Talented youth given the Edge

Local talent is like nuggets of unpolished, raw talent.

Does Newcastle provide a platform for these rough diamonds to showcase themselves in pursuit of national acclaim?

Cutting Edge Ministries doesn’t believe so.

This realisation was the idea behind the Edge Factor competition, a talent search coinciding with the second year of the church’s annual Youth Explosion.

Counsellor, Nathan Daniel explained further.

“There is a lot of raw, undiscovered talent that lies dormant among teenagers; living in a small community sometimes doesn’t allow for these talents to surface.”

As a counsellor and youth leader, Mr Daniel said there was a multitude of talent within young people, especially in the performing arts and music.

“This is the inspiration for the Edge Factor, to provide a platform for undiscovered and untrained talent to be showcased, with the hope young talent can be exposed.”

The organisers of the Youth Explosion hope to provide a springboard to even bigger platforms such as Idols.

He used Travis Green, a church member who entered Idols last year, as an example.

“We hope this competition will encourage other organisations to provide a similar stage and incentivise talent locally.”

Entrants into the Edge Factor will be judged on originality, presentation, confidence, if the item was contemporary and if it was considered good entertainment for the judges’ time.

To register, call or text your group name and item to 071 688 1323.

Edge Factor takes place on June 19 at 19A Nightingale Street in Lennoxton, with weekend festivities including sports on Saturday morning, and on-the-rise KwaZulu-Natal group COAD C on Saturday night.

The band is also hosting a workshop to assist teenagers with musical promise.