STAFF
OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM
DELIA SAINSBURY
FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
F.I.S.T.D. (London) MEMBER OF THE GRAND COUNCIL
Delia Sainsbury trained at the famous Bush-Davies School in London attaining her teaching qualifications in Classical Ballet, Modern Theatre Dance and Tap and a Performers Diploma in Drama through the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She made her debut in Camelot at Drury Lane Theatre and went on to appear in 9 other West End Musicals in London.
Theatre Credits include: Funny Girl, Four Musketeers, Canterbury Tales and West Side Story. In addition, Delia performed in various U.K. regional venues, on BBC television and in international movies. She was a regular on the London Cabaret circuit. After moving to SA in 1976, Delia went on to become a household name for over 20 years as a Presenter on SABC, affectionately known as the “Golden Girl of Television.” She was granted Senior International Examiner status for the I.S.T.D. in 1986 and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. She is the first international member of the Grand Council for the I.S.T.D. and is now the Liaison Officer for the I.S.T.D. for Africa and the Middle East. Delia writes and produces extensively for corporate theatre and has written, directed and produced numerous pieces for youth theatre. In addition, Delia offers career guidance, arranges professional auditions for children and graduates, trains presenters for television and consults consistently with industry professionals on a wide range of creative projects.
PAUL GRIFFITHS
PARTNER
Paul's professional career started as an actor in Musical Theatre Productions for varied arts companies around South Africa in the early 90’s. His performance credits include: Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Peter Pan, Camelot, Mame and Fiddler on the Roof. After working in South Africa, Paul moved to London where he spent the next 8 years. Whilst in London, he completed an MA with Distinction in Theatre Directing from Middlesex University – a course that included modules at The GITIS Conservatory in Moscow, RESAD Drama School in Spain and master classes from The Berliner Ensemble. It was as a director that he continued to develop his career in the UK, first as Trainee Director and subsequently as Education Associate for The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. He was then appointed as Associate Director of The Bridewell Theatre just off London’s West End and he was Acting Artistic Director for a time. In 2006 Paul returned to South Africa and was appointed head of Drama and Musical Theatre at WTS. His independent company, “Big Leaf Productions", was set up to produce numerous plays and musicals. He became a partner in 2011. As trustee of the Imbewu Trust, Paul was awarded the 2017 Fleur du Cap Award for Innovation in Theatre, specifically for development in new writing. He is the Director of the Helen O’ Grady: Development Through Drama Academy-the largest single academy for young people in South Africa.
GENNA GALLOWAY
PARTNER
Genna trained at the Waterfront Theatre School, culminating in I.S.T.D. International Teaching Qualifications in Tap and Modern Theatre Dance, as well as Licentiates in Drama and Musical Theatre via the Trinity College, London.
Theatre credits include: Showboat, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Rent (Alexander Theatre and Artscape Theatre, South Africa), We Will Rock You (Asia-Pacific Tour); Beauty and The Beast, Noah of Cape Town, ‘Jellylorum’ in Cats, ‘Rizzo’ in Grease, Sleeping Beauty (Leamington Spa Centre, England); Chef, Rattle and Roll ‘Lisa Houseman’ in Dirty Dancing, ‘Sister Berthe’ in The Sound of Music, Big Girls, Another Day; Producer and ‘Helen’ in Sweet Phoebe; Writer, producer and Lead in Dragging 30, ‘Yitzhak’ in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Fleur du Cap winner of Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical); Angels on Horseback: Reloaded, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
Television includes: One Piece (Netflix), Resident Evil (Netflix), Free State (MNET), Devil's Peak (Showmax), Home Affairs (SABC 1); ICE (USA TV); American Monster (Investigation Discovery), Our Girl (BBC).
Choreographic Credits include: Annie Jr., Seussical Jr., Sister Act, Urinetown, Spring Awakening, Pippin and Oklahoma as well as a range of TV commercials. As a voice artist, she played the role of ‘Sue’ in the animated TV Series Zoovolution, and can be heard in a variety of voice overs both locally and internationally.
DANCE DEPARTMENT
SHONA BRABANT
Shona Brabant holds two Fellowships from The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London in both Modern Theatre Dance and Ballet. She also holds an Associate Teaching Diploma in Tap through the I.S.T.D. Shona has been part of the staff at the Waterfront Theatre School since 2009. She teaches the Advanced levels in Ballet and Modern as well as trains the Ballet Associates.
Choreographic Credits include: Dance Me a Song, Cinematic Motion, All the World’s A Stage and From the Top, including choreography for the musicals Footloose and Pirates of Penzance at Artscape Theatre. She was also one of the featured choreographers in the dance epic film, Iris Warriors by Red Petal Productions and the Avengers Rugby League Day at Greenpoint Stadium, just to mention a few.
SIMONE ASHLEY MARSHALL KLEINENBURG
Simone’s career in the Dance Industry expands across Teaching, Choreography across a range of media, Production Management and Adjudicating. Simone has attained her Fellowship through the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London. Stage works include: All The World’s A Stage (武道 - all Male group, Martial Arts inspired routine and Back in Black - tribute to AC/DC, group Rhythm Tap routine), Cinematic Motion (Bootmen / SOLE - All Male Tap routine Dancers), Dancers Love Dogs (Return of the Mac – Rhythm Tap routine), Baxter Dance Festival (Tango Bailamos – Female Tap routine). Simone also choreographs extensively for corporate events. Simone continues to train internationally to ensure that her skills remain current. She recently trained with Ruben Sanchez (Europe), Heather Rees (UK), Alison Forrester (UK), Old Kent Road Tap Company and previously Aaron Tolson and Germaine Salsberg in the US, to name a few. Simone heads up our Tap Department, teaches Modern Theatre Dance and trains our Tap Associates.
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Raylene Ferriera is a graduate from the Waterfront Theatre School and achieved her Advanced 2 Performance Levels in Tap and Modern Theatre Dance as well as Advanced 1 Ballet. She holds an I.S.T.D. Licentiate Diploma in Tap as well as a Teaching Associate Diploma qualification Modern Theatre Dance. She is also a qualified Street Dance teacher and trains our Street Dance Associate teachers . She has performed in various dance shows including the Baxter Dance Festival and Dancers Love Dogs, as well as performed in a range of corporate events. She is also a passionate and multi-faceted choreographer having worked in a range of styles and dance genres. Apart from teaching multiple genres in our full time programme, Raylene also forms part of our dance staff for our junior school, teaching both Tap and Modern.
RAYLENE FERRIERA
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SUNÉ-LEE ESCH
Suné-Lee Esch trained at the Waterfront Theatre School and obtained her Associate
Diploma in both Imperial Classical Ballet and Modern Theatre Dance. After
graduation she set on a journey refining her skills as a performer and teacher in non-
dance methods in order to elevate her dance practice. She is returning to WTS with
Flexibility Training and Body Conditioning whilst also forming part of the teaching team for Classical Ballet and Modern Theatre Dance.
Suné has worked with international choreographers such as Olivier
Casamayou & Kevin Vives. She continues to provide dancers with relevant
educational content through textbooks, online training programs and
workshops. Her career expands across choreography, production management and
modelling.
URSULA LUBBE
Ursula achieved her Licentiate Diplomas in both Tap and Modern Theatre Dance for which she received 100%. She also obtained Advanced Levels in Tap, Modern and Classical Ballet through the ISTD, UK.
She has performed in numerous productions both on stage and screen as well as in many corporate events including the Baxter Dance Festival.
She currently teaches in both the full time school and part time junior school whilst coaching the our WTS Modern Associate teachers.
Choreographic Credits and Awards: Best Solo (Bury a Friend), Best Contemporary/ Ballet (Divine Feminine), Best Group (Divine Feminine), Best Overall Choreography (Divine & Frixion) and Most Employable Dancer.
JAMES BRADLEY
I.S.T.D LIAISON
James trained at Debbie Turner's Cape Academy of Performing Arts and holds a Licentiate in Modern Theatre Dance through the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London. He is trained in contemporary classical techniques with a specialty for pas de deux. Theatre credits include Richard Loring's African Footprint, Showboat, We Will Rock You, Hairspray, Beauty and the Beast and Sean Bovim's Bovim Ballet. He has worked with internationally recognized choreographers including, Bradley Shelver (USA), Christopher L. Huggins (USA), David Krugel (ZA), Jose Agudo (UK), and Adele Blank (ZA). James has worked extensively as a choreographer and formed part of the team of choreographers for the International movie Iris Warriors, directed by Roydon Turner of UK- Based Donroy Productions and Artistically Directed by Delia Sainsbury. James forms part of the international training team for the ISTD contemporary dance syllabus
Roxanne joined the Waterfront Theatre School in 2018. She holds teaching qualifications in Ballet as well as her Licentiate in Modern Theatre Dance, through the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London. Roxanne is also an award winning choreographer and a qualified gymnastics coach. Apart from teaching multiple genres in our full time school, Roxanne is also the head of our Junior Dance department.
ROXANNE HUGHES
HEAD OF JUNIOR DANCE
Marianna began playing the piano at the age of six. She started her musical training at UCT, continuing at UFS and finally honing her skills in London. She specifically trained as a Classical Ballet Repetiteur with an expertise in improvisation, accompanying dancers training across a range of syllabi. She joined the staff of WTS in 2013, utilising her skills as an accompanist for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London. Marianna is a prolific composer of classical music and is a well-regarded playwright. She runs her own theatre production company, Marianna Productions, which frequently produces independent work.
MARIANNA LE ROUX
DRAMA AND MUSICAL THEATRE DEPARTMENT
TANDI BUCHAN
Tandi is a graduate from U.C.T Drama School. She is a professional actress, writer, director, teacher and voice over artist. She is also the Artistic Director of Cape Town’s Award winning Improv group, ImproGuise who are best known for "Theatresports" and has been improvising nationally and internationally for close on 25 years.
In 2001 she was a co- founder and director of Off the Cuff, a London based Improv company. Whilst in London she also worked extensively as a drama teacher, working for The Bigfoot Theatre Co, directed annual Theatre for Youth Projects at the Roundhouse in Camden and worked with The Natural Theatre Co; masters of Invisible Theatre and Performance Art.
She has taught and led workshops in Improvisation and Storytelling at schools, festivals and in the corporate market in London, Paris and parts of Europe, Australia, Reunion and South Africa. She is a professional voice over artist, specialising in audio text books and commercials and is an acting and dialogue coach for theatre and film. Tandi is passionate about teaching and has been a senior lecturer of Voice and Improvisation at The Waterfront Theatre school for the past 10 years.
GARTH TAVARES
Garth is an award winning Director and Musical Director. He achieved a Bachelors of Music through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. His teaching modules include Musical Theatre Technique, Music Theory, as well as preparation for the Trinity College Licentiate Diploma exams.
Directing credits include: Broadway or Bust, Edges for the Makhanda Arts Festival (for which he won a Best Director Award), Stealing the Show: Bette Midler at the Alexander Bar and Shout! The Mod Musical. Musical Direction includes: Legally Blonde, Footloose, Sister Act, Urinetown, Spring Awakening, Pippin, Oklahoma and Pieter Toerien’s production of The Producers. Choreography credits include: Shout! The Mod Musical and Back to Broadway.
In addition to his theatre work Garth is an accomplished pianist and is one of the resident performers at The Piano Bar in Cape Town. He is a well-respected accompanist and is frequently engaged by Improguise TheatreSports as well as international producers. He is also the producer and musical director of the hugely successful performance showcase, Musical Mondays, performed monthly at the Outlore Base. As creative consultant he has worked for Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures and was the vocal coach for the Samsung Olympic Games in Rio campaign. Garth is most notably known as the Cape Town Vegan, a social media influencer who has won an Eco Warrior Award from Faithful to Nature.
ADELE STROMBECK
Adéle has enjoyed a diverse and successful career in the theatre and music industry. She studied classical piano from the age of ten but her heart was set on performing in musicals. After studying Musical Theatre at the Pretoria Technikon, Adéle performed in a range of musicals including Andrew Lloyd Webber In Concert, Oklahoma!, Fiddler On The Roof, Nunsense 3, The Jamboree, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Annie to name but a few. She is a Naledi Award nominated actress and musical director. Adéle composes music and recently performed her pieces at a Classics Now concert, sharing the stage with world renowned musicians, including the Soweto String Quartet.
Adéle, under the guidance and mentorship of Dr Lance Maron, has created her own unique method of singing training. She works internationally with singers, actors and comedians and has been fortunate enough to coach artists such as Trevor Noah, Kahn Morbee, Louise Carver and numerous musical theatre performers. Recognised as the best vocal coach in the country, Adéle is frequently called upon as a vocal consultant for top managements.
Adéle is honoured to currently be teaching singing at the Waterfront Theatre School. It is in fact Delia Sainsbury and Keith Galloway who ignited her love for the theatre when she was a child.
Etienne started his career in performing arts education as a student at Stellenbosch University. After finishing his degree, his passion for academics and education inspired him to complete his Masters in Drama, specializing in Cabaret and Musical Theatre. After his studies, he began his career in performing arts education focusing specifically on young adults. Through teaching practice with a range of organizations, Etienne has developed various curriculums specific to the performing arts. His skillset includes: Vocal Training, Acting, Accent Work, Creative Writing and Directing.
Etienne facilitates the teaching program, assisting students in gaining the valuable skills of becoming an effective and inclusive teacher. He is also Head of the Junior School, managing the part-time program for learners 5-18 years of age
ETIENNE ESTERHUYSEN
HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL/APPLICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
SAMANTHA LANDERS
Samantha graduated Cum Laude from Rhodes University and studied classical vocals before moving on to contemporary singing, beginning her journey with Williams-Ros in 2009. She is now a contributor to the WR Vocal Syllabus. Ver vocal studio, Luminous, provide holistic approach to Commercial Contemporary vocal training.
She has studied with world-renowned coaches Seth Riggs (exploring SLS), and Jeff Alani Stanfill, (the Swedish Italian method, adapted for contemporary voice). She has a certificate in Voice Function 101 and The Mechanics of Mix and Belt from Maddie Tarbox Studios. Samantha has been a vocal consultant and coach for thirteen years, serving singers from as young as 7 years old, up to professional level. She works with all styles of vocalists, honing both technique and performance ability. Her teachings focus on discovering and enhancing the individual’s unique voice, with emphasis on evidence-based techniques. Samantha holds master classes for singers from beginner to professional, Coaching4Coaches Courses, as well as consulting for competitive choirs and entertainers.
Samantha is a well-known performer, writing and producing shows in South Africa. She does a multitude of live events from theatre to corporate and arena performances. She is also the resident vocal coach for KZN’s number one talent competition, Project Performer.
OUR ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Jaa-mie-lah Wessels is the Receptionist and General Administrator at WTS.
She worked at Johannesburg General hospital as a Receptionist and Administrator for 7 years, after which, she joined SAHETI school in 2002 as the Caretaker, co-ordinating the school facilities for 13 years. In 2015 she started at Redhill School as the Facilities Co-ordinator where she managed 24 staff members. In 2015 she achieved her NQF5 in Early Childhood Development, qualifying as a pre-school teacher. She's a graded netball umpire and served on the Central Gauteng Netball Executive Committee as the General Secretary.
JAA-MIE-LAH WESSELS
ADMINISTRATOR
Gayle graduated from the Waterfront Theatre School in 2001, gaining her LTCL Teaching qualification in Drama, Trinity College London. After graduating, Gayle started teaching Drama and thereafter moved into business management. She returned to WTS in 2013 as Finance Administrator.
GAYLE HAEFELE
FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR