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Stuart Taylor – Corporate Comedian is probably best known to South Africans as the presenter of SABC 3’s hit travel show, ‘Going Nowhere Slowly’.
But when this Stellenbosch University science graduate is not in front of the camera with mud-powdered face and wind-styled hair, Taylor is enchanting local and international audiences with his headline, stand-up comedy and magic shows.
His award-winning formula of a meticulous fusion of comedy and magic earned him recognition as South Africa’s Comedy Magic Champion, a title he held for three years.
After ditching his microscope and lab coat, Taylor’s delightful potion of enigmatic entertainment has mesmerised audiences from theatres to boardrooms across South Africa.
His corporate repertoire includes most of South Africa’s blue chip multinationals with Shell SA, De Beers, Engen, Sun International, Red Bull and Ogilvy, among his endless list of tributes.
Stuart Taylor uncanny ability to cast spells of unbridled laughter on virtually any audience, earned him the adoration of critics and fans for his performances at the Pleasace Dome at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Berlin International Comedy Festival and his sold-out comedy-magic theatre productions throughout South Africa.
His theatre production ‘Learner Husband’ played to critical acclaim across the country from the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town to the Market Theatre in Johannesburg as well as a successful run at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and The Montecasino Main Theatre.
This show was built on the success of his previous 1-man show ‘Techni-Coloured’ whichhad scooped some amazing reviews and awards, winning the prestigious Overall Best Comedy award at the National Arts Festival (2008) and the Show Time award (2007) for the best solo performance.
Stuart Taylor can currently be found touring with his latest solo offering ‘Money’s Too Tight To Mention’ as well as ‘Learner Husband’
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Dave Starke’s smooth crooner voice and gentle guitar playing style provide a classy musical backdrop to compliment the elegance and style of your event.
He can provide a selection of popular music from the 1950s to the present day including hits by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Elvis, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Jack Johnson, Johnny Cash, Rodriguez and many more…
Having grown up in Cape Town, Dave studied music at school and later went on to graduate with a degree in Drama and Classical studies from the University of Cape Town. He has been based in KZN since 2007 and has performed at many of the province’s favourite venues in Durban, Ballito, Zululand and The Midlands.
Dave has 20 years’ experience in live entertainment and was a contestant on the first season of The Voice South Africa. What sets Dave apart from many other musicians is his commitment to professionalism at all times – this includes punctuality, responsive communication, smart and stylish appearance, high quality equipment and a service oriented attitude.
Dave generally performs as a soloist using guitar, looping technology, trumpet and percussion to create performances that are both musically and visually impressive. Should you wish to hire a full Jazz band, this can be arranged for an additional fee.
Dave Starke believes that the way a performer looks is just as important as the way he sounds and he is able to accommodate a variety of styles requests to compliment the feel of your wedding – this can include style and colour of clothing and guitars.
In addition to corporate and wedding entertainment, Dave Starke composes music for television and film and tours extensively, having performed in Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Johannesburg and Swaziland.
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Richard Poplak is an award-winning author, journalist, and filmmaker. He has become one of the most widely read and controversial political journalists in South Africa, editing at large for the Daily Maverick. Poplak has reported from over 25 developing countries, for the Financial Times, Atlantic Monthly, The Guardian, among others. He was recently part of a team that won the prestigious Global Shining Light award for investigative journalism.
Richard has worked as a freelance journalist and writer since 2005. His work has been anthologized numerous times, and he frequently appears on Al Jazeera, BBC, CBC, and elsewhere as a commentator on topics that range from world events to sport: he is considered a go-to voice on the burgeoning Sino-African relationship; on South African politics; and on international cycling.
Richard Poplak is a former Rockefeller Fellow, and a recipient of the Bookmark Award for the best journalist in South Africa. He is also a contributor in the innovative global investigative journalist collective Deca Stories.
As a member in the Gupta Leaks team, Richard Poplak helped break one of the biggest stories in South African media history. The journalistic consortium won the Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism award, Vodacom Journalist of the Year, and was cited for a Nat Nkasa Bravery in Journalism award. In 2019, the team won the prestigious 2019 Global Shining Light award, the highest honour in investigative journalism.
Before Richard Poplak became a journalist, Richard trained as a filmmaker and fine artist at Montreal’s Concordia University (1992-1995) and has produced an directed numerous music videos, television commercials, and documentary films. He is the co-director of a documentary feature film on the public relations firm Bell Pottinger, called Influence, which is premiering in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020.
Keynote Topic
INFLUENCE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS PUBLIC RELATIONS COMPANY
Synopsis
The feature-length documentary film INFLUENCE charts the recent advancements in weaponized communication by investigating the rise and fall of the world’s most notorious public relations and reputation management firm: the British multinational Bell Pottinger.
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Benny Masekwameng is a genuine South African homegrown treasure. He was lured into the art of preparing and cooking food by his mother, who supplied meals to construction workers in Alexandra Township as an additional income.
Benny Masekwameng is one of the judges for the renowned MasterChef SA reality television programme.
Benny believes it is this early start in his mom’s kitchen that set him off on his impressive culinary journey. After graduating in Catering Management at the Natal Technikon, Benny held various positions throughout South Africa and joined Southern Sun Hotels in 2006.
With the support from Southern Sun and acclaimed Execeutive Chefs like Kenneth Ngubane and Arnold Stuurman, who had an interest in his exceptional natural talent, Benny rose to the top in a profession where the odds were against him. His mother taught him the stamina and creativity required to be successful and to continuously rejoice in and celebrate his heritage. “Sometimes people tell me that I am so lucky to be an executive chef, but luck has nothing to do with it. I am successful because I am true to myself, the values my mother taught me, I work hard, I love food and I have received the support required to excel”, says Benny.
Benny Masekwameng revels in the opportunity to represent Southern Sun and South African cuisine at international food festivals and is especially excited about the opportunity to be a judge on MasterChef SA.
“I’m so privileged to be chosen as a judge. Now perhaps I can pass along the opportunities and direction I received in my career and hopefully inspire others with the story of my journey.”
This popular taste maker is in constant demand, and is eminently qualified to offer an expert perspective on what constitutes culinary excellence.
In addition to his many daily responsibilities at Tsogo Sun, he also gives of Benny Masekwameng time to serve on the panel which awards the coveted “platinum status” ranking to the country’s most prestigious restaurants and establishments.
He has also been instrumental in the recent upgrade of SAA’s First Class and Business Class menus.
With such an impressive track record, it’s easy to see why Chef Benny is a key player in the latest season of MasterChef South Africa. His undisputed authority and vast experience equips him to evaluate contestants with a high degree of expertise – and, for those who can’t take the heat, the MasterChef kitchen may just prove to be the ultimate challenge.
A perfect gentleman with an easy smile, Benny is passionate about sharing his culinary knowledge with his peers and with the contestants, and sets the bar for aspiring chefs countrywide. Let the games begin.
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The Bala Brothers siblings have all certainly traveled a long path from the tough streets of their birthplace in the Kwa-Nobuhle township outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.
Thankfully their epic journey has always been paved with music and song, and now the BALA name is set to leave another proudly South African musical legacy that will shine for many decades to come.
Songwriter, musician, producer, arranger, performing artist, DJ, TV personality … the family’s multi-talented oldest brother ZWAI BALA hardly needs an introduction, while his hugely popular younger brother LOYISO BALA has carved out an impressive solo recording career for himself.
Now, with both Zwai and Loyiso’s own stars burning brightly, they’ve joined forces with their prodigiously gifted younger brother PHELO BALA to form a trio known simply as … The Bala Brothers
15 year old Phelo, who is currently in Grade 10 at St Stithian’s Boys College, has followed in his brothers footsteps. He was Deputy Head Boy last year at the internationally renowned Drakensburg Boys Choir School in Kwa Zulu Natal, the very same illustrious institution where Zwai and then Loyiso themselves blazed musical paths.
The Bala Brothers have already performed a handful of well-received gigs, including a debut appearance on SABC2’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, Rand Merchant Bank’s annual Starlight Classics event, and Miss South Africa 2006.
Now, their highly anticipated debut album entitled B3 is released … The stunning album features a unique mix of songs, ranging from popular ‘Popera’ standards such as ‘Circle Of Life’, ‘Beauty And The Beast’ (which features the glorious voice of special guest Judith Sephuma), ‘You Raise Me Up’, and Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’, through to operatic numbers such as ‘Nella Fantasia’, ‘Caro Mio Ben’ and ‘All I Ask Of You’, the latter featuring the soaring vocals of internationally acclaimed soprano Angela Kerrison.
Recording the bulk of the songs with a full orchestra under the baton of Richard
Cock, the album is a world-class record that sees the Bala siblings in harmonious voice as they stamp their incomparable musical class on the South African music scene.
The majority of tracks were produced by Zwai himself, while Loyiso also lent a hand in this department.
Perhaps most interestingly, the album also features several Loyiso and Zwai Bala-composed original tracks (‘Masibuyelayane’, ‘Khumbula’ and the bonus track ‘Beautiful Women’) that shine alongside ‘classic’ South African tunes such as ‘Silvia’ and ‘Ziph’inkomo’.
These songs add an unmistakable and exciting local dimension to the album
A stunning music video for the ‘Khumbula’ track has been created, and will shortly be seen all over TV screens nationally.
A full documentary charting the Bala Brothers’ story – and the making of the debut album – has also been shot, and will be a useful tool with which to tell the latest chapter in the truly amazing story of three truly gifted individuals.
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If ever there was a band that gave life to that weird South African music phenomenon which has everyone who hears their music assuming they are an international act, then Joe Niemand – Conference Entertainers is it.
For months now, the four piece’s melodic rock has dominated airwaves, with songs like “Words” and “Simple Truth” easily slipping into the hearts and minds of music fans now rapidly cottoning onto the fact that Niemand is proudly South African – a truly homegrown group that makes music of a global standard.
That Niemand crafts songs so effortlessly memorable has much to do with the group’s namesake and frontman.
Joe Niemand has been quietly moving behind-the-scenes of the South African music industry, becoming an in-demand songwriter and performer for those in the know – credited for his intuitive gift for a melody and knack of crafting lyrics that speak of universal themes of love, struggle and redemption.
Put this to Joe, however, and this unassuming singer and songwriter is reluctant to make too big a fuss out of his unparalleled reputation in the South African music business, professing to hardly remembering his impressive slate of work.
“I feel like my musical life is beginning with Reborn. It’s the album that I have been waiting to make for years because before this, my songwriting took the form of whoever I was writing for.
With Reborn I wrote every song specifically for this album, with each representing something extremely important in my life.”
Much of Joe Niemand’s low-profile has to do with Joe’s belief in letting the music speak for itself. And thankfully for fans of perfectly on-point rock music, Reborn’s set of 14-songs is gaining momentum, on the back of solid radio-play, the selection of “Rise” as Supersport’s official theme for last November’s UK Springbok rugby tour and plenty of word-of-mouth buzz around the group.
What sets apart Niemand’s debut is the intense journey the album represents – a representation through words, music and visuals (check out Reborn’s artwork) of Joe’s personal journey of the past 10 years.
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Dr Wendy Luhabe is a pioneer in the Economic Empowerment of Women with her revolutionary ideas which enabled South African Women to become Investors for the first time in the mid ‘90s, after South Africa became a democracy.
She has Chaired and served on a number of diverse Boards in South Africa and overseas over the past 20 years, including becoming the founding Chair of South Africa’s International Marketing Council founded by President Mbeki more than 10 years ago.
She is an Economic Activist, a champion for Social Entrepreneurship, a Mentor for younger generations and a recipient of numerous Awards and honors.
Dr Wendy Luhabe is a recipient of three Honorary Doctorates for her work with Women, is a former Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg and was awarded the Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) by the British Royal Family in 2014.
She is a Thought Leader, an Author, an accomplished business woman. Dr Wendy Luhabe is passionate about leadership development in Africa and inter-generational dialogue to find new solutions to Africa’s chronic problems.
Books:
Black professionals in business have become an important grouping in South African society. But this is a relatively recent development.
Defining Moments presents the stories of three decades of black executives, drawing on significant aspects of management theory and practice in the context of the changing socio-economic conditions that prevailed in each decade.
The first generation of black professionals who braved the corporate world in the 1970s was handicapped by Bantu Education and apartheid legislation, but they were imbued with a vigorous culture of debate born of the struggle.
During the 1980s they increased in numbers and included black females with qualifications in commerce and finance.
The 1990’s generation was supported by changes in the political landscape in South Africa which gave birth to the country’s new democracy and universally admired Constitution.
This book offers the experiences and attitudes of black executives of the past three decades to future generations and invites professionals to use this book as a tool to create a better understanding and bridge the gap between cultures.
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Vasti Geldenhuys will make most people feel a bit uncomfortable in a court room, but for Vasti, it is a familiar territory.
In a world of exploration, dominated by men, Vasti always watched and supported from the sideline as her now husband, pioneering explorer, Riaan Manser, completed 3 World first’s. This inspired Vasti to do something extraordinary with her own life.
After a seemingly innocent request for a holiday to New York, Vasti never imagined that she would exchange her legal surroundings to something very, very unfamiliar. The mighty Atlantic Ocean. On a journey humorously but aptly called “Take Me to New York”, Vasti and her husband embarked from Morocco, enduring a 6 month journey at sea on a 6.9 meter rowing boat.
On landing in Miami, USA on 7 May 2014 the pair became the first people ever in history to have rowed from mainland Africa to North America. Vasti also became the only woman from the African Continent to have ever rowed across any Ocean.
They continued their journey by tackling the East Coast of the USA to finally reach New York City on 20 June 2014. Rowing up the Hudson River and passing by the iconic
Statue of Liberty.
In 2015 Vasti Geldenhuys completed her pupillage at the Cape Bar and was admitted as an Advocate. The thrill of exploration remained. In 2016, after tying the knot, the now husband and wife pair decided to set new a standard for the term “Honeymoon”.
Vasti Geldenhuys again tackled the Ocean, this time the mighty Pacific, on the exact same row boat. They rowed from California to Hawaii in a record breaking time of 39 days. They earned themselves another Guiness World record for the fastest mid-Pacific row. This record was previously held by a 4-man rowing team.
Hit by a 6 meter wave and capsized, 2000 km from shore; Riaan getting separated from the boat and Vasti unable to stop the boat drifting further and further away; 12 hour rowing days while managing a new marriage in life threatening situations are just a few examples of life at sea.
Storms and ship traffic provided for harrowing escapes from natural and human threats. But there were the quiet moments when the couple could reflect, savour the sunsets on the ocean and be intrigued by the amazing wildlife.
Vasti Geldenhuys will intrigue the audience with a unique woman’s perspective of the world of adventure; a world usually reserved for rugged and very brave men. Her talk will not only inspire the audience to new possibilities but show ordinary men and women that one is capable of much more than one thinks.
Being inspired lasts longer than being motivated, real stories of having gone out and actually achieving what you set out to do.
As of July 2015, Vasti Geldenhuys can deservedly add the title of Advocate Geldenhuys to her growing status.
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