By Brooke Greenhill, Director – Elegant Experience
It has been over 13 years since I opened Elegant Experience (what used to be Elegant Entertainment) and in those years I have experienced many differing trends within the eventing industry here in SA. What I am noticing this year is that last minute planning has become a modus operandi, and many are being caught out when it comes to entertainment and securing the desired creative elements for an event. We say get booking and get booking quickly otherwise you may get stuck with your second or third choice and not actualising your vision for your year end!
Having said that, my team at ‘Elegant’ is adept at producing something last minute, we (as many are in the industry) have become agile and well used to pulling rabbits from hats! We have been known to conjure up full productions including singers, dancers, cirque acts, and celebrity performers with bespoke AV content and scripting within a few days. We do not like to make a habit of it as I am sure you do not either, but it CAN be done and delivered with great aplomb.
So, let us talk trends! This year we are seeing a lot of VISUAL entertainment, we can see that industry greats are appealing to all the senses and particularly that people are wanting to create new, fresh ideas and concepts. Both on a digital level and in a textural, costuming and decor space. We produce new ideas here all the time, from food hostesses in brand new costumes, paper and pattern-based costuming, oversized puppets and building AV visuals.
On the MC front, we are still seeing LOTS of comedians creating energy and upliftment as well as media personalities creating edge at year-end events. From Brent Lindeque to Anele Mdoda and everyone in between – this is where we say BOOK quickly to secure who you want.
The other thing we are seeing a lot of is collabs. Well-known artists like Tamara Dey, and Shekhinah, or slick corporate bands paired up with dancers and specialty acts. This is a great idea as it creates a throughline for your event and peppers the entertainment throughout the evening – especially if you have awards and proceedings to break up and create interest around.
The next two months are going to fly by, we are all intensely busy and about to get even more so, I wish you all a DECENT amount of sleep and a prosperous and rewarding crazy season!
