newsmaker shapeshift s & ers

VUSI MAHLASELA
The Voice of a nation
Earlier this year, Vusi Mahlasela toured the US with string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. They performed in venues from California to Illinois. While the band is relatively unknown in SA, Mahlasela has a solid base of fans in America. Having performed with local and international bands abroad, the Pretoriaborn singer-guitarist is a global icon. Hes recorded with Josh Groban, toured Britain and had a song (When You Come Back) in the UK charts. He originally performed it for Mandela at his 1994 inauguration; in 2010 ITV used it as the theme song for its coverage of the Fifa Soccer World Cup. Often hailed as The Voice because of his poignant and inspirational lyrics, Mahlasela has been recognised as a thinker and leader too. Hes spoken and performed at TED conferences (2007 and 2008) and was invited to the stage at the Skoll World Forum in 2010. He signed with New Yorkbased ITO Records in 2004. Collaborations on his last album, Say Africa, confirm that Mahlasela is an artist of international standing: two Grammy winners, Taj Mahal and Angelique Kidjo, join him for duets.

JACQUES KALLIS
all-time great
Hes been playing cricket for the Proteas for 18 years (SAs most capped player, including four World Cups) and built up an astonishing record. Hes a star with bat and ball, in Tests and ODIs. Any which way you look at Kalliss stats batting, bowling, fielding there is greatness ( just Google him). Only three other cricketers in history have over 13 000 Test runs he achieved this milestone at Newlands in January but Kallis did it the fastest. Hes No.2 on the list of most Test centuries (44) ever, including double centuries twice. He once batted for 7 hours 15 minutes in a Test. Hes the worlds best all-rounder (over 10 000 runs and 280 wickets). Kallis has topped the ICC rankings and remains consistently in the top five, yet hes remained under the radar. In 2006 he used the proceeds of his Western Province Benefit Year (about R1 million) to start a scholarship foundation, sending 20 boys to the top cricketing high schools in SA, with mentoring from Kallis himself. As for his records, last year he told The Independent, I have never been one who worries too much about stats or accolades or anything like that. Well, Jacques, read this and pat yourself on the back.

PRETTY YENDE
A real-deal diva
She recently made a sparkling debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, no small feat for a woman who didnt know what opera was a decade ago. Yende was living in Thandukukhanya township in Mpumalanga when she first heard opera in a TV advert. She loved singing but this was something else; she did some research, and her life changed forever. At UCTs College of Music her voice was nurtured into an exquisite soprano. In 2009 Yende competed against 3 000 other singers at the Hans Gabor Belvedere competition in Vienna. She took first place in the opera and operetta categories and bagged the audience and international media votes. Yende was the first black South African to be invited to study at the prestigious La Scala Academy in Milan, and at 25 made her debut on the stage of this venerable Italian opera house. Since then shes won all six major singing competitions, was the youngest recipient of Italys Bel Canto La Siola dOro Award and, most recently, the Golden Ark. Yende is worlds away from where she started and, whereas she once worried she wasnt good enough, she now says: Good enough isnt acceptable for me any more; one has to be extraordinary.

ABDULLAH IBRAHIM
World jazz maestro
In 1973 Abdullah Ibrahim recorded five albums. Having launched his music career in 1960 as Dollar Brand, he already had eight records to his name. But he had a lot more he wanted to say. The five titles give an indication of his headspace: Good News From Africa, Sangoma, African Portraits, African Space Program and African Sketchbook. Themes of homecoming and liberation abounded in the tracks fitting for a musician in exile. Born in Cape Town, Ibrahim had struggled as a black musician, so in 1962 he moved to Zurich where he became a club pianist. Two years later hed signed with Duke Ellington in Paris, and from there began a prolific international career. By 1998 hed released another 10 albums and composed Mindif, the jazz soundtrack for the French film Chocolat (his credits: piano, flute and voice). Audiences worldwide took note, filling out seats in renowned venues like Carnegie Hall in New York. Back from exile in SA, he played at Mandelas inauguration. Hailed as one of the most gifted jazz musicians in history, Ibrahim has now recorded over 100 albums. The titles continue to reveal where his head and heart lie his latest, in 2010, is called Sotho Blue.

HANDSPRING PUPPET COMPANY

Magical movers and shakers
During the Queens jubilee last year, HRH and her flotilla were saluted by Joey, the star of War Horse. The acclaimed show, by the Handspring Puppet Company, has been playing at Londons Royal National Theatre and to sold-out theatres around the globe since 2007. Handspring is the 30-year-old brainchild of Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones. What began as art students making puppets for childrens shows grew into an extraordinarily powerful form of visual theatre. The genius behind Handspring the complex cane sculpting and evocative artwork, together with the poetic micro-movement in performance sees lifesize (and bigger) puppets magically, wondrously come alive. Handspring has worked with major local and international directors and fine artists on productions, and partnered with puppeteers, composers and choreographers from West Africa, Europe and the US. Theyve won multiple awards, including an Olivier and London Critics Circle award, and a Special Tony in 2011. Despite being in demand internationally, Handspring remains based in South Africa. Kohler and Jones have also started a nonprofit Trust for Puppetry Arts, for training, workshops and supporting projects in townships and rural areas. Their latest production, Midsummer Nights Dream, opened in February in Bristol to rave reviews. Handspring, it seems, has the world on a string.

CANDICE SWANEPOEL
Scene-stealing supermodel
Candice Swanepoel often tweets from some glam fashion capital or exotic location behindthe-scenes shots or an image of herself, from a shoot with The Worlds Best Photographer, wearing well, very little. Which is easy when every bit is beautiful. Last year SAs supermodel debuted at No.10 on the Forbes list of top model earners with $3.1 million. No small potatoes for a 24-year-old. Insiders are calling her the next big fashion face and speculate that with the upcoming runway season shell get closer to top spot. Currently, Swanepoel is a Victorias Secret Angel, the lingerie brands most visible spokesperson and its cover face for the 2013 Swim Catalogue. Swanepoel was discovered by fashion scout Kevin Ellis at a Durban flea market when she was 15 he described her as like a flamingo walking past him. Little did she know shed be earning $6 000 a day just a year later. Shes been on the cover of Vogue, Elle, GQ and Harpers Bazaar, modelled for Nike, Diesel, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford and Versace, and appeared in top designers shows. She has fashion blogs dedicated to her, slavish (even creepy) followers on social networks, and magazine writers desperate for her secrets. So how high can Candice fly?

TREVOR NOAH
Laughter in translation
Six years ago, when he was hosting local TV show Real Goboza, Trevor Noah tracked the lives of SA celebrities. Today, hes the celebrity being profiled by the international media. A recent segment on CNNs African Voices was dedicated to the comedian; in July last year, a Newsweek article asked: Can Trevor Noahs Comedy Jump from SA to the US? Earlier in 2012 Noah was the first African comic to appear on Jay Lenos The Tonight Show one of the hardest gigs in comedy, but one that has launched careers. That five-minute triumph on stage was a showcase of Noahs funny, thought-provoking and disarmingly perceptive insights into social norms. British comedy star Eddie Izzard invited him to perform at the biggest arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Noah had a successful four-week run of The Racist at Londons Soho Theatre. Seeing the humour in being a mixed-race kid, he has found common ground with a diverse audience. For instance, Noah toured the US with Latino comedian Gabriel Iglesias in 2012. One of their venues was the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa surely there can be no bigger jump than from Mzansi to the American Midwest?

CURTAIN RAISERS
Brett Bailey, theatre maker extraordinaire, who gives ancient classics a fresh, new African twist. Rashid Lombard, founder of the CT International Jazz Festival considered one of the top five in the world. Goldfish, jet-setting electro-jazz DJs and Ibiza regulars. Ben Schoeman, concert pianist who, having won the 2012 Ibla Grand Prize, is headed for Carnegie Hall.

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100 world class south africans

100 world class south africans

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