within the hospitality, gaming and entertainment industry to provide the foundation for initiatives that have a lasting impact.

Source: artslink.co.za