Malta to host first edition of island festival showcasing arts

Applications for the first edition of The Maltese Islands Festival of Drama, Music, Singing and Dance (MIF’16) are now open.

Part of The British and International Federation of Festivals, MIF’16 will take the form of competitions, with participants performing in front of both a public audience and a professional adjudicator from the UK. Children, aged 4 and above, and adults of all ages are invited to apply.

The Festival, which will take place between Friday 2 and Sunday 4 December at St James Cavalier in Valletta as part of the Spazju Kreattiv programme, will focus on drama, dance, music and singing. Each category has been further subdivided into various areas in both classical and popular genres. Each sub-category will be professionally adjudicated, with the winners in each section receiving a prestigious award.

“Our mission is to provide a performance-based learning platform for performing arts students and practitioners of all ages, by combining high international-standard assessment with a comfortable, safe performance environment. High standards and quality are our top priority to support educators in the performing arts field; nurturing skills and talents at all levels of ability,” MIF’16 festival manager Cathy Lawlor said.

Although in its first year, the MIF’16 has already become a member of The British and International Federation of Festivals, which works with amateur festivals across the globe to help create over one million performance opportunities each year in the UK alone. This distinguished and influential consortium has over 560 members in the UK and internationally.

Applications to the MIF’16 are now open, with the early-bird offer of 15 per cent off the application fee closing on Sunday 1 October. Final applications will close on 1 November.

Those interested can register either as an individual or as a group, with discounts offered to those entering more than one category. Prices for an individual entry start at €30 and group participation fees are €15 per person.

“Malta’s arts and culture sector is steadily growing in the run up to Valletta hosting the European Capital of Culture title in 2018; however singing, music, dancing and dramatic art has played an important role in Maltese culture for centuries. This festival helps students and practitioners – whether aged four or eighty four – to develop and showcase their skills by providing an opportunity to perform, to practice and to gain valuable experience. We invite you to take a leap, to apply and to trust that you will gain positive experience,” Lawlor said.