Trio of SA teens land plum roles on Disney TV show

Disney Channel has commissioned its first local series for I Love Violetta with Urban Brew Studios as the production house. And after a three-month search, three local teen presenters have been found. Cape Town's Eneeqah Sulaiman and Sophie de Bruyn, both 16, and 13-year-old Enhle Ntombela from Durban have cracked the nod. By Debashine Thangevelo

Executive producer, Freddy Louw, shed light on their pitch for the companion show to Violetta with Disney Channel.

He reveals: I Love Violetta is a format produced internationally. We are the last territory they commissioned the show in. When we pitched for the job, we wanted to make it different, more fun. We proposed the girls emulating the fashion and giving viewers tips and instructions. Another component - we wanted the girls to teach viewers how to dance on the show. So there's a practical application side to it.

He says they received almost 400 entries.

On the search coming down to three girls, despite applications from the opposite sex too, he confirms: We found a really strong boy. But the three girls did work better instead of adding a boy. The girls ticked all the boxes. If we take sex out of it, we ended up with a shortlist of 12 candidates. Each of them could have made it. Unfortunately, we could only go with three. And, what's even more interesting is that the favourites of Disney UK, Disney SA and Urban Brew all ended up being selected.

Louw referred to the audition process as Idols on steroids .

He qualified that statement by saying: They had to be able to present, sing and do the choreography. We basically wanted TV presenters who can perform in a musical theatre space. The amount of talent that came through was really incredible.

In terms of the prep work for the show, the script is dictated by the exciting/dramatic highlights that would make for great talking points on the show.

We rely heavily on how the girls put it into their own words, he adds.

However, the first episode will document the audition process of the presenters.

Louw is thrilled about the set for the series.

He confirms: It has a physical change room. We incorporated a dance floor and a fashion ramp, too. Technically, we have also taken a different approach. We didn't go for the traditional TV studio with a control room. We just put everyone on the floor with the girls. In that way it was more intimate and the girls didn't have to worry about wearing an earpiece - that was out of play. We are also using lenses that you would use on commercial shoots. We have brought in an amazing stylist and make-up artist. If you look at the quality, you can put the show on any channel in the world and it will look like it belongs. We have made our industry proud with our product.

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With many years of TV experience, he admits: Personally, this has been a lifelong ambition of mine and a dream come true.

While Tonight was unable to get a hold of Ntombela, Sulaiman and De Bruyn were happy to talk about their dream opportunity.

Avid fans of the Disney Channel, both have revealed that the trio have become BFFs.

Sulaiman says she was encouraged to audition by her uncle who came across the application online.

She enthuses: I was a Disney fan since I was small. I was so excited when we received the news about two or three weeks ago.

We flew to Joburg recently and shot five episodes. We will fly again in the next two months to film more.

A fan of Latin dancing and hockey, this teenager is already eyeing the industry as a career prospect. Oh, and she is a huge fan of Kendall Jenner.

Meanwhile, De Bruyn shares: It's been a dream of mine. My parents are super proud.

Reflecting on their time at the Urban Brew set, she chuckles: Oh my gosh, we bonded so well. There was always so much laughter on set. It was incredible making those memories. We are all best friends now and constantly keep in contact with one another.

Quite the busy bee, in between her sporting activities and catching up with friends, she enjoys reading and is a big fan of Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place.

l I Love Violetta premieres on Disney Channel (DStv channel 303) on September 11 at 5pm. This is succeeded by the third season of Violetta, airing weekdays at 4.10pm from September 21.

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