A new ballet has opened at the Baxter Theatre. It’s called The Gold Rhino of Mapungubwe and it has truly imaginative choreography by ANGELA REVIE and is described as a fusion of classical and afro ballet and contemporary dance, enhanced by poetic narration. In People of Note this week, Rodney Trudgeon spoke to Angela Revie about his new ballet which has a powerful storyline that connects the mythical world with an ancient African civilisation.

In People of Note this week, Rodney Trudgeon will be talking to BIANCA AMATO who you may remember from the long running cast of Isidingo, but Bianca also had a stint in the American series Sex In The City. Now Bianca is directing a new production at the Theatre on the Bay called LUNGS, in which a young urban couple consider whether or not to have a child in today’s toxic and insecure environment.

Cape Town City Ballet has announced the appointment of David Nixon CBE as its new Artistic Producer with immediate effect. The appointment coincides with the company’s 90th anniversary. Rodney Trudgeon spoke to David about his long and distinguished career both as a dancer, artistic director and choreographer in his home in Canada and in Europe. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2022.

My guest n People of Note this week is the British guitarist Michael Watts who is in South Africa to collect a brand-new guitar which has been specially made for him by Casimi Guitars, a duo with an international reputation as two of the greatest guitar makers of their generation. Michael brought his new guitar to the studio and demonstrated it during the programme. We also took pictures of it which are available on our Facebook page and on Instagram.

People of Note this week features news of the UCT Summer School which opens this weekend. I’ll be talking to Medee Rall who is the Director of the Centre for Extra-mural Studies at UCT and who is also responsible for arranging the Summer School. UCT is celebrating 100 years of continuous , life long learning with the Summer School being established in 1950.

On People Of Note this week, Mike Mills stands in for Rodney Trudgeon to chat with Jonathan Crossley who is a renowned South African guitarist in the fields of both Classical music and Jazz. He's also an acclaimed musical innovator and experimenter, exploring new technology and techniques in creating music. He's now a lecturer at Liverpool University. He explains the latest trends in music.

People of Note is brought to you each week by PTP and this week my guest is ROBYN TAYLOR , the recently appointed Executive Manager of Cape Town City Ballet. Robyn has had a long and distinguished career in ballet and various other forms of dance and she is one of 3 Founding Trustees of the South African National Dance Trust. She also spent some 15 years raising funds and creating awareness for various South Afican dance organisations.

On this week’s edition of People of Note, brought to you by PTP, I’ll be talking to a recent visitor to South Africa, the Canadian born, Berlin based cellist Bryan Cheng who stunned us with his performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the CPO under Robert Moody. Bryan has won a number of major international awards and made his sold out debut in Carnegie Hall when he was only 14. He plays the Dubois Stradavarius Cell from 1699.

On People of Note this week I’ll be talking to Brent Van Rensburg who is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Zip Zap Circus which was launched 30 years ago and which has had more than 20,000 students passing through it and which has been on numerous international tours. It was formed to bridge socio-economic gaps and to inspire and empower young people to build a new culture of peaceful co-existence in South Africa. It’s a fascinating story and you can hear it in this week’s edition of People of Note, brought to you by PTP.

On People of Note this week, brought to you by Pieter Toerien Productions, my guest will be the children’s author Lesley Beake, whose latest book is called The Time Trackers and tells the story of the child Tana who lives in the Tankwa Karoo. The book is brought alive with illustrations by Michael Pattison and expert input by archeologist Emily Hallinan. Lesley began writing when she was 6 and now has over a hundred of her books published.