Dnext: Cirque Du Soleil

Daniel Lamarre is the past CEO and Vice Chairman of Cirque Du Soleil and author of the new business book, BALACING ACTS. This interview was conducted in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Academy, Canadore College.

Jonathan Taplin is a writer, film producer and scholar. He is the Director Emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California and was a Professor at the USC Annenberg School from 2003-2016 in the field of international communication management and digital media entertainment. Taplin began his entertainment career in 1969 as Tour Manager for Bob Dylan and The Band. In 1973 he produced Martin Scorsese's first feature film, Mean Streets, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1974 and 1996, Taplin produced 26 hours of television documentaries (including The Prize and Cadillac Desert for PBS) and 12 feature films including The Last Waltz, Until The End of the World, Under Fire and To Die For. His films were nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe awards and chosen for The Cannes Film Festival five times. In 1984 Taplin acted as the investment advisor to the Bass Brothers in their successful attempt to save Walt Disney Studios from a corporate raid. This experience brought him to Merrill Lynch, where he served as vice president of media mergers and acquisitions. In this role, he helped re-engineer the media landscape on transactions such as the leveraged buyout of Viacom. Taplin was a founder of Intertainer and has served as its Chairman and CEO since June 1996. Intertainer was the pioneer video-on-demand company for both cable and broadband Internet markets. Taplin holds two patents for video on demand technologies. Professor Taplin has provided consulting services on Broadband technology to the President of Portugal and the Parliament of the Spanish state of Catalonia and the Government of Singapore. Mr. Taplin graduated from Princeton University. He is a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the Author’s Guild Council and the Board of the American Music Association. Mr. Taplin was appointed to the California Broadband Task Force and the City of Los Angles Technology and Innovation Council. He was named one of the 50 most social media savvy professors in America by Online College and one of the 100 American Digerati by Deloitte’s Edge Institute. HIS NEW BOOK, THE END OF REALITY: HOW 4 BILLIONAIRES ARE SELLING A FANTASY FUTURE OF THE METAVERSE, MARS AND CRYPTO

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Steven Hayward has published four books of fiction, including The Secret Mitzvah of Lucio Burke (winner of the Premio Grinzane Cavour prize), and the Canadian national bestseller Don’t Be Afraid. A founding member of the Critical Karaoke Radio Project, he is also Editor-At-Large of Springs Magazine and is the Director of the Colorado College Journalism Institute. The creator of the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Colorado Cold Case Podcast, he was the writer, host, and executive producer of the show’s first two seasons. A confessed Block Plan enthusiast and founding member of IBILTA (the International Block and Intensive Learning and Teaching Association), he co-directed a documentary feature film about the Block Plan’s past and present and produced a podcast series about the history of its founding.  WATCH DR. HAYWARD's TEDX TALK: (1) How to binge a college semester in one week | Steven Hayward | TEDxManitouSpringsLive - YouTube

Ian started his career creating immersive installation art pieces to explore ways to bridge the divide between observer and artifact. These projects later led to experiments in virtual reality and cybercafés (including Calgary's first cybercafé in 1995). From studying the ergonomics of VR in the first virtual reality hype bubble to early video on demand and interactive TV experiments, Ian has long been focused on improving the user experience. Ian is currently working to humanize technology in his capacity as a UX Architect in the media & entertainment industry. 

Professor Loeb received a PhD in plasma physics at age 24 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1986) and was subsequently a long-term member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1988-1993), where he started to work in theoretical astrophysics. In 1993 he moved to Harvard University where he was tenured three years later.  He is now the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science and former chair of the department.  He also holds a visiting professorship at the Weizmann Institute of Science and a Senior Professorship by special appointment in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University. After spending years studying the night skies for signs of extraterrestrial life, Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes he has found proof of their existence at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Professor Loeb has just completed a $1.5m expedition searching for signs of a mysterious meteor dubbed IM1 that crashed off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014 and is believed to have come from interstellar space.

A message from DR. SHAR In my heart, I have always believed that the body has the ability to heal itself if the proper modalities, environment and support are in place. Over the years of practice, I saw the most amazing physical transformations take shape with chiropractic adjustments and witnessed the body’s natural ability to heal. Once I added coaching and energy healing to my list of modalities, the pieces of the puzzle started fitting together for me. I was able to tap into, emotional, mental and spiritual states that took “patient care” to a whole new level and helped me see the bigger picture. Understanding emotional, mental and physical trauma and their relationship to one another, has given me the ability to not only make patients feel better but to heal better.   Health is dynamic and multifaceted. Whether you choose to start your self-care practice on a physical, mental or emotional level, chiropractic, energy healing and mindset coaching allows me to meet you where you are and what you are ready for. These forms or treatments naturally bring out a deeper sense of self-awareness that allows you to continue your healing, your way.

MIKE SHOREMAN Recently honored by the Prime Minister, the House of Commons and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and celebrated by Canadians from coast to coast in this national achievement, Mike is the 2022 recipient of the Mental Health Leadership Award by the Mood Disorder Society of Canada. A remarkable story of resilience and ‘the comeback’ following a devastating health crisis that left Mike immobile and unable to walk in 2019. Outside of making Canadian history and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Canadian youth mental health programming and services in what became the largest mental health awareness campaign led by an individual in Canadian history, this athlete and advocate is educating and motivating audiences to achieve their own excellence through his messaging of resilience, perseverance and drive.

Ben Haab is the director of a new documentary called UNACCEPTABLE? chronicling the 2022 FREEDOM CONVOY that captured the attention, hearts and minds of Canadians and the world. "We are living Canadian history in real-time which is sure to go down in the books; the story is still being written. Our crew went to Ottawa to see first hand what was happening at the “Freedom Convoy to Ottawa 2022”.  We started with the intention of gathering footage for a short five-minute summary of what was happening on the ground in Ottawa… we had no idea what this would become." - From the UNACCEPTABLE? website 

Rick Alan Ross is the founder and Executive Director of The Cult Education Institute. He is an internationally known expert regarding destructive cults, controversial groups and movements and author of the book "Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out." Since 1982 he has been studying, researching and responding to the problems often posed by controversial authoritarian groups and movements. Ross has been qualified and accepted and testified as an expert witness in court proceedings across the United States including US Federal Court. He has also frequently assisted local and national law enforcement and government agencies. He has personally assisted thousands of families in an effort to help the victims of destructive cults, groups and movements. Ross is one of the most readily recognized experts offering analysis about destructive cults, controversial groups and movements in the world today. GQ Magazine identified "Rick Alan Ross [as] America’s leading cult expert." And Britain's FHM Magazine named him "America's number one cult buster." He has been a paid consultant for the television networks CBS, CBC and Nippon of Japan. And also was retained as a technical consultant by Miramax/Disney. Ross' commentary has been quoted within publications such as Time Magazine, People, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and the Washington Post. His appearances on national television have included a wide range of venues from news programs such as the "Today Show, "CNN World News," "Dateline", ABC 20/20 and "48 Hours" to popular interview shows such as "Oprah," "Dr. Phil" and "Inside Edition." Ross has lectured at such prestigious institutions as Dickinson College, the University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Baylor University, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wuhan University, China, Zhengzhou University, China, GuangXi International University, China, Heilongjiang University, China, Shandong University, China and Assumption University, Thailand. Ross' analysis has been sought on virtually every major cult story for decades. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE NEEDS HELP Cult Education Institute | Religions and Cults Archives

Dan Richter is best known as Moonwatcher the man-ape in the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” which he also choreographed.  Dan has had a long career as a mime, choreographer, actor, director, producer, memoirist, and for two decades a Hollywood executive.  His book “Moonwatcher’s Memoir” is about working on “2001.”  His memoir “The Dream is Over” describes the years he lived and worked with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1969 to 1973. Dan currently lives in Sierra Madre outside of Los Angeles where he has been leading Sierra Club mountaineering trips since 1991 and teaches courses on rock climbing and mountaineering.  Dan is an AMGA Single Pitch Rock Climbing Instructor.