Entertainment

Masters of Choreography is an Australian dance theatre production company and a global leader in commercial dance fusion entertainment. They have toured Australia and Singapore, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and had two highly successful seasons in London's West End. An electrifying fusion of commercial street dance and ballet, featuring beatboxing, singing, comedic moments, and numerous 5-star reviews, has received standing ovations at every single performance! They present an exciting commercial rock ballet with elements of street dance, comedy, and dance theatre - an energetic show that makes you dance in your seat. With a great mix of classical rock and commercial music and a wonderful cast of versatile performers, Masters of Choreography offers cutting-edge entertainment and the finest dance fusion entertainment.

Thorsten Havener studied applied linguistics in Germany and the USA (California). For over 30 years, he has been imparting his knowledge as a leading expert in body language, character studies and understanding human nature in executive coaching sessions, seminars and experience shows. He combines the secrets of body language, behavioral psychology, illusion and intuition into an entertaining mixture of show and lecture. Thorsten Havener is an internationally recognized bestselling author. His total print run is over one million books. His debut ‘I Know What You Think’ has been translated into 16 languages (including Chinese). His books also topped the charts in Japan and even replaced Steve Jobs as number 1. His annual tours in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are regularly sold out. Thorsten Havener lives with his family near Munich. He is passionate about playing the blues guitar, has a weakness for films, books, dogs and hats and is a curious world traveler.

Christoph Poppen has established himself internationally as a conductor, soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. Since the 2023/24 season, he has served as Music Director of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, collaborating in 2025/26 with artists such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Martin Helmchen, Denis Kozhukhin, and Alexander Gadjiev. From 2015 to 2023, he was the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, shaping its diverse repertoire. This season includes three world premieres under his direction, as well as guest appearances with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, the China National Symphony Orchestra, and at the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival. He continues his close partnerships with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra as Principal Conductor and the Israel Chamber Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor. His discography features the ongoing Naxos cycle of Mozart’s complete Masses, whose fourth volume (February 2025) received international acclaim. From 1995 to 2006, Poppen was Artistic Director of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, defining its distinctive artistic profile. He subsequently served as Music Director of the Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrücken and as Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Guest engagements have taken him to leading orchestras including the Vienna Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Camerata Salzburg. In 2014, he founded the award-winning Marvão International Music Festival, followed by the Academy for Music, Arts and Science in Marvão in 2019. A prize-winning violinist and founding member of the Cherubini Quartet, Poppen has held professorships in Detmold, Berlin, and Munich, and since 2021 he has been Professor of Violin at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.

Photocredit: Matthias Baus

American pianist Ben Kim, winner of the 55th ARD International Music Competition, has performed in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. He has appeared with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the MDR Symphony, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, and the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, under conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Andrew Litton, and Christoph Poppen. He received the LOTTO Career Development Prize of the Rheingau Music Festival, whose jury praised his “natural charisma and modesty combined with great virtuosity.” His recordings have been released on Universal Decca, Sony Classical, and Challenge Records; his recent Mozart album The First Vienna Concertos was named Critics’ Choice of the Year 2024 by the American Record Guide. Ben Kim has been featured at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Rheingau Music Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Aspen, and Ravinia. He studied with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory, Klaus Hellwig at the Berlin University of the Arts, and at the International Piano Academy Lake Como under Martha Argerich and William Grant Naboré. He lives in Berlin.