CAS 2026 mentors announced as adjudication tour begins
13 April 2026The CAS 2026 adjudication tour is underway, bringing a national panel of mentor-adjudicators into schools to assess performances and guide entrants across acting, music, dance, visual arts and reading.
Creative Head for Curro Create, Penelope Youngleson, described the role of mentorship in the programme: ‘CAS is a soft landing ground for entrants to hear constructive feedback, work on themselves and their abilities and rise to new heights with the guidance and compassion of a professional mentor by their side.’
Acting and performance
The acting panel includes Nadia Beukes, with credits in Binnelanders, The Rocky Horror Show, Dirty Dancing and The Sound of Music. Dean Balie brings theatre and music experience, including a Fleur du Cap Award for Kat and the Kings, alongside Hamlet, Shakespeare in Love and Orpheus in Africa. Lisa Bobbert adds stage and screen work across Cabaret, My Fair Lady and Little Shop of Horrors, as well as a long-running collaboration with Aaron McIlroy.
Jaques de Silva joins with credits in Scandal!, The Umbrella Men and Empini, while Mpilo ‘Straw’ Nzimande brings stage experience from Othello, Hamlet, Woza Albert! and The Ugly Noo Noo. Blessing Xaba completes the group, with work across film, television and live performance, including early recognition in the Spud film trilogy.
Nadia Beukes
Dean Balie
Jaques de Silva
Mpilo Nzimande
Visual arts
The visual arts mentors span academic, curatorial and studio practice. Denél Chetty lectures in Information Design at the University of Pretoria and focuses on drawing and observation. Teboho Lebakeng works across sculpture and mixed media, exploring identity and heritage. Nandipha Yanta centres her work on self-representation and empowerment.
Seretse Moletsane brings a practice shaped by spirituality and abstraction, with exhibitions locally and internationally. Theo Kleynhans contributes curatorial and multidisciplinary experience, with recognition including the SA Breweries Sculpture Award and the Plascon Painting Prize.
Denél Chetty
Teboho Lebakeng
Nandipha Yanta
Seretse Moletsane
Reading and spoken performance
In reading and spoken performance, mentors include Dhania Schultz, whose work spans performance, writing, directing and stage management, including Annie+Helen. Letago Molapo brings theatre-making experience from productions such as Afropocalypse and Khongolose Khommanding Khommissars.
Veronique Jephtas combines acting, poetry and playwriting, while Sue Pyler-Slabbert adds experience across radio, television, dubbing and live facilitation.
Dhania Schultz
Letago Molapo
Veronique Jephtas
Music
Music participants will engage with mentors working across performance, recording and coaching. Luna Paige has released multiple albums and built a career as a singer-songwriter. Timothy Moloi has performed locally and internationally and coached vocalists across major productions.
Monique Steyn brings commercial success and mentoring experience through Die Kontrak. Ramon Alexander contributes Cape Jazz expertise as a pianist, composer and National Schools Conductor for 2025. Anna Davel adds a career across music and visual art, with multiple albums and recognition as Artist of the Year 2025 by VLU Overvaal.
Luna Paige
Timothy Moloi
Monique Steyn
Ramon Alexander
Dance and instrumental performance
The line-up is completed by dance and instrumental specialists. Dillonne Prince brings international performance and choreography experience. Trudy Fredericks has toured in productions such as The Lion King, Mamma Mia and Sister Act, and works as a choreographer and adjudicator.
Shaun Johannes rounds out the panel as a bassist, producer, lecturer and musical director with experience across touring and studio work.
As the tour continues, entrants across the country will engage directly with these mentors, receiving feedback shaped by industry practice and performance experience.
Dillonne Prince
Trudy Fredericks
Shaun Johannes