Natalia da Rocha

Natalia Da Rocha is a pioneer South African actress, director, youth activist and businesswoman. She can be remembered as being one of the few persons of colour to appear in entertainment media during the Apartheid-era. In 1981 she was the first Coloured (mixed-race person) to graduate with a Drama degree from the Afrikaans dominant Stellenbosch University. Beginning 1987 she was the first woman of colour along with Sam Marais to star in a Sun City Extravaganza. In 1992, she became the first South African star to perform publicly in Madagascar. She is well remembered for her roles in musicals such as Ain't Misbehavin'; Midnight Blues; Godspell and Vere (Afrikaans: [fierɐ] feathers).

She comes from a large Capetonian family with a mother of Jewish stock and a father of Portuguese descent. Her family were very musical and Natalia excelled in school becoming Student of the Year in her Standard 10 (1974), then equivalent to Grade 12 today.

Natalia is a consummate veteran in South African cabaret and stage. She's worked with entertainment legends such as Des and Dawn Lindberg, playing Mary Magdalen in their 1985 production of Godspell. Her career began in a cabaret duo along with longtime creative partner Sam Marais in Johannesburg's infamous venue Club 58, located in the Hillbrow suburb owned and managed by Barbara Thompson & Ute Hasse. Many famous South African creative personalities grew up in or have passed through the now defunct Club 58, previously found at number 58 Pretoria Street. Club 58 earned its infamy for allowing different ethnicities to mix freely, socially although it was illegal in Apartheid South Africa. Her first large-scale production had her learning juggling-skills and working ("unpaid") as a trapeze assistant in Brickhill and Burke's musical Barnum (1984). She's graced landmark stages such as Cape Town's Baxter Theatre (in the original South African production Fangs, 1982), the Wild Coast Sun resort's mainstage and Sun City during Extravaganza (1987). She is well known for her convincing and energetic staged impersonations of international divas such as Tina Turner and Shirley Bassey.

A regular on the tour circuit at shows such as the Afrikaans dominant Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Afrikaans: Little-Karoo National Arts Festival, KKNK) and Cedarberg Arts Festival. She has numerous nominations as Best Actress in South Africa's Vita Awards (early 1990s) and numerous musical performances during the Artes Awards (mid-1980s).

On the small screen she has acted in TV serials such as the Afrikaans Gallery; This Life and The Game (about South Africa's institutionalised obsession with rugby union; this TV show starred Gavin Hood who would go on to direct Totsi); current youth melodrama Backstage and as recurring character Amy on eGoli (Zulu for place of Gold) South Africa's longest running soap opera. On British television she appeared in the serial Tarzan. She is also featured or overdubbed on many public service announcements. Natalia has also co-hosted Saturday morning, women's magazine television programme Just For You and her own retro-hits radio show Classic Hits of our Time on Kaya FM.

Her songwriting credits include co-writing the African Child theme for the International Crystal Awards for Women in Film (1997). During the 1980s she collaborated with legendary South African musician Neville Nash on a TV special commemorating his achievements.

Rainbow Worx is a company she started in the mid-1990s to advance stagecraft among Coloured and Black children... In 1998 she was the chairperson for Gauteng Province (South Africa)'s Midrand Arts and Culture Town Council. Since 2002 Natalia has been developing APPLAUZ! as an initiative to expose and develop talent among disadvantaged youth in the Western Cape as far as Okiep. Applauz Arts Initiative was registered as a Section 21 Company (not for gain). Several new projects have been developed by Applauz Arts Initiative: SongStar a talent competition with 3 months of performance training, Wa Was Djy! The Musical, is a tribute to the 60's and 70's Coloured recording artists that recorded against all odds. The Invaders, Flames, Joy, Jonathan Butler, Richard John Smith, Zayn Adam and Pacific Express and Danny Williams. In 2012 Natalia recorded These Hands from the Slavin album with a group of young performers from Elsiesriver. It was their first time in a recording studio. The song can be viewed on YouTube. This is my Story is the latest Applauz Arts I native. It is a 4-month multidisciplinary training project. Teaching the young candidates to tell their story in video, dance and drama.

Natalia is married to stage & film veteran, movie producer and former television presenter Kurt Egelhof. She has three children.

In 1984 Natalia Da Rocha played the female lead in Broer Matie (Afrikaans : Brother Matey). This movie was then the most high-profile production featuring actors of Colour during Apartheid South Africa and dealt with this period's racial tension.

Natalia sang the theme song of the 1984 Jans Rautenbach movie Broer Marie : Bly by My a song written by Christa Steyn. "Die Slavin" (Afrikaans: The Female Slave) was an interactive theatre piece commissioned for the "Suidoosterfees" (Afrikaans : South-Easter Festival) in 2006 . During rehearsals the cast and band composed and recorded a full-length album released as "slavin". Track listing for the bilingual Afrikaans/English concept album is as follows :

• Here Comes The Ship
• Whitey Laaightie (Afrikaans: "White Boy")
• As Die Wind So Waai (Afrikaans : "When The Wind Blows Like This")
• Die Stam Moeder (Afrikaans: "The Clan Mother")
• Love Torn (Afrikaans: liefde "verskeur")
• Dood Van Die Jaar (Afrikaans: "Death Of The Year")
• Biesmiela (Arabic: "Thank God")
• Thirty Rand Plus Food
• Unknown Coon
• These Hands (Afrikaans: "die Hande")
• Wie's Jou Ma (Afrikaans: "Who's Your Mother")

The multimedia project was masterminded by lyricist Kurt Egelhof with musical arrangement by Celeste Williams.