{"id":24775,"date":"2026-05-04T19:20:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=24775"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:20:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:20:22","slug":"applications-now-open-for-the-2026-jomba-youth-open-horizons-platform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2026\/05\/04\/applications-now-open-for-the-2026-jomba-youth-open-horizons-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"Applications Now Open for the 2026 Jomba! Youth  Open Horizons Platform"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Applications are officially open for the <strong>2026 JOMBA! YOUTH OPEN HORIZONS Platform<\/strong> for the 28th <strong>JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (24 August &#8211; 6 September)<\/strong>, hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s Centre for Creative Arts in Durban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a<strong> celebration of young talent<\/strong> the much-loved <strong>YOUTH OPEN HORIZONS<\/strong> returns to the <strong>Stable Theatre, Durban<\/strong>, on <strong>Sunday 30 August at 2pm<\/strong>. This vibrant platform is a joyful, non-competitive space where dancers under 16 &#8211; across every dance style &#8211; come together to share, learn, and connect. From hip hop and <strong>pantsula to Zulu traditional dance, ballet, contemporary, and beyond<\/strong>, it\u2019s a stage dedicated to honouring the next generation of movers and dance-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The YOUTH OPEN HORIZONS Platform is one of the most joyful parts of our festival,\u201d says Lliane Loots, Artistic Director of JOMBA!&nbsp; \u201cThis is where we see the spark of tomorrow\u2019s dance-makers igniting on stage. To watch young dancers share their passion in a space that celebrates diversity and creativity is really inspiring. This is not just about performance; it\u2019s about creating a dance community, nurturing confidence, and giving our young artists the chance to perform in front of a packed auditorium with an appreciative audience \u2013 it is truly life-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The festival is able to host 12 dance groups. Applications can be made on here: <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/7EnrZzG7SXdawT6D6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/forms.gle\/7EnrZzG7SXdawT6D6<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deadline for applications is 29 June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about JOMBA! go to <a href=\"https:\/\/jomba.ukzn.ac.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">jomba.ukzn.ac.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Applications are officially open for the 2026 JOMBA! YOUTH OPEN HORIZONS Platform for the 28th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (24 August &#8211; 6 September), hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s Centre for Creative Arts in Durban. In a celebration of young talent the much-loved YOUTH OPEN HORIZONS returns to the Stable Theatre, Durban, on Sunday&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2026\/05\/04\/applications-now-open-for-the-2026-jomba-youth-open-horizons-platform\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Applications Now Open for the 2026 Jomba! Youth  Open Horizons Platform<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24776,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24775\/revisions\/24776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}